The Quantum Information Connection

At the physical level, the latest theories place information at the heart of the process driving the evolution of the universe. Loop Quantum Gravity- LQG confirms the process of evolution of the cosmos through flows of information through networked channels of spacetime.

It is understood that the laws which govern emergent phenomena such as life, consciousness and advanced intelligence are based on processes of self organization, information and complexity which cannot be logically derived from the underlying laws of physical forces and matter. According to the author’s generic evolutionary theory, they may however be derivable from the laws of information theory such as Frieden’s Information Action Law (2). Frieden’s Law is based on Fisher Information ‘I’, which measures how much information can be extracted from a physical system given all the errors or uncertainties relating to its quantum and statistical state. This principle builds on the well known idea that the observation of a ‘source’ phenomenon is never completely accurate. Information is inevitably lost in the transition process from source to observation and random errors may also further degrade the observation.

It is known that physical laws can be derived from Lagrangian mathematical functions in the form of differential equations. Lagrangians measure the difference between two quantities defining a system, such as its kinetic and potential energy. This differential is called the ‘action’. Minimising the Action generates the differential equations and laws governing the evolution of the system. The significance of the Action in formulating the laws of physics is understood by physicists but the underlying principle is not.

Frieden suggests it relates to the information bound up in the system. The Lagrangian equations for Frieden’s Law are generated from the difference between ‘I’ the Fisher information or how much information can be extracted from the system and ‘J’ the amount of information needed to provide the best possible description of the phenomena. The appropriate Lagrangian function ‘L’ can then be derived from the difference between these two information measures, which when minimised produces the laws governing the system, in the form of differential equations. Frieden’s theory is therefore based on an efficient variational principle which can be used to derive most of the fundamental laws of physics, as well as laws of biology, chemistry and economics. It therefore offers, in the author’s interpretation of Frieden’s formulation, a bridge for deriving the laws of nature in general and evolution in particular.

The major physical laws relating to relativity, electromagnetism and quantum mechanics have all been derived using this method. For example the central law of quantum theory, which describes the way particles move through time and space has been derived directly from Frieden’s Least Action information principles. Similarly Einstein’s theory can be derived from a Lagrangian approach as was first shown by the great mathematician David Hilbert. Therefore it is proposed that the laws and equations governing evolution as a physical process can also be derived from Frieden’s theory, broadly as follows.

Let the maximum information capable of being extracted from the system’s environment be represented by a function of Fisher information ¦(I).
Let the information potential of the observer system to match this information be represented by a function of Frieden’s ‘J’ information measure- ¦(J).
Frieden’s Information Action is then the integral of the Lagrange function of the normalised difference between these two measures- ¦(I)- ¦(J).
The capacity of the system to minimise this action or achieve a least or minimum action information differential between these two statistical parameters, as proposed in the author’s D-Net model, provides the required Lagrangian function ‘L’ for the process of evolution.

Then by integrating over the decision paths comprising the configuration space of the evolutionary field defined over (I-J), the Action for the evolutionary process, provided by the formula- Ev = Integral L (¦I-¦J) can be defined and is analogous to the path integral formulation of quantum field theory.

Finding the minimum Ev over the Decision or Configuration Space (I- J) therefore provides the dynamical time equations governing the evolutionary trajectory of the system and is why the ‘information action’ is so important. It provides the underlying basis for realising the process of evolution in our universe.
It is recognised that organising principles in nature emerge at successive levels of complexity and that the universe as a whole possesses such a tendency to develop towards progressively higher levels of complex organisation. The thesis outlined in this book supports this hypothesis - that evolution is the primary organising principle leading to more complex organisation in the universe. The universe requires life as an efficient information processor to achieve this state of complex organisation. Within the evolutionary process, the observer is Life, defining its reality in relation to its environment. This reiterates a key premise of quantum theory; that through the act of observation are defined the laws of physics, with reality created by the observer’s participation. The universe therefore realises its existence and potential in terms of life’s evolution.
Frieden’s Information Law is the second major evidential basis supporting the author’s unified evolutionary theory.
In addition it should allow the derivation of the precise mathematical formulation from differential equations, supporting a decision-based model of evolution such as D-Net. This has been implemented within the Unitary Quantum Evolution(3) and Cosmic Spacetime Network frameworks defined below.