Quantum Theory from First Principles
Cambridge University Press, 1/31/2017
EAN 9781107043428, ISBN10: 1107043425
Hardcover, 400 pages, 25.3 x 19.4 x 2.3 cm
Language: English
Quantum theory is the soul of theoretical physics. It is not just a theory of specific physical systems, but rather a new framework with universal applicability. This book shows how we can reconstruct the theory from six information-theoretical principles, by rebuilding the quantum rules from the bottom up. Step by step, the reader will learn how to master the counterintuitive aspects of the quantum world, and how to efficiently reconstruct quantum information protocols from first principles. Using intuitive graphical notation to represent equations, and with shorter and more efficient derivations, the theory can be understood and assimilated with exceptional ease. Offering a radically new perspective on the field, the book contains an efficient course of quantum theory and quantum information for undergraduates. It is aimed at researchers, professionals, and students in physics, computer science and philosophy, as well as the curious outsider seeking a deeper understanding of the theory.
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
Part I. The Status Quo
2. Quantum theory from Hilbert-spaces
Part II. The Informational Approach
3. The framework
4. The new principles
5. Causal theories
6. Theories with local discriminability
7. The purification principle
Part III. Quantum Information without Hilbert Spaces
8. Encoding information
9. Three no-go theorems
10. Perfectly discriminable states
11. Identifying pure states
12. Diagonalization
Part IV. Quantum Theory from the Principles
13. Conclusive teleportation
14. The qubit
15. Projections
16. The superposition principle
17. Derivation of quantum theory
References
Index.