Categorical Quantum Models and Logics

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Categorical Quantum Models and Logics Categorical quantum models and logics The work in this thesis has been carried out while the author was employed at the Radboud University Nijmegen, financially supported by the Netherlands Or- ganisation for Scientific Research (NWO) within the Pionier projects “Program security and correctness” during August 2005–August 2007, and “Quantization, noncommutative geometry and symmetry” during August 2007–August 2009. Typeset using LATEX and XY-pic ISBN 978 90 8555 024 2 NUR 910 c C. Heunen / Pallas Publications — Amsterdam University Press, 2009 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Netherlands License. To view a copy of this license, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/nl/. Categorical quantum models and logics een wetenschappelijke proeve op het gebied van de Natuurwetenschappen, Wiskunde en Informatica PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen op gezag van de rector magnificus prof. mr. S.C.J.J. Kortmann, volgens besluit van het College van Decanen in het openbaar te verdedigen op 7 januari 2010 om 13.30 uur precies door Christiaan Johan Marie Heunen geboren op 21 maart 1982 te Nijmegen Promotores: prof. dr. B.P.F. Jacobs prof. dr. N.P.L. Landsman Doctoral thesis committee: prof. dr. S. Abramsky University of Oxford prof. dr. M. Gehrke Radboud University Nijmegen prof. dr. P.T. Johnstone University of Cambridge prof. dr. I. Moerdijk Utrecht University dr. M. Muger¨ Radboud University Nijmegen Preface I cannot allow this thesis to be published without thanking those without whom it could not have been. First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to my promotores. Bart Jacobs, ever cheerful, enthusiastic and ready to explain, taught me the importance of “think- ing with one’s fingers”. From Klaas Landsman I learned the value of “social science”, i.e. how rigorous research can be jump-started by opinions of experts on vague ideas. I am very glad to have had the opportunity to work with such amicable supervisors, and can only hope that their invaluable guidance is re- flected in this thesis. I am also honoured by the effort that the members of the doctoral committee put into reading my work. Especially Peter Johnstone, whose remarks were spot on and reveal a very careful reading, saved me from eternal shame, for which I thank him heartily. In addition to my supervisors, I am indebted to my other co-authors Bas Spit- ters, Ichiro Hasuo, Ana Sokolova and Martijn Caspers for sharing their insight. Especially Bas came up with incomprehensibly many ideas to work out. Fur- thermore, my colleagues in the research community always made me feel very welcome, not only during all those conferences and workshops. In particular, I enjoyed the encouragement, constructive criticisms and advice by John Hard- ing, Isar Stubbe, Jamie Vicary, and Steve Vickers. In the same spirit, I thank Bob Coecke, Marcelo Fiore and Ichiro Hasuo for inviting me on research visits to Oxford, Cambridge and Kyoto, respectively, during which I learned a great deal. Closer to home, I am grateful to all my colleagues at the mathematics depart- ment, who were always ready to answer my probably blatantly obvious ques- tions. The digital security group provided a much appreciated lively atmosphere, despite my research topic not quite fitting in seamlessly. This homely feeling is largely due to Miguel Andres, Łukasz Chmielewski, Flavio Garcia, Ichiro Hasuo, Ron van Kesteren, Gerhard de Koning Gans, Ken Madlener, Peter van Rossum, Ana Sokolova, and Alejandro Tamalet, with all of whom I shared an office over the years. To be fair, it was not only tea and table football: there were certainly also research discussions and reading groups, especially with Ana, Ichiro and v Peter, which I very much appreciated. Lastly, Wojciech Mostowski was always ready to share his intimate knowledge of TEX when mine wasn’t deep enough. The support I enjoyed from outside academia was perhaps just as important, and I would like to thank all my friends for their companionship over the last years, including the (Roman) dinners, movie nights, sailing weekends, snow- boarding trips, and general amusement. Łukasz and Ron in addition accepted the task of being my paranymphs. There are too many more friends to list here, but in particular, the members of karate clubs NSKV Dojo and Shu Ken Ma Shi should be mentioned, as the countless training hours with them provided a lot of fun and relief. Let me conclude with some words of gratitude to my family (in-law) for their care in my development; especially to my brothers, for keeping my feet on the ground, and to my parents, for always being there to help, even with the most practical of things. Finally, and most of all, I thank Lotte, for so much more than can be mentioned here. Utrecht, August 2009 Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Tensors and biproducts 11 2.1 Examples . 