PIRSA:19090093

A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings

Catani, L. (2019). A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/19090093

Catani, Lorenzo. A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings. Perimeter Institute, Sep. 13, 2019, https://pirsa.org/19090093 

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:19090093,
            doi = {10.48660/19090093},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/19090093},
            author = {Catani, Lorenzo},
            keywords = {Quantum Foundations},
            language = {en},
            title = {A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2019},
            month = {sep},
            note = {PIRSA:19090093 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }

Lorenzo Catani

Chapman University

Talk number
PIRSA:19090093
Collection
Talk Type
Subject
Abstract

 In the framework of ontological models, the features of quantum

theory that emerge as inherently nonclassical always involve properties that

are fine tuned, i.e.  properties that hold at the operational level but break at the

ontological level (they only hold for fine tuned values of the ontic parameters). Famous

examples of fine tuned properties are noncontextuality and locality. We here

develop a precise theory-independent mathematical framework for characterizing

operational fine tunings. These are distinct from causal fine tunings — already

introduced by Wood and Spekkens — as they do not involve any assumption

on the underlying causal structure. We show how all the already known examples of

operational fine tunings fit into our framework, we discuss possibly new fine tunings

and we use the framework to shed new light on the relation between nonlocality

and generalized contextuality. The framework is set in the language of functors in category

theory and it aims at unifying the spooky properties of quantum theory as well as

accounting for new ones.