Topos Theory and Consistent Histories: The Internal Logic of the Set of all Consistent Sets

A major problem in the consistent-histories approach to quantum theory is contending with the potentially large number of consistent sets of history propositions. One possibility is to find a scheme in which a unique set is selected in some way. However, in this paper we consider the alternative approach in which all consistent sets are kept, leading to a type of ‘many world-views’ picture of the quantum theory. It is shown that a natural way of handling this situation is to employ the theory of varying sets (presheafs) on the space B of all Boolean subalgebras of the orthoalgebra UP of history propositions. This approach automatically includes the feature whereby probabilistic predictions are meaningful only in the context of a consistent set of history propositions. More strikingly, it leads to a picture in which the ‘truth values’, or ‘semantic values’ of such contextual predictions are not just two-valued (i.e., true and false) but instead lie in a larger logical algebra—a Heyting algebra—whose structure is determined by the space B of Boolean subalgebras of UP. This topos-theoretic structure thereby gives a coherent mathematical framework in which to understand the internal logic of the many world-views picture that arises naturally in the approach to quantum theory based on the ideas of consistent histories. email: [email protected]