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(2016) Axiomathes 26 (3).

Decompositional equivalence

a fundamental symmetry underlying quantum theory

Chris Fields

pp. 279-311

Decompositional equivalence is the principle that there is no preferred decomposition of the universe into subsystems. It is shown here, by using a simple thought experiment, that quantum theory follows from decompositional equivalence together with Landauer's principle. This demonstration raises within physics a question previously left to psychology: how do human—or any—observers identify or agree about what constitutes a "system of interest"?

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Fields, C. (2016). Decompositional equivalence: a fundamental symmetry underlying quantum theory. Axiomathes 26 (3), pp. 279-311.

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