Categorical Quantum Mechanics
نویسندگان
چکیده
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].
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