In mathematics, the quantum Markov chain is a reformulation of the ideas of a classical Markov chain, replacing the classical definitions of probability with quantum probability. Very roughly, the theory of a quantum Markov chain resembles that of a measure-many automata, with some important substitutions: the initial state is to be replaced by a density matrix, and the projection operators are to be replaced by positive operator valued measures.
More precisely, a quantum Markov chain is a pair with a density matrix and a quantum channel such that
is a completely positive trace-preserving map, and a C*-algebra of bounded operators. The pair must obey the quantum Markov condition, that
for all .
Famous quotes containing the words quantum and/or chain:
“A personality is an indefinite quantum of traits which is subject to constant flux, change, and growth from the birth of the individual in the world to his death. A character, on the other hand, is a fixed and definite quantum of traits which, though it may be interpreted with slight differences from age to age and actor to actor, is nevertheless in its essentials forever fixed.”
—Hubert C. Heffner (1901–1985)
“From Nature’s chain whatever link you strike,
Tenth or ten thousandth, breaks the chain alike.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)