On the 'principle of the quantumness', the quantumness of Relativity, and the computational grand-unification

Journal Article · Tue May 04 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3431515· OSTI ID:21367284

D'Ariano, Giacomo Mauro ^[1]

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1. QUIT Group, Dipartimento di Fisica 'A. Volta', 27100 Pavia (Italy) and Center for Photonic Communication and Computing, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 (Italy)

I will argue that the proposal of establishing operational foundations of Quantum Theory should have top-priority, and that the Lucien Hardy's program on Quantum Gravity should be paralleled by an analogous program on Quantum Field Theory (QFT), which needs to be reformulated, notwithstanding its experimental success. In this paper, after reviewing recently suggested operational 'principles of the quantumness', I address the problem on whether Quantum Theory and Special Relativity are unrelated theories, or instead, if the one implies the other. I show how Special Relativity can be indeed derived from causality of Quantum Theory, within the computational paradigm 'the universe is a huge quantum computer', reformulating QFT as a Quantum-Computational Field Theory (QCFT). In QCFT Special Relativity emerges from the fabric of the computational network, which also naturally embeds gauge invariance. In this scheme even the quantization rule and the Planck constant can in principle be derived as emergent from the underlying causal tapestry of space-time. In this way Quantum Theory remains the only theory operating the huge computer of the universe.Is the computational paradigm only a speculative tautology (theory as simulation of reality), or does it have a scientific value? The answer will come from Occam's razor, depending on the mathematical simplicity of QCFT. Here I will just start scratching the surface of QCFT, analyzing simple field theories, including Dirac's. The number of problems and unmotivated recipes that plague QFT strongly motivates us to undertake the QCFT project, since QCFT makes all such problems manifest, and forces a re-foundation of QFT.

• OSTI ID: 21367284
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1232, Issue 1; Conference: QTRF5: 5. ICMM (International Centre for Mathematical Modelling in Physics) conference on quantum theory: Reconsideration of foundations, Vaexjoe (Sweden), 14-18 Jun 2009; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3431515; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
CAUSALITY
DIRAC EQUATION
GAUGE INVARIANCE
GRAND UNIFIED THEORY
PROBABILITY
QUANTIZATION
QUANTUM COMPUTERS
QUANTUM GRAVITY
RELATIVITY THEORY
SPACE-TIME
UNIVERSE
COMPUTERS
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
EQUATIONS
FIELD EQUATIONS
FIELD THEORIES
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
PARTICLE MODELS
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
UNIFIED GAUGE MODELS
WAVE EQUATIONS