arXiv subjects

Ariel Caticha

Publications and source records attributed to Ariel Caticha.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Entropic Dynamics approach to Quantum Electrodynamics

Entropic dynamics (ED) is a framework that allows one to derive quantum theory as a Hamilton-Killing flow on the cotangent bundle of a statistical manifold. These flows are such that they preserve the symplectic and the (information) metric geometries; they explain the linearity of quantum mechanics and the appearance of complex numbers. In this paper the ED framework is extended to deal with local gauge symmetries. More specifically, on the basis of maximum entropy methods and information geometry, for an appropriate choice of ontic variables and constraints, we derive the quantum electrodynamics of radiation fields interacting with charged particles. As a test that despite its unorthodox foundation the ED approach is empirically successful we derive the Maxwell equations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Entropic Dynamics approach to Relational Quantum Mechanics

The general framework of Entropic Dynamics (ED) is used to construct non-relativistic models of relational quantum mechanics from well known inference principles -- probability, entropy and information geometry. Although only partially relational -- the absolute structures of simultaneity and Euclidean geometry are still retained -- these models provide a useful testing ground for ideas that will prove useful in the context of more realistic relativistic theories. The fact that in ED the positions of particles have definite values, just as in classical mechanics, has allowed us to adapt to the quantum case some intuitions from Barbour and Bertotti's classical framework. Here, however, we propose a new measure of the mismatch between successive states that is adapted to the information metric and the symplectic structures of the quantum phase space. We make explicit that ED is temporally relational and we construct non-relativistic quantum models that are spatially relational with respect to rigid translations and rotations. The ED approach settles the longstanding question of what form should the constraints of a classical theory take after quantization: the quantum constraints that express relationality are to be imposed on expectation values. To highlight the potential impact of these developments, the non-relativistic quantum model is parametrized into a generally covariant form and we show that the ED approach evades the analogue of what in quantum gravity has been called the problem of time.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

What is ontic and what is epistemic in the Quantum Mechanics of Spin?

Entropic Dynamics (ED) provides a framework that allows the reconstruction of the quantum formalism by insisting on ontological and epistemic clarity and adopting entropic methods and information geometry. Our present goal is to extend the ED framework to account for spin. The result is a realist {\psi}-epistemic model in which the ontology consists of a particle described by a definite position plus a discrete variable that describes Pauli's peculiar two-valuedness. The resulting dynamics of probabilities is, as might be expected, described by the Pauli equation. What may be unexpected is that the generators of transformations -- Hamiltonians and angular momenta including spin, are all granted clear epistemic status. To the old question `what is spinning?' ED provides a crisp answer: nothing is spinning.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Entropic Dynamics and Quantum "Measurement"

The entropic dynamics (ED) approach to quantum mechanics is ideally suited to address the problem of measurement because it is based on entropic and Bayesian methods of inference that have been designed to process information and data. The approach succeeds because ED achieves a clear-cut separation between ontic and epistemic elements: positions are ontic while probabilities and wave functions are epistemic. Thus, ED is a viable realist psi-epistemic model. Such models are widely assumed to be ruled out by various no-go theorems. We show that ED evades those theorems by adopting a purely epistemic dynamics and denying the existence of an ontic dynamics at the subquantum level.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Entropic Density Functional Theory

A formulation of the density functional theory is constructed on the foundations of entropic inference. The theory is introduced as an application of maximum entropy for inhomogeneous fluids in thermal equilibrium. It is shown that entropic inference produces the variational principle of DFT when information about the expected density of particles is imposed. This process introduces a family of trial density-parametrized density matrices from which the preferred density matrix is found using the method of quantum maximum entropy. As illustrations some known approximation schemes of the theory are discussed.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2021

Quantum Mechanics as Hamilton-Killing Flows on a Statistical Manifold

The mathematical formalism of Quantum Mechanics is derived or "reconstructed" from more basic considerations of probability theory and information geometry. The starting point is the recognition that probabilities are central to QM: the formalism of QM is derived as a particular kind of flow on a finite dimensional statistical manifold -- a simplex. The cotangent bundle associated to the simplex has a natural symplectic structure and it inherits its own natural metric structure from the information geometry of the underlying simplex. We seek flows that preserve (in the sense of vanishing Lie derivatives) both the symplectic structure (a Hamilton flow) and the metric structure (a Killing flow). The result is a formalism in which the Fubini-Study metric, the linearity of the Schrödinger equation, the emergence of a complex numbers, Hilbert spaces, and the Born rule, are derived rather than postulated.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

An Entropic Approach To Classical Density Functional Theory

The classical Density Functional Theory (DFT) is introduced as an application of entropic inference for inhomogeneous fluids at thermal equilibrium. It is shown that entropic inference reproduces the variational principle of DFT when information about expected density of particles is imposed. This process introduces an intermediate family of trial density-parametrized probability distributions, and consequently an intermediate entropy, from which the preferred one is found using the method of Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt). As an application, the DFT model for slowly varying density is provided, and its approximation scheme is discussed.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2021