11 2.2 Tensor products and monoids . 14 2.3 Biproducts . 22 2.4 Scalars . 29 2.5 Modules over rigs . 34 2.6 Compact objects . 41 3 Dagger categories 47 3.1 Examples . 47 3.2 Dagger structures . 56 3.3 Quantum key distribution . 66 3.4 Factorisation . 70 3.5 Hilbert modules . 80 3.6 Scalars revisited . 86 3.7 Hilbert categories . 90 4 Dagger kernel logic 99 4.1 Subobjects . 99 4.2 Orthogonality . 106 4.3 Orthomodularity . 111 4.4 Quantifiers . 117 4.5 Booleanness . 127 4.6 Subobject classifiers . 133 5 Bohrification 141 5.1 Locales and toposes . 141 5.2 C*-algebras . 150 vii 5.3 Bohrification . 156 5.4 Projections . 163 5.5 States and observables . 172 Bibliography 181 Index of categories 195 Index of notation 197 Index of subjects 199 Samenvatting 203 viii Chapter 1 Introduction Quantum theory is the best description of nature at very small scales to date. Its principal new features compared to classical physics are superposition of states, noncommutativity of observables, and entanglement. Although strange and coun- terintuitive at first, such features can be exploited once recognised. Entangle- ment, for example, was discovered and regarded as a paradox by Einstein, Podol- sky and Rosen in 1935 [79], but nowadays it is mainly seen as a resource to be used. For example, entanglement enables key distribution protocols, providing each of the participating parties with a string of bits that is guaranteed to be known to them only. Even more so, quantum computers employ entanglement to solve certain problems essentially faster than a classical computer can [173]. To achieve their full potential, such new applications have to come with mathematical proofs. Nobody will use a quantum computer for serious tasks if the programmer cannot vouch for the correctness of the program, and the very attractiveness of quantum key distribution for secret communication lies in the guarantee that there can be no eavesdroppers. Because human intuition is unreliable in the quantum world, a mathematically rigorous way to reason about quantum situations is called for. In other words, we need a logic for quantum physics, and that is what this thesis investigates. Counterintuitive features of quantum physics To illustrate the counterintuitive features of quantum physics, let us first explain the general form of any physical theory. An isolated object is described by the set of states in which it can be, and its empirical properties are modeled by a set of observables, so that a state and an observable can be combined into a real value, modeling the outcome of the act of observation, i.e. measurement. Often, we are not sure about the exact state of an object. Therefore we allow convex combina- 1 Chapter 1. Introduction tions of states. Observation (the pairing of a state with an observable) then only results in a given value with a certain probability. The states about which we have perfect knowledge, i.e. which cannot be written as convex combinations of other states, are called pure states. Finally, there is some way to combine the state spaces of component objects into the state space for a compound object. The above scheme finds a natural home in classical physics, where the pure states of an object form a set X. It might come with a topology or some geo- metric structure, but in principle X is just a set. Observables are functions f : X ! R, such as speed. Observation of an object in a pure state x 2 X results in a sharp observed value f(x). Elementary propositions, like “the ob- ject’s speed is between 10 and 20 m/s”, are dictated to be true in a pure state x, if and only if f(x) 2 (10; 20), i.e. if and only if x 2 f −1(10; 20). The state of a compound object completely determines the states of its component objects: if X and Y are the state spaces of the component objects, then X × Y is the state space of the compound object. The traditional formulation of quantum physics, which is due to John von Neumann [213], also fits the above scheme. The state space of a quantum sys- tem has the structure of a Hilbert space X. That is, X comes with an inner product hx j x0i that signifies the probability amplitude of a transition from state x to state x0. Pure states are unit vectors. Observables are self-adjoint opera- tors f : X ! X. By the spectral theorem, which generalises diagonalisation of matrices, every such operator f corresponds uniquely to a family of (so-called projection) operators e∆ : X ! X for every interval ∆ ⊆ R. In contrast to classi- cal physics, even observation of an object in a pure state only gives probabilistic results.
