Higher-order interference and single-system postulates characterizing quantum theory

DOI10.1088/1367-2630/16/12/123029zbMATH Open1451.81007arXiv1403.4147OpenAlexW3099191420WikidataQ56623746 ScholiaQ56623746MaRDI QIDQ3387464FDOQ3387464

Cozmin Ududec, Markus Müller, Howard Barnum

Publication date: 12 January 2021

Published in: New Journal of Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We present a new characterization of quantum theory in terms of simple physical principles that is different from previous ones in two important respects: first, it only refers to properties of single systems without any assumptions on the composition of many systems; and second, it is closer to experiment by having absence of higher-order interference as a postulate, which is currently the subject of experimental investigation. We give three postulates -- no higher-order interference, classical decomposability of states, and strong symmetry -- and prove that the only non-classical operational probabilistic theories satisfying them are real, complex, and quaternionic quantum theory, together with 3-level octonionic quantum theory and ball state spaces of arbitrary dimension. Then we show that adding observability of energy as a fourth postulate yields complex quantum theory as the unique solution, relating the emergence of the complex numbers to the possibility of Hamiltonian dynamics. We also show that there may be interesting non-quantum theories satisfying only the first two of our postulates, which would allow for higher-order interference in experiments while still respecting the contextuality analogue of the local orthogonality principle.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1403.4147

zbMATH Keywords

contextualityJordan algebrasgeneralized probabilistic theorieshigher-order interferencereconstructions of quantum theory

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

General and philosophical questions in quantum theory (81P05) Quantum measurement theory, state operations, state preparations (81P15) Logical foundations of quantum mechanics; quantum logic (quantum-theoretic aspects) (81P10)

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