The Space of Measurement Outcomes as a Spectral Invariant for Non-Commutative Algebras

Bas Spitters*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The recently developed technique of Bohrification associates to a (unital) C*-algebra A 1. the Kripke model, a presheaf topos, of its classical contexts; 2. in this Kripke model a commutative C*-algebra, called the Bohrification of A; 3. the spectrum of the Bohrification as a locale internal in the Kripke model. We propose this locale, the 'state space', as a (n intuitionistic) logic of the physical system whose observable algebra is A. We compute a site which externally captures this locale and find that externally its points may be identified with partial measurement outcomes. This prompts us to compare Scott-continuity on the poset of contexts and continuity with respect to the C*-algebra as two ways to mathematically identify measurement outcomes with the same physical interpretation. Finally, we consider the not-not-sheafification of the Kripke model on classical contexts and obtain a space of measurement outcomes which for commutative C*-algebras coincides with the spectrum. The construction is functorial on the category of C*-algebras with commutativity reflecting maps.

Original languageEnglish
JournalFoundations of Physics
Volume42
Issue7
Pages (from-to)896-908
Number of pages13
ISSN0015-9018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bohrification
  • Boolean valued models
  • Measurement
  • Sheaves

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