Quantum Darwinism requires an extra-theoretical assumption of encoding redundancy

TL;DR

Quantum Darwinism's claim of redundant encoding of system states by pointer states cannot be conclusively demonstrated within quantum mechanics and requires an external assumption, challenging its empirical basis.

Contribution

The paper argues that the redundancy of encoding in quantum Darwinism relies on an external assumption beyond the quantum formalism.

Findings

Observers cannot conclusively verify redundant encoding without perturbing the system.

Redundancy of encoding must be assumed externally, not derived from quantum theory.

Quantum Darwinism's core assumption is not empirically demonstrable within the theory.

Abstract

Observers restricted to the observation of pointer states of apparatus cannot conclusively demonstrate that the pointer of an apparatus A registers the state of a system of interest S without perturbing S. Observers cannot, therefore, conclusively demonstrate that the states of a system S are redundantly encoded by pointer states of multiple independent apparatus without destroying the redundancy of encoding. The redundancy of encoding required by quantum Darwinism must, therefore, be assumed from outside the quantum-mechanical formalism and without the possibility of experimental demonstration.