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A general quantum circuit framework for Extended Wigner's Friend Scenarios: logically and causally consistent reasoning without absolute measurement events

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arxiv 2209.09281 v2 pith:5EFIEU5E submitted 2022-09-19 quant-ph

classification quant-ph
keywords quantumreasoningagentseventsewfssframeworkmeasurementtheory
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal
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Extended Wigner's Friend Scenarios (EWFSs) go beyond the standard usage of quantum theory, where agents are treated classically, and instead model agents as unitary evolving quantum systems. This has been the subject of several no-go results: Frauchiger and Renner (FR) suggested that quantum agents reasoning using quantum theory will arrive at logical paradoxes, while other results highlight challenges for having an objective notion of measurement events and for causal reasoning in EWFSs. This raises the question: Is it possible to reliably make and test scientific predictions, and consistently reason about the world when applying quantum theory universally without assuming that observed measurement outcomes are absolute? We give a positive answer by developing a general quantum circuit framework for EWFSs. We formalise the concept of Heisenberg cuts by mapping them to distinct channels in a quantum circuit, and prove that FR-type paradoxes can be fully resolved by making explicit the conditioning on the quantum channels that are used in the reasoning process. We provide concrete rules by which quantum agents can reason and make predictions in a logically and causally consistent manner. Our framework describes all perspectives and predictions of an EWFS within a single, well-defined causal structure, although it allows events to be fundamentally subjective. Moreover, we show that an objective notion of measurement events nevertheless emerges in real-world experiments. This demonstrates the possibility of a relational yet operational framework overcoming challenges to scientific reasoning in EWFSs without modifying the Born rule, quantum unitarity, or the axioms of classical logic and probability theory. This enables analysis of different EWFS arguments and provides a platform to consistently extend quantum information methods and studies to Wigner's Friend Scenarios.

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Cited by 2 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

  1. Emergence of Classicality in Wigner's Friend Scenarios

    quant-ph 2025-07 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    Wigner's Friend effects survive in a quantum-Darwinism decoherence model, but they are confounded by classical ignorance and suppressed as the Friend grows larger.

  2. Events and their Localisation are Relative to a Lab

    quant-ph 2025-05 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    Events, their localisation, and even conclusions about indefinite causal order in the quantum switch are shown to depend on the choice of a Lab and its reference degrees of freedom.

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