Recommended publications
  • Samson Abramsky and Bob Coecke. an Integrated Diagrammatic Universe for Knowledge, Language and Artificial Reasoning. John
    An integrated diagrammatic universe for knowledge, language and artificial reasoning Samson Abramsky and Bob Coecke October 5, 2015 Introduction In many different areas of scientific investigation, purely diagrammatic expressions have begun to be used as mathematical substitutes for the traditional symbolic expressions. These new languages reflect clear operational concepts such as ‘systems’ and ‘processes’, and ‘wires’ are used to represent information flow. Composition is built-in, as the act of connecting wires together. These diagrams are more intuitive, and easier to manipulate, than conventional symbolic models of reasoning. Examples of areas in which these techniques are being used include logic, for the study of propositions and deductions [43]; physics, for the study of space and spacetime [8, 32]; linguistics, to model the interaction of words within a sentence [21]; knowledge, to represent information and belief revision [22]; and computation, for the study of data and computer programs [1, 10]. These diagrams have been provided with a rigorous underpinning using category theory, a powerful branch of mathematics which relates these the diagrammatic theories to algebraic structures. More deeply, this approach can also be applied to the study of diagrammatic theories themselves [12, 33]. As such, it is its own ‘metatheory’. One major goal of the project will be to understand to what extent this can serve as a foundation for mathematics itself, as a replacement for set theory. To work towards this, one goal will be to understand how various mathematical structures can be defined from this perspective, a rich line of enquiry for which some answers are already known, but much more is left to still be discovered.
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT PHYSICAL TRACES 1. Introduction
    Theory and Applications of Categories, Vol. 14, No. 6, 2005, pp. 111–124. ABSTRACT PHYSICAL TRACES SAMSON ABRAMSKY AND BOB COECKE Abstract. We revise our ‘Physical Traces’ paper [Abramsky and Coecke CTCS‘02] in the light of the results in [Abramsky and Coecke LiCS‘04]. The key fact is that the notion of a strongly compact closed category allows abstract notions of adjoint, bipartite projector and inner product to be defined, and their key properties to be proved. In this paper we improve on the definition of strong compact closure as compared to the one presented in [Abramsky and Coecke LiCS‘04]. This modification enables an elegant characterization of strong compact closure in terms of adjoints and a Yanking axiom, and a better treatment of bipartite projectors. 1. Introduction In [Abramsky and Coecke CTCS‘02] we showed that vector space projectors P:V ⊗ W → V ⊗ W which have a one-dimensional subspace of V ⊗ W as fixed-points, suffice to implement any linear map, and also the categorical trace [Joyal, Street and Verity 1996] of the category (FdVecK, ⊗) of finite-dimensional vector spaces and linear maps over a base field K. The interest of this is that projectors of this kind arise naturally in quantum mechanics (for K = C), and play a key role in information protocols such as quantum teleportation [Bennett et al. 1993] and entanglement swapping [Zukowski˙ et al. 1993], and also in measurement-based schemes for quantum computation. We showed how both the category (FdHilb, ⊗) of finite-dimensional complex Hilbert spaces and linear maps, and the category (Rel, ×) of relations with the cartesian product as tensor, can be physically realized in this sense.
