arXiv subjects
George Svetlichny
Publications and source records attributed to George Svetlichny.
The props of quantum mechanics
We introduce a formalism that exploits the many-input many-output nature of nodes in quantum circuits. There is a diagrammatic and an algebraic version, the latter similar to the spinor formalism of general relativity. This allows us to work in truly basis independent ways, clarifying and simplifying many aspects of quantum state processing. The narrative is at times interrupted by antics of characters from quantum age fairy tales.
Free Lunch
The Free Lunch Principle: Nature thrives on freebies. She chooses nothing, and no one helps Her. She must use canonical mathematical structures as there is no one to tell Her otherwise. With this I show where variational principles are superfluous and Noether's theorem is trivial.
Quantum superdense coding a la Everett, comparison with teleportation
We analyze quantum superdense coding as would be seen in Everett's many worlds interpretation of measurement, and compare it to Everettian teleportation.
A toy quantum analog of enzymes
We present a quantum system incorporating qualitative aspects of enzyme action in which the possibility of quantum superposition of several conformations of the enzyme-substrate complex is investigated. We present numerical results showing quantum effects that transcend the case of a statistical mixture of conformations.
Teleporting a qubit a la Everett
If both Alice and Bob have access to a two-qubit "background state" then, by simulating Everett's many worlds interpretation of measurement, Alice can teleport a qubit to Bob, each using fixed unitaries. The Everett picture unifies unitaries, measurements, and classical communication into just unitaries, provided there are background states shared by all parties. We review some of the literature on this theme and point out an additional fact: If Bob has access to only one of the background qubits, teleportation is still possible by Alice sending Bob one classical bit of information gained from a measurement of the other qubit.
Life thrives on abundance (quantum included)
I present a short and almost irrefutable arguments that life does use quantum mechanical correlations in an essential way. The very same argument applies, mutatis mutandis, in relation to any abundant resource, and observations bears this out.
How Free Will Could Will
Many have proposed that free will would use quantum indeterminism. Strict adherence to the Born rule, which follows from the no-signal condition, seems to block this possibility. I propose here that if state collapse really does occur then there is a further form of indeterminism occurring in multipartite systems in that the basis upon which the collapse is to occur could be ambiguous. The choice of this basis is not covered by quantum mechanics nor subject to probability constraints and this provides a ground for a physical and eventually a mathematical model of free will.
Qualia are Quantum Leaps
I contemplate the idea that the subjective world and quantum state reductions are one and the same. If true, this resolves with one stroke both the quantum mechanical measurement problem and the hard problem of consciousness.
The Differential and Functional Equations for a Lie Group Homomorphism are Equivalent
I prove the "folklore" result that the functional equation for a Lie group homomorphism can be solved by solving the corresponding differential equation.
Is there a measurement-only version of quantum mechanics?
Tensor universality often implies that multi-partite quantum-state processing is determined by what happens in totally disentangled cases. In independent systems relative time direction for the parts is arbitrary. This hints that time may be linked to entanglement and measurements and that there may be a measurement-only version of quantum mechanics. One-way quantum computation suggests that this may be possible.
Effective Quantum Time Travel
The quantum teleportation protocol can be used to probabilistically simulate a quantum circuit with backward-in-time connections. This allows us to analyze some conceptual problems of time travel in the context of physically realizable situations, to realize encrypted measurements of future states for which the decryption key becomes available only after the state is created, and to probabilistically realize a multistage quantum state processing within the time needed to complete only one stage. The probabilistic nature of the process resolves any paradox.
Equivariance, Variational Principles, and the Feynman Integral
We argue that the variational calculus leading to Euler's equations and Noether's theorem can be replaced by equivariance and invariance conditions avoiding the action integral. We also speculate about the origin of Lagrangian theories in physics and their connection to Feynman's integral.
Feynman's Integral is About Mutually Unbiased Bases
The Feynman integral can be seen as an attempt to relate, under certain circumstances, the quantum-information-theoretic separateness of mutually unbiased bases to causal proximity of the measuring processes.
Informal Resource Letter - Nonlinear quantum mechanics on arXiv up to August 2004
I compiled a list of articles on arXiv that deal with possible fundamental quantum nonlinearities or examine the origins of its linearity. The list extends til August 2004.
Tensor Universality, Quantum Information Flow, Coecke's Theorem, and Generalizations
We show that Coecke's compositionality theorem for quantum information flow follows by the universal property of tensor products from the case in which all relevant states are totally disentangled, for which the proof is almost trivial. With the same technique we deduce a PROP structure behind general multipartite quantum information processing and show that all such are equivalent to a canonical teleportation-type form. Some philosophical issues concerning quantum information are also touched upon.
Nonlinear Quantum Gravity
Nonlinear quantum mechanics at the Planck scale can produce nonlocal effects contributing to resolution of singularities, to cosmic acceleration, and modified black-hole dynamics, while avoiding the usual causality issues.
Do Black Holes Produce Phantom Energy?
We conjecture that black holes, whether accreting matter or not, can also lose mass to phantom energy production. Such a process can be made plausible in theories that allow for non-local connections between short and long wavelength modes. If true, observational data should show an exchange of energy from matter to phantom at some cosmic epoch, and we discuss a simple model. Some remarks on an appropriate quantum gravity theory and related issues are also presented.