Emergence and Computation at the Edge of Classical and Quantum Systems

TL;DR

This paper explores the relationship between classical and quantum systems through the lens of emergence and computation, highlighting how classical systems are closed and quantum systems are open, affecting their emergent behaviors.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework linking emergence in physical systems to computational models, emphasizing the open nature of quantum systems and their capacity for radical emergence.

Findings

Classical systems are informational closed systems with phenomenological emergence.

Quantum systems are informational open systems capable of radical emergence.

The role of computation in physical systems differs fundamentally between classical and quantum regimes.

Abstract

The problem of emergence in physical theories makes necessary to build a general theory of the relationships between the observed system and the observing system. It can be shown that there exists a correspondence between classical systems and computational dynamics according to the Shannon-Turing model. A classical system is an informational closed system with respect to the observer; this characterizes the emergent processes in classical physics as phenomenological emergence. In quantum systems, the analysis based on the computation theory fails. It is here shown that a quantum system is an informational open system with respect to the observer and able to exhibit processes of observational, radical emergence. Finally, we take into consideration the role of computation in describing the physical world.