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arXiv · 2503.05998

Quantum Electrodynamics from Quantum Cellular Automata, and the Tension Between Symmetry, Locality and Positive Energy

Todd A. Brun·Leonard Mlodinow
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Abstract

We show that free QED is equivalent to the continuous-space-and-time limit of Fermi and Bose lattice quantum cellular automata theories derived from quantum random walks satisfying simple symmetry and unitarity conditions. In doing so we define the Fermi and Bose theories in a unified manner using the usual fermion internal space but a boson internal space that is six-dimensional. We show that the reduction to a two-dimensional boson internal space (two helicity states arising from spin-1 plus the photon transversality condition) comes from restricting the quantum cellular automaton theory to positive energies. We briefly examine common symmetries of quantum cellular automata, and how time-reversal symmetry demands the existence of negative-energy solutions. These solutions produce a tension in coupling the Fermi and Bose theories, in which the strong locality of quantum cellular automata seems to require a nonzero amplitude to produce negative-energy states, leading to an unphysical cascade of negative-energy particles. However, we show in a 1D model that by extending interactions over a larger (but finite) range it is possible to exponentially suppress the production of negative-energy particles to the point where they can be neglected.

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Todd A. Brun, Leonard Mlodinow. 2025-05-01. Quantum Electrodynamics from Quantum Cellular Automata, and the Tension Between Symmetry, Locality and Positive Energy. https://doi.org/10.3390/e27050492

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