    [Show full text]
  • Scientific Curriculum Vitae of Bob Coecke
    Scientific Curriculum Vitae of Bob Coecke ID: Belgian - Born 23|07|1968 in Willebroek 1 Speech: Dutch/Flemish (mother tongue) - French (fluent) - English (fluent) Dynamic info: http://se10.comlab.ox.ac.uk:8080/BobCoecke/Home en.html Contact details: [email protected] - +44|(0)1865|27.38.67 (office) - +44|(0)785|529.81.83 (mobile) Present appointment: Oxford University Computing Laboratory, Parks Road, OX1 3QD Oxford, UK. RESEARCH FIELD • Fundamentals of Physics, Logic and Computation • Quantum Information and Computation (structures and applications) • Ordered (algebraic/toplogical) Structures, Probability Theory and Category Theory RESEARCH EXPERIENCE SYLLABUS • Quantum Entanglement, Quantum Computing, Quantum Probability, Quantum Information Theory; • Proof and Type Theory, Sequent Calculus, Type Theory, Categorical logic, Linear Logic, Dynamic Logic, Modal Logic, Intuitionistic Logic, Epistemic Logic, Quantum Logic; • Information Content and Entropy, Information-flow, Information Update in Multi-Agent Systems; • Lattices, Domains, Measure Theory, (multi-)Linear Algebra, Quantales, Enriched Categories, Traced and Closed Monoidal Categories, Bicategories. STUDIES at the Free University of Brussels • 1st & 2nd Kan. Polytechnics (Architecture - Engineering) July 1987/88 - High Distinction. • 1st & 2nd Kan. Mathematics (Pure Mathematics) July 1990 - the Highest Distinction. • 1st & 2nd Kan. Physics (Theoretical Physics) July 1990 - the Highest Distinction. • 1st & 2nd Lic. Physics (Theoretical Physics) July 1991/92 - the Highest Distinction.
    [Show full text]
  • Why the Quantum
    Deep Beauty: Mathematical Innovation and the Search for an Underlying Intelligibility of the Quantum World A Symposium and Book Publication Program Sponsored by Princeton University’s Department of Philosophy Supported by a Grant from the John Templeton Foundation Celebrating the Life and Legacy of John von Neumann and the 75th Anniversary of the Publication of His Classic Text: The Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics* Symposium: October 3 – October 4, 2007 Princeton, New Jersey _______________________ Revised 09-11-07, PContractor ________________ * von Neumann, Johann. Mathematische grundlagen der quantenmechanik. Berlin: J. Springer, 1932. Deep Beauty:Mathematical Innovation and the Search for an Underlying Intelligibility of the Quantum World John von Neumann,1903-1957 Courtesy of the Archives of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton)* The following photos are copyrighted by the Institute for Advanced Study, and they were photographed by Alan Richards unless otherwise specified. For copyright information, visit http://admin.ias.edu/hslib/archives.htm. *[ED. NOTE: ELLIPSIS WILL WRITE FOR PERMISSION IF PHOTO IS USED; SEE http://www.physics.umd.edu/robot/neumann.html] Page 2 of 14 Deep Beauty:Mathematical Innovation and the Search for an Underlying Intelligibility of the Quantum World Project Overview and Background DEEP BEAUTY: Mathematical Innovation and the Search for an Underlying Intelligibility of the Quantum World celebrates the life and legacy of the scientific and mathematical polymath John Von Neumann 50 years after his death and 75 years following the publication of his renowned, path- breaking classic text, The Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics.* The program, supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, consists of (1) a two-day symposium sponsored by the Department of Philosophy at Princeton University to be held in Princeton October 3–4, 2007 and (2) a subsequent research volume to be published by a major academic press.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae
    Curriculum Vitae Prakash Panangaden 26th January 2021 Personal Born 11 March 1954 in Pun´e,India. Citizen of Canada and the USA Education • M.S. in Computer Science, University of Utah, August 1985. Research Area: Semantics of Nondeterminism. Thesis adviser: Robert M. Keller. • Ph.D. in Physics, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Summer 1980. Research Area: Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime. Thesis adviser: Leonard Parker. • M.S. in Physics, University of Chicago, Spring 1978. Research Area: Radiation from Black Holes. Adviser: Robert M. Wald. • M.Sc. in Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Spring 1975. Experience Positions Held • Dec 1996 - present : Professor, School of Computer Science, McGill University. • July 1990 - Nov 1996: Associate Professor, School of Computer Science, McGill Uni- versity. • Jan 1990 - June 1990: Associate Professor, Department of Computing and Information Science, Queen's University. • Aug 1985 - Dec 1989: Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, Cornell University. 