Program of Investigation
Contents
1 Executive Summary of Internon Theory
1.1 Introduction
1.2 General Approach
1.3 Objectives
2 Methodology
3 Current Work
3.1 Theoretical
3.2 Experimental
4 Select Results
4.1 Consciousness
4.2 Free Will
4.3 Relationships between Consciousness and Free Will
4.4 Relationships between Internon Theory and CS
5 Principal Investigator
6 Co-Principal Investigator
1 Executive Summary of Internon Theory
1.1 Introduction
Internon (derived from the Latin Internus) is a new quantum paradigm that we expect will correctly resolve the long-standing wave-particle duality problem or measurement problem.
The most fundamental new tenet of internon theory is the hypothesis that all physical quantum transitions of closed systems can be classified into one of two types:
- Uniton: a quantum transition that evolves according to Schrödinger's equation
- Internon: a quantum transition that does not evolve according to Schrödinger's equation
The terms uniton (derived from the Latin Unus) and internon refer to the quantum evolution of particles (we are not referring to a new particle). An internon possesses certain properties which unitons are not capable of reproducing.
In summary, we form the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1 All physical quantum transitions either are unitons and obey Schrödinger's equation or are internons and do not.
Hypothesis 2 Uniton-uniton interaction obeys Schrödinger's equation .
1.2 General Approach
The measurement problem is a longstanding problem that in our view has yet defied solution. One can hypothesize with reasonable confidence that the solution is not trivial-it most likely cannot be solved in a few steps. Our approach has been to consider the problem in a series of small steps. This divide-and-conquer approach we believe is the best general approach for this problem.
A challenging part of this approach is developing the first few steps correctly. Once a sufficient number of steps are developed and understood, the remaining steps can be more easily hypothesized, developed, and ruled out or verified theoretically and/or experimentally.
The first few steps of the Internon Theory have been developed to directly address the measurement problem itself. The measurement problem is fundamentally a problem only because if the evolution of all particles did obey Schrödinger's equation, then measurements with outcomes that correlate with the Schrödinger wave equation cannot occur. However, as it is clear that results of measurements that are well correlated with Schrödinger's equation are most definitely occurring, we can form a hypothesis that there exist particles that do not obey Schrödinger's equation. On the other hand, there is ample evidence from experiments that many particles either completely obey Schrödinger's equation, or nearly obey it.
In developing our theory, we are endeavoring to use scientific methodology whereby hypotheses are formed and analyzed. Analysis currently is in the form of theoretical analysis. Hypotheses of the physical laws that govern internons and how internons couple to unitons are being investigated.
A crucial part of any scientific methodology is verification of phenomenon predicted by a new theory. We believe new predictions should be experimentally tested in order to verify or refute internon theory.
1.3 Objectives
The major objectives of our investigation of internon theory are twofold:
- Develop hypotheses that describe the physical laws that govern internons and how internons couple to unitons.
- Hypotheses are being formulated theoretically and analyzed via quantities that are expected to be conserved.
- Formulate, analyze, and conduct experiments that provide different results for internon theory versus Schrödinger evolution
- Experimental evidence is compared with theoretical predictions in order to verify or refute internon theory.
