Thermodynamic Constraints on the Emergence of Intersubjectivity in Quantum Systems

TL;DR

This paper explores how finite thermodynamic resources limit the emergence of intersubjectivity in quantum measurements, deriving bounds and conditions under which ideal agreement among observers can be approximated.

Contribution

It establishes a no-go theorem for perfect intersubjectivity under thermodynamic constraints and introduces a deviation metric for limited resources.

Findings

Finite resources constrain agreement and reproducibility in quantum measurements.

A no-go theorem shows perfect intersubjectivity is impossible with limited thermodynamic resources.

Cooling and coarse-graining can approximate ideal intersubjectivity despite resource limitations.

Abstract

Ideal quantum measurement requires divergent thermodynamic resources. This is a consequence of the third law of thermodynamics, which prohibits the preparation of the measurement pointer in a fully erased, pure state required for the acquisition of perfect, noiseless measurement information. In this work, we investigate the consequences of finite resources in the emergence of intersubjectivity as a model for measurement processes with multiple observers. Here, intersubjectivity refers to a condition in which observers agree on the observed outcome (agreement), and their local random variables exactly reproduce the original random variable for the system observable (probability reproducibility). While agreement and reproducibility are mutually implied in the case of ideal measurement, finite thermodynamic resources constrain each of them. Starting from the third law of thermodynamics, we derive how the achievability of ideal intersubjectivity is affected by restricted thermodynamic resources. Specifically, we establish a no-go theorem concerning perfect intersubjectivity and present a deviation metric to account for the influence of limited resources. We further present attainable bounds for the agreement and bias that are exclusively dependent on the initial state of the environment. In addition, we show that either by cooling or coarse-graining, we can approximate ideal intersubjectivity even with finite resources. This work bridges quantum thermodynamics and the emergence of classicality in the form of intersubjectivity.