1 • Jan 1985 to July 1985: Research Associate, Department of Computer Science, Cornell University. • 1983-1984: Instructor, Department of Computer Science, University of Utah. • Jan-June 1983: Associate Instructor, Department of Computer Science, University of Utah. • 1980-1982: Research Associate, Department of Physics, University of Utah. Other Positions 1. May 2018 to June 2018: Visiting Fellow, The Alan Turing Institute, London, U.K. 2. Jan 2018 to Feb 2018: Distinguished Visiting Professor, Fondation Sciences Math´ematiques de Paris. 3. Jan 2012 to Dec 2014: Honorary Professor, University of Edinburgh. 4. July 2011: SICSA Distinguished Fellow, University of Edinburgh. 5. Sept 2010 to Aug 2011: EPSRC Visiting Fellow, Department of Computer Science, Oxford University.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards Quantum Field Theory in Categorical Quantum Mechanics
    Towards Quantum Field Theory in Categorical Quantum Mechanics Stefano Gogioso Fabrizio Genovese University of Oxford University of Oxford [email protected] [email protected] In this work, we use tools from non-standard analysis to introduce infinite-dimensional quantum systems and quantum fields within the framework of Categorical Quantum Mechanics. We define a dagger compact category ∗ Hilb suitable for the algebraic manipulation of unbounded operators, Dirac deltas and plane-waves. We cover in detail the construction of quantum systems for particles in boxes with periodic boundary conditions, particles on cubic lattices, and particles in real space. Not quite satisfied with this, we show how certain non-separable Hilbert spaces can also be modelled in our non-standard framework, and we explicitly treat the cases of quantum fields on cubic lattices and quantum fields in real space. 1 Introduction The rigorous diagrammatic methods of Categorical Quantum Mechanics [1,3,5,6,7,8] have found widely successful application to quantum information, quantum computation and the foundations of quantum theory. Until very recently, however, a major limitation of the framework was its lack of applicability to infinite-dimensional quantum systems, which include many iconic examples from textbook quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Previous work by the authors [11] partially overcame this limitation, using non-standard analysis a` la Robinson [23] to define a dagger compact category ?Hilb of infinite- dimensional separable Hilbert spaces. A non-standard approach was chosen because it enables a consistent mathematical treatment of infinitesimal and infinite quantities, such as those involved in the manipulation of unbounded operators, Dirac deltas, plane waves, and many other gadgets and structures featuring in traditional approaches to quantum mechanics.
    [Show full text]
  • Msc Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science HANDBOOK
    MSc Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science HANDBOOK ISSUED OCTOBER 2014 Handbook for the MSc Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science Mathematical Institute 2014 Contents 1 Sources of Information 5 1.1 The Grey Book . 5 1.2 The Proctors' and Assessor's Memorandum . 5 1.3 Statements of Provision for MFoCS Students . 5 1.4 The Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division Graduate Handbook . 6 2 Useful Contacts 6 3 Finding Your Way Around 7 3.1 The Mathematical Institute . 7 3.1.1 The Andrew Wiles Building . 7 3.2 The Department of Computer Science . 7 3.3 The Lecture List . 7 3.4 Libraries . 8 4 Terminology 9 5 The University and You 10 5.1 Joint Consultative Committee with Graduates . 10 5.2 University Gazette and Oxford Blueprint . 10 5.3 University Club . 10 6 Guidance on Regulations 11 7 Reading Courses 12 8 Presentation of Miniprojects and Dissertations 13 8.1 Miniprojects . 13 8.2 Dissertations . 13 8.2.1 Wording permission for 3rd party material . 14 1 9 Regulations 15 10 Guidance on Examination Conventions 16 11 Role of the Supervisors 19 11.1 \General" supervisor . 19 11.2 \Dissertation" supervisor . 20 12 COURSES OFFERED IN 2014/2015 21 13 SECTION A: MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS 23 13.1 Schedule I . 23 13.2 Algebraic Number Theory | Prof. Flynn | 16 HT . 23 13.3 Algebraic Topology | Prof. Douglas | 16MT . 25 13.4 Analytic Number Theory |Prof. Heath-Brown|16MT . 25 13.5 Analytic Topology | Dr Suabedissen | 16MT . 27 13.6 Commutative Algebra | Prof. Segal | 16HT .
