Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Karl Svozil

Publications and source records attributed to Karl Svozil.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2020

Classical predictions for intertwined quantum observables are contingent and thus inconclusive

Classical evaluations of configurations of intertwined quantum contexts induce relations, such as true-implies-false, true-implies-true, but also nonseparability among the input and output terminals. When combined, these exploitable configurations (aka gadgets) deliver the strongest form of classical value indefiniteness. However, the choice of the respective configuration among all such collections, and thus the relation of its terminals, remains arbitrary and cannot be motivated by some superselection principle inherent to quantum or classical physics.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2019

Comment on "Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor"

Even if Google AI's Sycamore processor is efficient for the particular task it has been designed for it fails to deliver universal computational capacity. Furthermore, even classical devices implementing transverse homoclinic orbits realize exponential speedups with respect to universal classical as well as quantum computations. Moreover, relative to the validity of quantum mechanics, there already exist quantum oracles which violate the Church-Turing thesis.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2019

Theology and Metaphysics in Sombre, Scientific Times

In view of the sobering findings of science, theology and to a lesser degree metaphysics is confronted with a humiliating loss, and a need for reinterpretation, of allegories and narratives which have served as guidance to the perplexed for millennia. Future revolutions of world perception might include the emergence of consciousness and superhuman artificial intelligence from universal computation, extensive virtual reality simulations, the persistence of claims of irreducible chance in the Universe, as well as contacts with alien species and the abundance of inhabited planets. As tragic and as discomforting as this might be perceived for the religious orthodoxy and by individual believers, a theology guided by science may lead us to a better and more adequate understanding of our existence. The post factum theological options are plentiful. These include dualistic scenarios, as well as (to quote Kelly James Clark), a curling or bowling deity, that is, creatio continua, or ex nihilo. These might be grounded in, or corroborated by the metaphysical enigma of existence, which appears to be immune and robust with respect to the aforementioned challenges of science.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2019

Towards fractal gravity

In an extension of speculations that physical space-time is a fractal which might itself be embedded in a high-dimensional continuum, it is hypothesized to "compensate" for local variations of the fractal dimension by instead varying the metric in such a way that the intrinsic (as seen from an embedded observer) dimensionality remains an integer. Thereby, an extrinsic fractal continuum is intrinsically perceived as a classical continuum. Conversely, it is suggested that any variation of the metric from its Euclidean (or Minkowskian) form can be "shifted" to nontrivial fractal topology. Thereby "holes" or "gaps" in spacetime could give rise to (increased) curvature.

physics.class-ph↗
arXiv2019

Quantum advantage by relational queries about physically realizable equivalence classes

Relational quantum queries are sometimes capable to effectively decide between collections of mutually exclusive elementary cases without completely resolving and determining those individual instances. Thereby the set of mutually exclusive elementary cases is effectively partitioned into equivalence classes pertinent to the respective query. In the second part of the paper, we review recent progress in theoretical certifications (relative to the assumptions made) of quantum value indeterminacy as a means to build quantum oracles for randomness.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2019

Spurious, Emergent Laws in Number Worlds

We study some aspects of the emergence of logos from chaos on a basal model of the universe using methods and techniques from algorithmic information and Ramsey theories. Thereby an intrinsic and unusual mixture of meaningful and spurious, emerging laws surfaces. The spurious, emergent laws abound, they can be found almost everywhere. In accord with the ancient Greek theogony one could say that logos, the Gods and the laws of the universe, originate from "the void," or from chaos, a picture which supports the unresolvable/irreducible lawless hypothesis. The analysis presented in this paper suggests that the "laws" discovered in science correspond merely to syntactical correlations, are local and not universal.

physics.gen-ph↗
arXiv2019

Roots and (re)sources of value (in)definiteness versus contextuality. A contribution to the Pitowsky Volume in memory of Itamar Pitowsky (1950--2010)