2 Methodology
The methodology being employed throughout the initial investigation is to determine the fundamental laws of nature that govern internons. The importance of knowing the fundamental laws is that these impose restrictions on the evolution of internons, the determination of physical quantum transitions as defined in Hypotheses (1), (2), and the range of possible internon-uniton interactions. The more restrictions that are known, the easier it becomes to determine the detailed theory that governs internons. If one assumes that internons do indeed exist, then one would expect that the fundamental laws are also obeyed by internons. We therefore form the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3 Internons obey the following laws:
- Conservation of energy
Energy is always conserved during Schrödinger evolution by unitons. We expect energy must also be conserved by internons and during internon-uniton interaction. This limits the types of interactions and transitions that can exist between internons and unitons. - Conservation of momentum
Momentum is always conserved during Schrödinger evolution by unitons. Momentum likewise is also assumed to be conserved by internons and during internon-uniton interaction. - Gauge invariant measurement results
The observable associated with an internon measurement cannot have eigenvalues that are a function of the particular gauge. - Invariance of fundamental laws with time and space (Noether-like theorems)
Noether theorems are very important in that they have been shown to impose significant restrictions in classical theory. The same type of restriction is possible in quantum theory as it appears reasonable to assume that the fundamental laws do not vary when translated either in time or in space. - No-signaling
No-signaling demands that we cannot build a device that will send information-a stream of 1's and 0's that enter the device, faster than the speed-of-light. Many also refer to this as causality. However, causality and no-signaling are two different subjects and we prefer not to use the term causality when referring to no-signaling. - No-cloning
No-cloning refers to the impossibility of building a device that can produce two identical copies of an unknown quantum state. No-cloning not only applies to unitary evolution, but we assume also to internon evolution. No-cloning is closely related to no-signaling. - No-perpetual work
No-perpetual work refers to the impossibility of building a device that can perform perpetual work on its surroundings. Such an impossibility is related to the requirement of non-decreasing entropy.
One might expect that with such a substantial list of restrictive laws, that the laws of Nature would follow rather simply. Unfortunately, it does not appear to be that simple.
3 Current Work
The internon program can be divided largely between theoretical and experimental work.
3.1 Theoretical
The theoretical internon program currently centers around attempting to understand the fundamental laws that govern internons and unitons in their evolution. Although new non-classical physics such as consciousness/free will emerges from internon theory, it appears that substantial classical physics also emerges. Currently we are largely investigating the emergence of classical physics, and the relativistic and field theory versions of the Internon. We would like to expand our work substantially in these and other areas and are interested in collaborating with individuals with sufficient background in quantum information and the foundations of quantum mechanics.
Although consciousness and free will are interesting and important subjects and we feel we have made substantial progress already in these areas, they are rather advanced subjects and the remaining problems are not trivial. We would like to expand our work in the future in these directions, with both physicists and philosophers.
3.2 Experimental
Experimentally we would like to initially conduct experiments that either confirm or refute internon theory. Perhaps the most significant experiment that can be conducted will be to identify (or not if our hypotheses are found to be wrong) the first internon. This requires internon theory to identify the signatures of an internon in order to discern an internon from a uniton. We are interested in collaborating with experimental physicists and groups in these areas who have sufficient background in performing experiments both in quantum-optics and at the nano and meso scales.
4 Select Results
Although we have made considerable progress in incorporating the laws of Section 2 to establish the foundations of internon theory, in this Section we will present several important hypotheses of our theory in the intriguing but more advanced topics of consciousness and free will.
4.1 Consciousness
Hypothesis 4 Conscious systems (CS) do not evolve into a physical superposition of two distinct conscious states.
We cannot prove this rigorously at this time, as it appears theoretically possible that there could exist simultaneously two physical entities composing the same individual but with different conscious states upon interacting with a single quantum such as a photon in a superposition. However our own experience indicates a single conscious experience is occurring and would therefore question the supposition of the superposition of conscious states. One could argue that nonetheless there are always conscious replicas of us simultaneously existing with different experiences, and some other non-conscious mechanism ultimately reduces these to a single CS with a seemingly single conscious experience. Perhaps this is theoretically possible but for now we will assume otherwise and see where it leads.
4.2 Free Will
Free will is a fascinating subject. The physics of free will is currently not understood whatsoever. The definition of the term `free will' is also not so clear, and as the Wikipedia definition is rather hard to follow and is about ten pages long, we will endeavor to define it ourselves.
Definition 1 A closed system that exhibits free will is a physical system that exhibits strong non-determinism.
Strong non-determinism is a type of non-deterministic evolution.
4.3 Relationships between Consciousness and Free Will
Do all conscious systems exhibit free will? Are all closed systems that have free will also conscious? It would seem based solely on our experience that it is a reasonable hypothesis that all systems that have free will are also conscious.