    [Show full text]
  • Picturing Quantum Processes Bob Coecke , Aleks Kissinger Frontmatter More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-10422-8 — Picturing Quantum Processes Bob Coecke , Aleks Kissinger Frontmatter More Information PICTURING QUANTUM PROCESSES The unique features of the quantum world are explained in this book through the language of diagrams, setting out an innovative visual method for presenting complex theories. Requiring only basic mathematical literacy this book employs a unique formalism that builds an intuitive understanding of quantum features while eliminating the need for com- plex calculations. This entirely diagrammatic presentation of quantum theory represents the culmination of 10 years of research, uniting classical techniques in linear algebra and Hilbert spaces with cutting-edge developments in quantum computation and foundations. Written in an entertaining and user-friendly style and including more than 100 exercises, this book is an ideal first course in quantum theory, foundations, and computation for students from undergraduate to PhD level, as well as an opportunity for researchers from a broad range of fields, from physics to biology, linguistics, and cognitive science, to discover a new set of tools for studying processes and interaction. bob coecke is Professor of Quantum Foundations, Logic and Structures at Oxford University, where he also heads the multidisciplinary Quantum Group. His pioneering research stretches from categorical quantum mechanics to the compositional structure of natural language meaning, and recent interests include causality and cognitive architecture. aleks kissinger is
    [Show full text]
  • Categorical Quantum Mechanics
    CATEGORICAL QUANTUM MECHANICS Samson Abramsky and Bob Coecke 1 INTRODUCTION Our aim is to revisit the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics from a novel point of view. The standard axiomatic presentation of quantum mechanics in terms of Hilbert spaces, essentially due to von Neumann [1932], has provided the mathematical bedrock of the subject for over 70 years. Why, then, might it be worthwhile to revisit it now? First and foremost, the advent of quantum information and computation (QIC) as a major field of study has breathed new life into basic quantum mechanics, asking new kinds of questions and making new demands on the theory, and at the same time reawakening interest in the foundations of quantum mechanics. As one key example, consider the changing perceptions of quantum entanglement and its consequences. The initial realization that this phenomenon, so disturbing from the perspective of classical physics, was implicit in the quantum-mechanical formalism came with the EPR Gedanken-experiment of the 1930’s [Einstein et al., 1935], in the guise of a “paradox”. By the 1960’s, the paradox had become a theorem — Bell’s theorem [Bell, 1964], demonstrating that non-locality was an essential feature of quantum mechanics, and opening entanglement to experimental confirmation. By the 1990’s, entanglement had become a feature, used in quantum teleportation [Bennett et al., 1993], in protocols for quantum key distribution [Ekert, 1991], and, more generally, understood as a computational and informatic resource [Bouwmeester et al., 2001]. 1.1 The Need for High-Level Methods arXiv:0808.1023v1 [quant-ph] 7 Aug 2008 The current tools available for developing quantum algorithms and protocols, and more broadly the whole field of quantum information and computation, are defi- cient in two main respects.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae
    Sean Tull - Curriculum Vitae Personal details • Nationality: British • Date of Birth: 9th November 1990 • Email: [email protected] • Address: Topos Institute, 17 Beaumont Street Oxford, OX1 2LZ. Research interests I am a researcher in applied category theory. I have used categories to study quantum theory and more general theories of physical processes, including: • reconstructions of quantum theory from simple categorical principles (see papers [3, 4, 5] below); • formalisations of operational physical theories [8,9,13,14] and quantum protocols [12]; • categorical models of spatiality and causality [7,10]. I am also interested in pure category theory [6,11]. More recently I am studying categorical approaches to natural language processing, cognition and consciousness [1, 2]. Education Oct. 2014 - DPhil student in Computer Science, St. Catherine's College, University of Oxford. June 2018. Thesis title: Categorical Operational Physics. Supervisors: Bob Coecke (Oxford) and Chris Heunen (Edinburgh). Thesis explores connections between general probabilistic theories and categorical quantum me- chanics. Includes a categorical reconstruction of finite-dimensional quantum theory. Presentations on research given at numerous conferences and workshops. Supported by EPSRC Studentship. Oct. 2009 - MMath and BA in Mathematics, Selwyn College, University of Cambridge. June 2013. First Class in all BA years. Distinction in MMath with 91% marks, placing 11th in year of 226. Final year courses include category theory, computability and logic, quantum foundations. Master's essay on Locally Presentable and Accessible Categories awarded distinction level. BA courses include quantum mechanics, general relativity and logic and set theory. Sep. 2002 - John Kyrle High School, and Hereford Sixth Form College. June 2009. 5 A-Levels including Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics.
