scholarly journals Quantum mechanics as a generalized probability theory

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Icefield
Keyword(s):  
Probability Theory ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum Probability ◽  
Classical Probability ◽  
Classical Probability Theory ◽  
Principle Of Maximum Entropy ◽  
Principle Of Indifference ◽  
Reconstruction Project ◽  
Principle Of Maximum ◽  
Generalized Probability

When quantum mechanics is understood as a new generalized theory of probability - to be called the quantum probability theory - mysteries and controversies regarding quantum mechanics are dissolved. In the classical probability theory, that a measurement of some system requires an additional measurement apparatus is of insignificant importance - in the quantum probability theory, this comes to change. For one central single reason around a particular classical probability equation, the generalized probability view has not gained much traction, despite the fact that this essentially echoes (and provides logical underpinnings of) the conventional wisdom that `quantum mechanics just works as it is.' A classical probability axiom is just an initial intuition - there is no reason why we have to dogmatically cling onto axioms that can clearly be generalized. Issues with the principle of indifference in the classical probability theory are emphasized, along with the quantum reconstruction project of deriving quantum mechanics from epistemic requirements and potential quantum gravity consequences from the principle of maximum entropy.

scholarly journals Probabilistic frames for non-Boolean phenomena

2016 ◽  
Vol 374 (2058) ◽  
pp. 20150102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Narens
Keyword(s):  
Probability Theory ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum Probability ◽  
Classical Probability ◽  
Classical Probability Theory ◽  
Foundations Of Probability ◽  
Quantifying Uncertainty ◽  
Behavioural Sciences ◽  
Generalized Probability ◽  
Provided Examples

Classical probability theory, as axiomatized in 1933 by Andrey Kolmogorov, has provided a useful and almost universally accepted theory for describing and quantifying uncertainty in scientific applications outside quantum mechanics. Recently, cognitive psychologists and mathematical economists have provided examples where classical probability theory appears inadequate but the probability theory underlying quantum mechanics appears effective. Formally, quantum probability theory is a generalization of classical probability. This article explores relationships between generalized probability theories, in particular quantum-like probability theories and those that do not have full complementation operators (e.g. event spaces based on intuitionistic logic), and discusses how these generalizations bear on important issues in the foundations of probability and the development of non-classical probability theories for the behavioural sciences.

scholarly journals A search for a stochastic archetype of quantum probability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim C Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Probability Theory ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Probability Density ◽  
Random Variables ◽  
Quantum Probability ◽  
Interference Term ◽  
Mathematical Foundation ◽  
Classical Probability ◽  
Quantum Process ◽  
Probability Densities

Abstract Superposed wavefunctions in quantum mechanics lead to a squared amplitude that introduces interference into a probability density, which has long been a puzzle because interference between probability densities exists nowhere else in probability theory. In recent years Man’ko and co-authors have successfully reconciled quantum and classical probability using a symplectic tomographic model. Nevertheless, there remains an unexplained coincidence in quantum mechanics, namely that mathematically the interference term in the squared amplitude of superposed wavefunctions has the form of a variance of a sum of correlated random variables and we examine whether there could be an archetypical variable behind quantum probability that provides a mathematical foundation that observes both quantum and classical probability directly. The properties that would need to be satisfied for this to be the case are identified, and a generic variable that satisfies them is found that would be present everywhere, transforming into a process-specific variable wherever a quantum process is active. This hidden generic variable appears to be such an archetype.

Uncertainty about the value of quantum probability for cognitive modeling

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Behme
Keyword(s):  
Probability Theory ◽  
Cognitive Modeling ◽  
Quantum Probability ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
Logical Possibility ◽  
Classical Probability ◽  
Classical Probability Theory ◽  
Human Rationality

AbstractI argue that the overly simplistic scenarios discussed by Pothos & Busemeyer (P&B) establish at best that quantum probability theory (QPT) is a logical possibility allowing distinct predictions from classical probability theory (CPT). The article fails, however, to provide convincing evidence for the proposal that QPT offers unique insights regarding cognition and the nature of human rationality.

scholarly journals A search for a stochastic archetype of quantum probability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim C Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Probability Theory ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Probability Density ◽  
Random Variables ◽  
Quantum Probability ◽  
Interference Term ◽  
Mathematical Foundation ◽  
Classical Probability ◽  
Quantum Process ◽  
Probability Densities

Abstract Superposed wavefunctions in quantum mechanics lead to a squared amplitude that introduces interference into a probability density, which has long been a puzzle because interference between probability densities exists nowhere else in probability theory. In recent years, Man’ko and coauthors have successfully reconciled quantum and classical probability using a symplectic tomographic model. Nevertheless, there remains an unexplained coincidence in quantum mechanics, namely, that mathematically, the interference term in the squared amplitude of superposed wavefunctions has the form of a variance of a sum of correlated random variables, and we examine whether there could be an archetypical variable behind quantum probability that provides a mathematical foundation that observes both quantum and classical probability directly. The properties that would need to be satisfied for this to be the case are identified, and a generic variable that satisfies them is found that would be present everywhere, transforming into a process-specific variable wherever a quantum process is active. This hidden generic variable appears to be such an archetype.

scholarly journals Quantum Metrics for Continuous Shape Measures of Molecules

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Tchougreeff
Keyword(s):  
Probability Theory ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Numerical Algorithms ◽  
Computer Code ◽  
Molecular Shape ◽  
Continuous Symmetry ◽  
Classical Probability ◽  
Classical Probability Theory ◽  
Vertex Set

The field of continuous molecular shape and symmetry (dis)similarity quantifiers habitually called measures (specifically continuous shape measures - CShM or continuous symmetry measures - CSM) is obfuscated by the combinatorial numerical algorithms used in the field which restricts the applicability to the molecules containing up to twenty equivalent atoms. In the present paper we analyze this problem using various tools of classical probability theory as well as of one-particle and many-particle quantum mechanics. Applying these allows us to lift the combinatorial restriction and to identify the adequate renumbering of atoms (vertices) without considering all N! permutations of an N-vertex set so that in the end purely geometric molecular shape (dis)similarity quantifier can be defined. Developed methods can be easily implemented in the relevant computer code.<br>

scholarly journals Perspectives on Correctness in Probabilistic Inference from Psychology

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel M. Pothos ◽  
Irina Basieva ◽  
Andrei Khrennikov ◽  
James M. Yearsley
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Theory ◽  
Probability Theory ◽  
Probabilistic Inference ◽  
Quantum Probability ◽  
Conjunction Fallacy ◽  
Selection Task ◽  
Classical Probability ◽  
Wason Selection Task ◽  
Classical Probability Theory

Abstract Research into decision making has enabled us to appreciate that the notion of correctness is multifaceted. Different normative framework for correctness can lead to different insights about correct behavior. We illustrate the shifts for correctness insights with two tasks, the Wason selection task and the conjunction fallacy task; these tasks have had key roles in the development of logical reasoning and decision making research respectively. The Wason selection task arguably has played an important part in the transition from understanding correctness using classical logic to classical probability theory (and information theory). The conjunction fallacy has enabled a similar shift from baseline classical probability theory to quantum probability. The focus of this overview is the latter, as it represents a novel way for understanding probabilistic inference in psychology. We conclude with some of the current challenges concerning the application of quantum probability theory in psychology in general and specifically for the problem of understanding correctness in decision making.

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