Towards Quantum Integrated Information Theory
Paolo Zanardi, Michael Tomka, Lorenzo Campos Venuti
arXiv Preprint Archive June 4, 2018 via arXiv
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractIntegrated Information Theory (IIT) provides a mathematical measure, Φ (phi), of how much a network's cause/effect structure is integrated—not reducible to separate parts. This work extends IIT to networks of quantum systems, identifying phases ranging from dis-integrated (Φ = 0) to holistic (where log Φ grows extensively with system size) and studying transitions between them.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Quant-ph Quantum-consciousness Integrated-information-theory Quantum-networks Neuroscience-physics |
| Key finding | Proposes that Integrated Information Theory can be extended to quantum networks, revealing phases from dis-integrated to holistic with cross-over transitions between them. |
Abstract
Integrated Information Theory (IIT) has emerged as one of the leading research lines in computational neuroscience to provide a mechanistic and mathematically well-defined description of the neural correlates of consciousness. Integrated Information ($\Phi$) quantifies how much the integrated cause/effect structure of the global neural network fails to be accounted for by any partitioned version of it. The holistic IIT approach is in principle applicable to any information-processing dynamical network regardless of its interpretation in the context of consciousness. In this paper we take the first steps towards a formulation of a general and consistent version of IIT for interacting networks of quantum systems. A variety of different phases, from the dis-integrated ($\Phi=0$) to the holistic one (extensive $\log\Phi$), can be identified and their cross-overs studied.