Dynamics and information

Abstract

The dynamical and information aspects of the behaviour of complex physical systems are considered. In classical physics the information coupling appears in the interaction of nonlinear systems with stohastic behaviour when a small external perturbation may greatly alter the paths of a classical system in phase space. In quantum systems the information coupling to the environment appears in measurement processes when the coherence of the wave function of a quantum object is destroyed and corresponding information appears in the external environment. These processes can be described in terms of the collapse of wave functions. Numerous examples of the collapse are considered, including those leading to the classical behaviour of macroscopic bodies with the information coupling to a nonequilibrium environment. The Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox is discussed in detail together with its possible role in the processes of information transfer over a distance.