Hypothesis 5 All systems that have free will are conscious
What about whether or not there are CS that do not have free will?
4.4 Relationships between Internon Theory and CS
Hypothesis 6 Under Hypotheses (1),(2) and Hypothesis (4), all conscious systems are internons.
Rationale: Assume the CS is in the right arm of an interferometer, and a uniton enters the interferometer in a superposition of left and right arms. If CS were unitons, then they must evolve into a superposition by Hypothesis (2) when the part of the uniton in the right arm impinges on the CS. Either the CS directly interacts with the uniton or there is an initial nonconscious detector that measures the uniton before the CS interacts with the uniton. If the CS directly interacts with the uniton, then the interaction cannot be unitary if one assumes Hypothesis (4) and hence is not a uniton but an internon by Hypothesis (1) and we are done. Therefore assume the uniton interacts with an initial detector. This would collapse the uniton but one could theoretically circumvent the initial detector and produce a new uniton that is composed of a superposition signal of right and left arms. We set the term representing the right arm of the uniton to be the same as the output of the initial detector, so that the uniton is now closer to the CS, but remains in a superposition of left and right arms. In this manner, one can arbitrarily approach the CS until finally one has to conclude that the CS itself measures the uniton because of Hypothesis (4), and hence is not a uniton but an internon under Hypothesis (1).
Note however that Hypothesis (6) nonetheless is only a hypothesis at this time and ultimately would need to be verified or refuted by experiment and/or additional theory.
5 Principal Investigator
Dr. Michael Steiner
Dr. Steiner received his BSEE (1986) Drexel University, MSEE (1988) and Ph.D. (1994) from the University Of Maryland, College Park. His advanced degrees are in Information Theory. As part of his Ph.D. degree he resolved the long-standing strong simplex conjecture of information theory. As well, he developed the first constructive good code that can reach the capacity of Gaussian noise channels which are typical communication channels of interest. Prior to that, it was only known how to construct explicit good codes on a subclass of discrete channels. Dr. Steiner contributes in the areas of Quantum Information including the theory of entanglement and non-locality. He showed that only a finite amount of information was needed to account for non-local correlations predicted by Bell's inequality and extended the theory of the robustness of entanglement. His current research is in the area of Foundations of Quantum Mechanics specifically on the measurement problem. During 2005-2007, Dr. Steiner was a member of Prof. Aharonov's Center for Quantum Studies where he conducted fundamental quantum mechanics research. In 2006 Dr. Steiner was a founding member of Inspire Institute, and is currently on the board of directors. During 2008-2010 Dr. Steiner was a member of the Chapman University Institute for Quantum Studies in the area of fundamental quantum mechanics.
6 Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Ronald Rendell
Dr. Rendell received a Ph.D. in physics (1980) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has worked on theory in research projects in the areas of relaxations and transport in complex material systems, the physics of plasmonics in nanostructures and metamaterials, and quantum decoherence, entanglement and quantum correlations in the area of quantum information. In his Ph.D. work, Dr. Rendell originated the concept of the localized surface plasmon and identified the first experimental observation of these excitations. He later developed theory and modeling of plasmo-photonic nanostructured arrays and protein-based plasmonic nanostructures. Dr. Rendell developed theory and modeling on relaxation in complex systems (such as polymers, glasses, and electronic materials) which exhibit time-dependent phenomena related to many-body correlations in the materials, that has been successful in understanding a vast range of relaxation experiments. Dr. Rendell developed theory in the areas of quantum information including decoherence, entanglement and quantum correlations for projects involving quantum dots, cold atoms and slow light. His current research is in the area of Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, specifically on the measurement problem. During 2006-2007, Dr. Rendell was a member of Prof. Aharonov's Center for Quantum Studies where he conducted fundamental quantum mechanics research. In 2006 Dr. Rendell was a founding member of Inspire Institute, and is currently on the board of directors
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