The universal path integral
Name
11128_2015_1178_ReferencePDF.pdf
Size
86.5 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
df109f38ad81ecb8c1d8d4352e85e3d1
Author(s)
Lloyd, Seth
Dreyer, Olaf
Date Issued
December 2015
Journal
Quantum Information Processing
Publisher
Springer US
Citation
Lloyd, Seth, and Olaf Dreyer. “The Universal Path Integral.” Quantum Information Processing 15, no. 2 (December 10, 2015): 959–967.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Path integrals calculate probabilities by summing over classical configurations of variables such as fields, assigning each configuration a phase equal to the action of that configuration. This paper defines a universal path integral, which sums over all computable structures. This path integral contains as sub-integrals all possible computable path integrals, including those of field theory, the standard model of elementary particles, discrete models of quantum gravity, string theory, etc. The universal path integral possesses a well-defined measure that guarantees its finiteness. The probabilities for events corresponding to sub-integrals can be calculated using the method of decoherent histories. The universal path integral supports a quantum theory of the universe in which the world that we see around us arises out of the interference between all computable structures.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11128-015-1178-7
