March 2021

The standard operational probabilistic framework (within which we can formulate Operational Quantum Theory) is time asymmetric. This is clear because the conditions on allowed operations are time asymmetric. It is odd, though, because Schoedinger’s equation is time symmetric and probability theory does not care about time direction. In this work we provide a time symmetric framework for operational theories in general and for Quantum Theory in particular. The clearest expression of the time asymmetry of standard Operational Quantum Theory is that the deterministic effect is unique – meaning there is only one way to ignore the future – while deterministic (i.e normalised) states are not unique. In this paper, this time asymmetry is traced back to a time asymmetric understanding of the most basic elements of an operational theory – namely the operations (or boxes) out of which circuits are built. We modify this allowing operations to have classical incomes as well as classical outcomes on these operations. We establish a time symmetric operational framework for circuits built out of operations. In particular, we demand that the probability associated with a circuit is the same whether we calculate it forwards in time or backwards in time. We do this by imposing various double properties. These are properties wherein a forward in time and a backward in time version of the same property are required. In this paper we provide a new causality condition which we call double causality.

The causal structure of the recent loop quantum gravity black hole collapse model [1] is analysed. As the spacetime is only approximately diffeomorphism invariant up to powers of $hbar$, it is not straight forwardly possible to find global conformally compactified coordinates and to construct the Penrose diagram. Therefore, radial in- and outgoing light rays are studied to extract the causal features and sketch a causal diagram. It was found that the eternal metric [2], which is the vacuum solution of the collapse model, has a causal horizon. However, in the collapsing case light rays travel through matter to causally connect the regions in- and outside the horizon — the causal horizon is not present in the collapsing scenario. It is worked out that this is related to the shock wave and spacetime discontinuity, which allows matter travelling super-luminal along a space-like trajectory from the vacuum point of view, but remaining time-like from the matter perspective. The final causal diagram is a compact patch of a Reissner-Nordstr”om causal diagram. Further, possibilities of a continuous matter collapse with only time-like evolution are studied. It was found that the time-reversed vacuum metric is also a solution of the dynamical equations and a once continuously differentiable matching of the vacuum spacetime across the minimal radius is possible. This allows an everywhere continuous and time-like collapse process at the cost of an infinite extended causal diagram. This solution is part of an infinitely extended eternal black hole solution with a bounce, whose global extension is constructed. Due to the analysis of radial light rays, it is possible to sketch causal diagrams of these spacetimes.

We study the quantization of the corner symmetry algebra of 3d gravity, that is the algebra of observables associated with 1d spatial boundaries. In the continuum field theory, at the classical level, this symmetry algebra is given by the central extension of the Poincar’e loop algebra. At the quantum level, we construct a discrete current algebra based on a quantum symmetry group given by the Drinfeld double $mathcal{D}mathrm{SU}(2)$. Those discrete currents depend on an integer $N$, a discreteness parameter, understood as the number of quanta of geometry on the 1d boundary: low $N$ is the deep quantum regime, while large $N$ should lead back to a continuum picture. We show that this algebra satisfies two fundamental properties. First, it is compatible with the quantum space-time picture given by the Ponzano-Regge state-sum model, which provides discrete path integral amplitudes for 3d quantum gravity. The integer $N$ then counts the flulines attached to the boundary. Second, we analyse the refinement, coarse-graining and fusion processes as $N$ changes, and we show that the $Nrightarrowinfty$ limit is a classical limit where we recover the Poincar’e current algebra. Identifying such a discrete current algebra on quantum boundaries is an important step towards understanding how conformal field theories arise on spatial boundaries in quantized space-times such as in loop quantum gravity.

We build a quantum cellular automaton (QCA) which coincides with 1+1 QED on its known continuum limits. It consists in a circuit of unitary gates driving the evolution of particles on a one dimensional lattice, and having them interact with the gauge field on the links. The particles are massive fermions, and the evolution is exactly U(1) gauge-invariant. We show that, in the continuous-time discrete-space limit, the QCA converges to the Kogut-Susskind staggered version of 1+1 QED. We also show that, in the continuous spacetime limit and in the free one particle sector, it converges to the Dirac equation, a strong indication that the model remains accurate in the relativistic regime.

We show that, by utilising temporal quantum correlations as expressed by pseudo-density operators (PDOs), it is possible to recover formally the standard quantum dynamical evolution as a sequence of teleportations in time. We demonstrate that any completely positive evolution can be formally reconstructed by teleportation with different temporally correlated states. This provides a different interpretation of maximally correlated PDOs, as resources to induce quantum time-evolution. Furthermore, we note that the possibility of this protocol stems from the strict formal correspondence between spatial and temporal entanglement in quantum theory. We proceed to demonstrate experimentally this correspondence, by showing a multipartite violation of generalised temporal and spatial Bell inequalities and verifying agreement with theoretical predictions to a high degree of accuracy, in high-quality photon qubits.