Problems of Quantum Theory may be Solved by an Emulation Theory of Quantum Physics

Abstract

The emulation interpretation of quantum theory is described which may solve problems of the Copenhagen interpretation finally. According to Kolmogorov complexity theory it is conceivable that a bit string exists encoding our world which can be computed by an appropriate generalized Turing machine. In this case the computation would emulate the world, therefore this can be called an emulation theory of quantum physics, and the emulation interpretation of quantum theory. The probability of a string is dominated by the probabilities of its shortest programs which is known as the ‘coding theorem’. This leads to the suggestion that there may be a relatively short shortest program by which our world may be run. This suggestion appears to be in accordance with our world. The world exhibits a number of symmetries. It is plausible that the shortest algorithm for our special world is shorter than those for worlds where symmetries are broken more often than in our world, because each further deviation from a symmetry has to be encoded within the algorithm which would enlarge its length. Therefore, laws of physics may be identical rather globally in spacetime. Further, in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory it is defined, how to compute probabilities for, e.g., measurement results when conducting measurements on variables of quantum systems. In a completely satisfactory theory of everything this would not be sufficient, but such a theory should give a reason why the values of the probabilities seem, as far as it is known, to be identical also in all different regions of the observed world. The emulation interpretation suggests that all deviations from this symmetry of the probabilities would enlarge the shortest program of the world, and, therefore, we would probably not live in a world with such deviations. A second question arises from the attempt to combine the theory of black holes, thermodynamics and quantum theory. Bekenstein derives a holography principle which would restrict the number of degrees of freedom that can be present within a bounding surface to a finite number. In case the principle holds, he suggests that the final theory may be a discrete theory. The emulation interpretation is discrete. A promising detailed discrete theory which is currently developed is loop quantum gravity. Its discreteness was derived from some mathematical principles. It is also conceivable that string theories and/or M‐theory can be unified with loop quantum gravity in future to a discrete theory. Additionally, the emulation interpretation suggests that parameters of physics may be encoded by a finite number of bits, they may be rational numbers, events in quantum physics may not be random but in principle computable, and, in a certain sense, space and time may be discrete variables. Falsifiability of the results is discussed.