On the thermodynamical cost of some interpretations of quantum theory

Journal article

Recently, Cabello et al. (2016) claim to have proven the existence of an empirically verifiable difference between two broad classes of quantum interpretations. On the basis of three seemingly uncontentious assumptions, (i) the possibility of randomly selected measurements, (ii) the finiteness of a quantum system's memory, and (iii) the validity of Landauer's principle, and further, by applying computational mechanics to quantum processes, the authors arrive at the conclusion that some quantum interpretations (including central realist interpretations) are associated with an excess heat cost and are thereby untenable—or at least—that they can be distinguished empirically from their competitors by measuring the heat produced. Here, we provide an explicit counterexample to this claim and demonstrate that their surprising result can be traced back to a lack of distinction between system and external agent. By drawing the distinction carefully, we show that the resulting heat cost is fully accounted for in the external agent, thereby restoring the tenability of the quantum interpretations in question.

Authors: Prunkl, C; Timpson, C

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics
• Volume: 63
• Pages: 114-122
• Publication date: 2018-01-20
• Acceptance date: 2018-01-10
• DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsb.2018.01.002
• EISSN: 1879-2502
• ISSN: 1355-2198
• Language: English
• Keywords: landauer's principle; computational mechanics; thermodynamics; quantum interpretations