Entropy, Information, and the Updating of Probabilities

This paper is a review of a particular approach to the method of maximum entropy as a general framework for inference. The discussion emphasizes the pragmatic elements in the derivation. An epistemic notion of information is defined in terms of its relation to the Bayesian beliefs of ideally rational agents. The method of updating from a prior to a posterior probability distribution is designed through an eliminative induction process. The logarithmic relative entropy is singled out as the unique tool for updating that (a) is of universal applicability; (b) that recognizes the value of prior information; and (c) that recognizes the privileged role played by the notion of independence in science. The resulting framework -- the ME method -- can handle arbitrary priors and arbitrary constraints. It includes MaxEnt and Bayes' rule as special cases and, therefore, it unifies entropic and Bayesian methods into a single general inference scheme. The ME method goes beyond the mere selection of a single posterior, but also addresses the question of how much less probable other distributions might be, which provides a direct bridge to the theories of fluctuations and large deviations.

physics.data-an↗

arXiv2021

Entropic dynamics on Gibbs statistical manifolds

Entropic dynamics is a framework in which the laws of dynamics are derived as an application of entropic methods of inference. Its successes include the derivation of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory from probabilistic principles. Here we develop the entropic dynamics of a system the state of which is described by a probability distribution. Thus, the dynamics unfolds on a statistical manifold which is automatically endowed by a metric structure provided by information geometry. The curvature of the manifold has a significant influence. We focus our dynamics on the statistical manifold of Gibbs distributions (also known as canonical distributions or the exponential family). The model includes an "entropic" notion of time that is tailored to the system under study; the system is its own clock. As one might expect, entropic time is intrinsically directional; there is a natural arrow of time which is lead by entropic considerations. As illustrative examples we discuss dynamics on a space of Gaussians and the discrete 3-state system.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2021

The Entropic Dynamics of Spin

In the Entropic Dynamics (ED) approach the essence of quantum theory lies in its probabilistic nature while the Hilbert space structure plays a secondary and ultimately optional role. The dynamics of probability distributions is driven by the maximization of an entropy subject to constraints that carry the relevant physical information -- directionality, correlations, gauge interactions, etc. The challenge is to identify those constraints and to establish a criterion for how the constraints themselves are updated. In this paper the ED framework is extended to describe a spin-1/2 point particle. In ED spin is neither modelled as a rotating body, nor through the motion of a point particle; it is an epistemic property of the wave function. The constraint that reflects the peculiar rotational properties of spin is most effectively expressed in the language of geometric algebra. The updating of all constraints is carried out in a way that stresses the central importance of symmetry principles. First we identify the appropriate symplectic and metric structures in the phase space of probabilities, their conjugate momenta, and the spin variables. This construction yields a derivation of the Fubini-Study metric for a spin-1/2 particle which highlights its deep connection to information geometry. Then we construct an ED that preserves both the symplectic structure (a Hamiltonian flow) and the metric structure (a Killing flow). We show that generic Hamiltonian-Killing flows are linear in the wave function. Imposing further that the Hamiltonian be the generator of an entropic evolution in time leads to an entropic dynamics described by the Pauli equation. We conclude with a discussion of the new interpretation of the formalism which yields a physical picture that is significantly different from that provided by other interpretations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

The Entropic Dynamics of Quantum Scalar Fields Coupled to Gravity

Entropic dynamics (ED) is a general framework for constructing indeterministic dynamical models based on entropic methods. ED has been used to derive or reconstruct both non-relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory in curved space-time. Here we propose a model for a quantum scalar field propagating in a dynamical space-time. The approach rests on a few key ingredients: (1) Rather than modelling the dynamics of the fields, ED models the dynamics of their probabilities. (2) In accordance with the standard entropic methods of inference the dynamics is dictated by information encoded in constraints. (3) The choice of the physically relevant constraints is dictated by principles of symmetry and invariance. The first such principle imposes the preservation of a symplectic structure which leads to a Hamiltonian formalism with its attendant Poisson brackets and action principle. The second symmetry principle is foliation invariance, which following earlier work by Hojman, Kuchar, and Teitelboim, is implemented as a requirement of path independence. The result is a hybrid ED model that approaches quantum field theory in one limit and classical general relativity in another, but is not fully described by either. A particularly significant prediction of this ED model is that the coupling of quantum fields to gravity implies violations of the quantum superposition principle.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

An Entropic Dynamics Approach to Geometrodynamics

In the Entropic Dynamics (ED) framework quantum theory is derived as an application of entropic methods of inference. The physics is introduced through appropriate choices of variables and of constraints that codify the relevant physical information. In previous work, a manifestly covariant ED of quantum scalar fields in a fixed background spacetime was developed. Manifest relativistic covariance was achieved by imposing constraints in the form of Poisson brackets and of intial conditions to be satisfied by a set of local Hamiltonian generators. Our approach succeeded in extending to the quantum domain the classical framework that originated with Dirac and was later developed by Teitelboim and Kuchar. In the present work the ED of quantum fields is extended further by allowing the geometry of spacetime to fully partake in the dynamics. The result is a first-principles ED model that in one limit reproduces quantum mechanics and in another limit reproduces classical general relativity. Our model shares some formal features with the so-called semi-classical approach to gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