In Itamar Pitowsky's reading of the Gleason and the Kochen-Specker theorems, in particular, his Logical Indeterminacy Principle, the emphasis is on the value indefiniteness of observables which are not within the preparation context. This is in stark contrast to the prevalent term {\em contextuality} used by many researchers in informal, heuristic yet omni-realistic and potentially misleading ways. This paper discusses both concepts and argues in favor of value indefiniteness in all but a continuum of contexts intertwining in the vector representing a single pure (prepared) state. Even more restrictively, and inspired by operationalism but not justified by Pitowsky's Logical Indeterminacy Principle or similar, one could identify with a "quantum state" a single quantum context -- aka the respective maximal observable, or, in terms of its spectral decomposition, the associated orthonormal basis - from the continuum of intertwining context, as per the associated maximal observable actually or implicitly measured.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

Faithful orthogonal representations of graphs from partition logics

The graphs induced by partition logics allow a dual probabilistic interpretation: a classical one for which probabilities lie on the convex hull of the dispersion-free weights, and another one, suggested independently from the quantum Born rule, in which probabilities are formed by the (absolute) square of the inner product of state vectors with the faithful orthogonal representations of the respective graph. Two immediate consequences are the demonstration that the logico-empirical structure of observables does not determine the type of probabilities alone, and that complementarity does not imply contextuality.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

Minimal true-implies-false and true-implies-true sets of propositions in noncontextual hidden variable theories

An essential ingredient in many examples of the conflict between quantum theory and noncontextual hidden variables (e.g., the proof of the Kochen-Specker theorem and Hardy's proof of Bell's theorem) is a set of atomic propositions about the outcomes of ideal measurements such that, when outcome noncontextuality is assumed, if proposition $A$ is true, then, due to exclusiveness and completeness, a nonexclusive proposition $B$ ($C$) must be false (true). We call such a set a {\em true-implies-false set} (TIFS) [{\em true-implies-true set} (TITS)]. Here we identify all the minimal TIFSs and TITSs in every dimension $d \ge 3$, i.e., the sets of each type having the smallest number of propositions. These sets are important because each of them leads to a proof of impossibility of noncontextual hidden variables and corresponds to a simple situation with quantum vs classical advantage. Moreover, the methods developed to identify them may be helpful to solve some open problems regarding minimal Kochen-Specker sets.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

Partition Logics, Orthoalgebras and Automata

We investigate the orthoalgebras of certain non-Boolean models which have a classical realization. Our particular concern will be the partition logics arising from the investigation of the empirical propositional structure of Moore and Mealy type automata.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2017

Entanglement through path identification

Entanglement in multipartite systems can be achieved by the coherent superposition of product states, generated through a universal unitary transformation, followed by spontaneous parametric down-conversions and path identification.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2017

Generalized event structures and probabilities

For the classical mind, quantum mechanics is boggling enough; nevertheless more bizarre behavior could be imagined, thereby concentrating on propositional structures (empirical logics) that transcend the quantum domain. One can also consistently suppose predictions and probabilities which are neither classical nor quantum, but which are subject to subclassicality; that is, the additivity of probabilities for mutually exclusive, co-measurable observables, as formalized by admissibility rules and frame functions.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2016

Quantum Hocus Pocus

The claims made in a manifesto resulting in the European quantum technologies flagship initiative in quantum technology and similar enterprises are taken as starting point to critically review some potential quantum resources, such as coherent superposition and entanglement, and their potential usefulness for parallelism and communication. Claims of absolute, irreducible (non-epistemic) randomness are argued to be metaphysical. Cryptanalytic man-in-the-middle attacks on quantum cryptography are well known to be feasible, but hardly mentioned. If all of this is taken into account, a more sober perspective on quantum capacities emerges, but one that may be ethically more justified than the "hype and magic" that drives many current initiatives.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2016

Reflexive measurements, self-inspection and self-representation

There exist limits of self-inspection due to self-referential paradoxes, incompleteness and fixed point theorems. As quantum mechanics dictates the exchange of discrete quanta, measurements and self-inspection of quantized systems are fundamentally limited.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2016

Orthogonal vector computations

Quantum computation is the suitable orthogonal encoding of possibly holistic functional properties into state vectors, followed by a projective measurement.

quant-ph↗