    [Show full text]
  • Non-Locality in Categorical Quantum Mechanics
    Non-locality in Categorical Quantum Mechanics William Edwards Wolfson College, Oxford Oxford University Computing Laboratory Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Michaelmas Term 2009 Abstract Interest has grown in recent years in the construction of ‘quantum-like’ theories, toy theories which exhibit some but not all features of quantum mechanics. Such theories are expressed in diverse mathematical terms which may impede comparison of their properties. In this thesis we present a unifying mathematical framework in which we can compare a variety of ‘quantum-like’ theories, based on Abramsky and Coecke’s work on applying category theory to quantum mechanics. By doing so we hope to gain a clearer insight into the precise ways in which these theories differ mathematically, and whether this relates to the differences in phenomena which they predict. As an example of this kind of approach, we express Spekkens’s toy bit theory within the categorical framework, in the process proving its consistency. The toy bit theory reproduces many features of quantum mechanics, and this is reflected in the fact that within the categorical framework it shares many structural features with quantum mechanics. It differs however, in that it is, by construction, a local hidden variable theory. We develop a categorical treatment of hidden variables, and then demonstrate that the categorical structures which differ between quantum mechanics and the toy theory are exactly those which relate to the question of hidden variables. We extend this to a general result applying to a wider range of theories. i ii Acknowledgements I was fortunate to have not one but two excellent supervisors throughout my time at Oxford, Samson Abramsky and Bob Coecke.
    [Show full text]
  • Bob Coecke. Complementary Quantum Observables and Resulting Information Flows in Algorithms and Protocols. Office of Naval
    — Proposal narrative — Complementary quantum observables and resulting information flows in algorithms and protocols: high-level methods & tool development Bob Coecke Oxford University Computing Laboratory Wolfson Building, Parks Road, OX1 3QD Oxford, UK. [email protected] — +447855298183 (cell) — +441865273839 (fax) Institution proposal number: ... BRC topic title: Quantum information sciences and the future of secure computation 1 Contents 1 Statement of work (SOW) 3 2 Background 5 2.1 Context . 5 2.2 Categorical quantum computational semantics . 7 2.3 Basic setup . 8 2.3.1 General theories: -SMCs . 8 2.3.2 Accommodating Bell† states: -compact categories . 10 2.3.3 Quantum versus classical: commutative† special -Frobenius algebras . 11 2.4 Interacting quantum observables . .† . 12 2.4.1 Observables separated by a phase . 12 2.4.2 Complementary observables . 13 2.4.3 Example application: quantum Fourier transform . 13 3 Research program and methodology 14 3.1 Case study: quantum communication and cryptography . 14 3.1.1 Objectives . 16 3.1.2 Milestones . 16 3.2 Normalisation, models, completeness and automation . 16 3.2.1 Objectives . 18 3.2.2 Milestones . 18 3.3 Informatic ordering, C*-algebras and emerging quantities . 19 3.3.1 Objectives . 20 3.3.2 Milestones . 20 3.4 Digest: a high-level and quantitative account of quantum communication and cryptography . 21 3.4.1 Objectives . 21 4 Diagrammatic workplan 21 5 Management approach 21 5.1 Research track of the PI . 22 5.2 Host institution . 23 5.3 Research track of the RAs . 23 5.4 Other ongoing research projects of the PI .
    [Show full text]