The Entropic Dynamics approach to Quantum Mechanics

Entropic Dynamics (ED) is a framework in which Quantum Mechanics is derived as an application of entropic methods of inference. In ED the dynamics of the probability distribution is driven by entropy subject to constraints that are codified into a quantity later identified as the phase of the wave function. The central challenge is to specify how those constraints are themselves updated. In this paper we review and extend the ED framework in several directions. A new version of ED is introduced in which particles follow smooth differentiable Brownian trajectories (as opposed to non-differentiable Brownian paths). To construct the ED we make use of the fact that the space of probabilities and phases has a natural symplectic structure (i.e., it is a phase space with Hamiltonian flows and Poisson brackets). Then, using an argument based on information geometry, a metric structure is introduced. It is shown that the ED that preserves the symplectic and metric structures -- which is a Hamilton-Killing flow in phase space -- is the linear Schrödinger equation. These developments allow us to discuss why wave functions are complex and the connections between the superposition principle, the single-valuedness of wave functions, and the quantization of electric charges. Finally, it is observed that Hilbert spaces are not necessary ingredients in this construction. They are a clever but merely optional trick that turns out to be convenient for practical calculations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

The Information Geometry of Space-time

The method of maximum entropy is used to model curved physical space in terms of points defined with a finite resolution. Such a blurred space is automatically endowed with a metric given by information geometry. The corresponding space-time is such that the geometry of any embedded spacelike surface is given by its information geometry. The dynamics of blurred space, its geometrodynamics, is constructed by requiring that as space undergoes the deformations associated with evolution in local time, it sweeps a four-dimensional space-time. This reproduces Einstein's equations for vacuum gravity. We conclude with brief comments on some of the peculiar properties of blurred space: There is a minimum length and blurred points have a finite volume. There is a relativistic "blur dilation". The volume of space is a measure of its entropy.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Entropic Dynamics: Reconstructing Quantum Field Theory in Curved Space-time

The Entropic Dynamics reconstruction of quantum mechanics is extended to quantum field theory in curved space-time. The Entropic Dynamics framework, which derives quantum theory as an application of the method of maximum entropy, is combined with the covariant methods of Dirac, Hojman, Kuchař, and Teitelboim, which they used to develop a framework for classical covariant Hamiltonian theories. The goal is to formulate an information-based alternative to current approaches based on algebraic quantum field theory. One key ingredient is the adoption of a local notion of entropic time in which instants are defined on curved three-dimensional surfaces and time evolution consists of the accumulation of changes induced by local deformations of these surfaces. The resulting dynamics is a non-dissipative diffusion that is constrained by the requirements of foliation invariance and incorporates the necessary local quantum potentials. As applications of the formalism we derive the Ehrenfest relations for fields in curved-spacetime and briefly discuss the nature of divergences in quantum field theory.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Quantum phases in entropic dynamics

In the Entropic Dynamics framework the dynamics is driven by maximizing entropy subject to appropriate constraints. In this work we bring Entropic Dynamics one step closer to full equivalence with quantum theory by identifying constraints that lead to wave functions that remain single-valued even for multi-valued phases by recognizing the intimate relation between quantum phases, gauge symmetry, and charge quantization.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

A Covariant Approach to Entropic Dynamics

Entropic Dynamics (ED) is a framework for constructing dynamical theories of inference using the tools of inductive reasoning. A central feature of the ED framework is the special focus placed on time. In previous work a global entropic time was used to derive a quantum theory of relativistic scalar fields. This theory, however, suffered from a lack of explicit or manifest Lorentz symmetry. In this paper we explore an alternative formulation in which the relativistic aspects of the theory are manifest. The approach we pursue here is inspired by the works of Dirac, Kuchar, and Teitelboim in their development of covariant Hamiltonian methods. The key ingredient here is the adoption of a local notion of time, which we call entropic time. This construction allows the expression of arbitrary notion of simultaneity, in accord with relativity. In order to ensure, however, that this local time dynamics is compatible with the background spacetime we must impose a set of Poisson bracket constraints; these constraints themselves result from requiring the dynamcics to be path independent, in the sense of Teitelboim and Kuchar.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Entropic Dynamics: Mechanics without Mechanism

Entropic Dynamics is a framework in which dynamical laws such as those that arise in physics are derived as an application of entropic methods of inference. No underlying action principle is postulated. Instead, the dynamics is driven by entropy subject to constraints reflecting the information that is relevant to the problem at hand. In this work I review the derivation of quantum theory but the fact that Entropic Dynamics is based on inference methods that are of universal applicability suggests that it may be possible to adapt these methods to fields other than physics.

quant-ph↗