A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings

In the framework of ontological models, the inherently nonclassical features of quantum theory always seem to involve properties that are fine tuned, i.e. properties that hold at the operational level but break at the ontological level. Their appearance at the operational level is due to unexplained...

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Main Authors: Lorenzo Catani, Matthew Leifer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Verein zur Förderung des Open Access Publizierens in den Quantenwissenschaften 2023-03-01
Series:Quantum
Online Access:https://quantum-journal.org/papers/q-2023-03-16-948/pdf/
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author Lorenzo Catani
Matthew Leifer
author_facet Lorenzo Catani
Matthew Leifer
author_sort Lorenzo Catani
collection DOAJ
description In the framework of ontological models, the inherently nonclassical features of quantum theory always seem to involve properties that are fine tuned, i.e. properties that hold at the operational level but break at the ontological level. Their appearance at the operational level is due to unexplained special choices of the ontological parameters, which is what we mean by a fine tuning. Famous examples of such features are contextuality and nonlocality. In this article, we develop a theory-independent mathematical framework for characterizing operational fine tunings. These are distinct from causal fine tunings – already introduced by Wood and Spekkens in [NJP,17 033002(2015)] – as the definition of an operational fine tuning does not involve any assumptions about the underlying causal structure. We show how known examples of operational fine tunings, such as Spekkens' generalized contextuality, violation of parameter independence in Bell experiment, and ontological time asymmetry, fit into our framework. We discuss the possibility of finding new fine tunings and we use the framework to shed new light on the relation between nonlocality and generalized contextuality. Although nonlocality has often been argued to be a form of contextuality, this is only true when nonlocality consists of a violation of parameter independence. We formulate our framework also in the language of category theory using the concept of functors.
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spelling doaj.art-e83d7a61b3634791b6cd4c47c4eaf9ee2023-03-16T15:25:43ZengVerein zur Förderung des Open Access Publizierens in den QuantenwissenschaftenQuantum2521-327X2023-03-01794810.22331/q-2023-03-16-94810.22331/q-2023-03-16-948A mathematical framework for operational fine tuningsLorenzo CataniMatthew LeiferIn the framework of ontological models, the inherently nonclassical features of quantum theory always seem to involve properties that are fine tuned, i.e. properties that hold at the operational level but break at the ontological level. Their appearance at the operational level is due to unexplained special choices of the ontological parameters, which is what we mean by a fine tuning. Famous examples of such features are contextuality and nonlocality. In this article, we develop a theory-independent mathematical framework for characterizing operational fine tunings. These are distinct from causal fine tunings – already introduced by Wood and Spekkens in [NJP,17 033002(2015)] – as the definition of an operational fine tuning does not involve any assumptions about the underlying causal structure. We show how known examples of operational fine tunings, such as Spekkens' generalized contextuality, violation of parameter independence in Bell experiment, and ontological time asymmetry, fit into our framework. We discuss the possibility of finding new fine tunings and we use the framework to shed new light on the relation between nonlocality and generalized contextuality. Although nonlocality has often been argued to be a form of contextuality, this is only true when nonlocality consists of a violation of parameter independence. We formulate our framework also in the language of category theory using the concept of functors.https://quantum-journal.org/papers/q-2023-03-16-948/pdf/
spellingShingle Lorenzo Catani
Matthew Leifer
A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings
Quantum
title A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings
title_full A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings
title_fullStr A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings
title_full_unstemmed A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings
title_short A mathematical framework for operational fine tunings
title_sort mathematical framework for operational fine tunings
url https://quantum-journal.org/papers/q-2023-03-16-948/pdf/
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