Towards a unification of physics and information theory

摘要

A common framework for quantum mechanics, thermodynamics and informationtheory is presented. It is accomplished by reinterpreting the mathematicalformalism of Everett's many-worlds theory of quantum mechanics and augmentingit to include preparation according to a given ensemble. The notion of\emph{directed entanglement} is introduced through which both classical andquantum communication over quantum channels are viewed as entanglementtransfer. This point is illustrated by proving the Holevo bound and quantumdata processing inequality relying exclusively on the properties of directedentanglement. Within the model, quantum thermodynamic entropy is also relatedto directed entanglement, and a simple proof of the second law ofthermodynamics is given.