Recent analysis of closed timelike curves from an information-theoretic perspective has led to contradictory conclusions about their information-processing power. One thing is generally agreed upon, however, which is that if such curves exist, the quantum-like evolution they imply would be nonlinear, but the physical interpretation of such theories is still unclear. It is known that any operationally verifiable instance of a nonlinear, deterministic evolution on some set of pure states makes the density matrix inadequate for representing mixtures of those pure states. We re-cast the problem in the language of operational quantum mechanics, building on previous work to show that the no-signalling requirement leads to a splitting of the equivalence classes of preparation procedures. This leads to the conclusion that any non-linear theory satisfying certain minimal conditions must be regarded as inconsistent unless it contains distinct representations for the two different kinds of mixtures, and incomplete unless it contains a rule for determining the physical preparations associated with each type. We refer to this as the `preparation problem' for nonlinear theories.
Bases of orthonormal localized states are constructed in Rindler coordinates and applied to an Unruh detector with good time resolution and an accelerated rod-like array detector.
Using the Deutsch approach, we show that the no-cloning theorem can be circumvented in the presence of closed timelike curves, allowing the perfect cloning of a quantum state chosen randomly from a finite alphabet of states. Further, we show that a universal cloner can be constructed that when acting on a completely arbitrary qubit state, exceeds the no-cloning bound on fidelity. Since the “no cloning theorem” has played a central role in the development of quantum information science, it is clear that the existence of closed timelike curves would radically change the rules for quantum information technology.
An unsolved problem in relativistic quantum information
research is how to model efficient, directional quantum communication between
localised parties in a fully quantum field theoretical framework. We propose a
tractable approach to this problem based on calculating expectation values of
localized field observables in the Heisenberg Picture. We illustrate our
approach by analysing, and obtaining approximate analytical solutions to, the
problem of communicating quantum states between an inertial sender, Alice and
an accelerated homodyne receiver, Rob. We discuss the effect on quantum
protocols carried out over such a communication channel.
In the Unruh effect, long-distance correlations in a pure
quantum state cause accelerated observers to experience the state as a thermal
bath. We discuss a similar phenomenon for quantum states that contain
correlations between the distant future and the distant past. Examples include
Minkowski half-space with a static mirror and an eternal black hole with an
unusual global structure behind the horizon. The question of utilising the
future-past correlations in quantum information tasks is raised.
After an introduction to generalized uncertainty
principle(s), we study uncertainty relations as formulated in a crystal-like
universe, whose lattice spacing is of order of
Planck length. For Planckian energies, the uncertainty relation for
position and momenta has a lower bound equal to zero. Connections of this
result with 't Hooft's deterministic quantization proposal, and with double
special relativity are briefly presented. We then apply our formulae to
(micro) black holes, we derive a new mass-temperature
relation for Schwarzschild black holes, and we discuss the new thermodynamic
entropy and heat capacity.
In contrast to standard results based on Heisenberg and
stringy uncertainty relations, we obtain both a finite Hawking's temperature
and a zero rest-mass remnant at the end of the (micro) black hole evaporation.
[Ref.Paper: PRD 81, 084030 (2010). arXiv:0912.2253]
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Center for Extreme Quantum Information Theory (xQIT)
PIRSA:12060061
This talk analyzes the limits that quantum mechanics imposes on the
accuracy to which spacetime geometry can be measured. By applying the
fundamental physical bounds to measurement accuracy ensembles of clocks
and signals, as in the global positioning system, I present a covariant
version of the quantum geometric limit, which states that the total
number of ticks of clocks and clicks of detectors that can be contained
in a four volume of spacetime of radius R and temporal extent is less
than or equal to RT divided by the Planck length times the Planck time.
The quantum geometric bound limits the number of events or `ops' that
can take place in a four-volume of spacetime and is consistent with and
complementary to the holographic bound which limits the number of bits
that can exist within a three-volume of spacetime.
The bridge between continuous information and discrete information is provided by sampling theory. In this talk, I will discuss an application of covariant sampling theory to cosmology (see the previous talk by Dr. R. Martin). In cosmology, the two-point correlation function of a quantum field is of central importance because it is a measure of the size of the fluctuations of the quantum field and of the entanglement of the vacuum in a given spacetime. Furthermore, the two-point function is experimentally accessible through the cosmic microwave background. Using covariant sampling theory, I will show how an information-theoretic bandlimit imposed at the Planck scale manifests itself in the two-point function. We will examine this bandlimit in Minkowski space and in de Sitter space.
A covariant ultra-violet cutoff on the modes of physical fields on a given space-time can be achieved by cutting off the spectrum of the D'Alembertian of the manifold. This cutoff is a natural generalization of the naive ultra-violet cutoff inEuclidean space which is obtained by simply projecting out frequencies greater in magnitude than a given maximum frequency. Here it is shown that for flat spacetime and expanding FRW spacetimes thiscutoff manifests itself as a decrease in temporal degrees of freedom for large spatial modes. In a large class of expanding FRW spacetimes where the proper time co-ordinate ends at a finite value, it is shown how the numberof temporal degrees of freedom of a fixed spatial mode depends on the magnitude of the spatial mode. We further indicate how the effects of this ultra-violet cutoff on the dynamics of field theories can be studied, and how the resulting modifications to inflationary predictions of the CMB spectrum could be calculated. This talk is based on ongoing joint work with Prof. Achim Kempf (University of Waterloo) and Aidan Chatwin-Davies (UW).
We show that entanglement harvested from a quantum field
by interaction with local detectors undergoing anti-parallel acceleration can
be used to measure the distance of closest approach between the two detectors.
Information about the separation is stored nonlocally in the phase of the joint
state of the detectors after the interaction; a single detector alone contains
none. We model the detectors as two-level quantum systems accelerating
uniformly through the Minkowski vacuum
while interacting for a short time with a massless scalar field. This
interaction allows entanglement to be swapped locally from the field to the
detectors. Although each detector alone sees the same thermal spectrum (due to
Unruh radiation), the joint state between them may be entangled. In the
vicinity of a critical distance of closest approach between the detectors, the
phase of the entangled state depends sensitively on the distance. We contrast
this with the case of parallel acceleration, in which no such critical distance
exists, and we discuss the connection of this case with entanglement harvested
from an expanding universe.