What if Information Conservation “laws” in Physics are violated? Consequence and Experiments.

Title: What if Information Conservation “laws” in Physics are violated? What would be the consequences, and what experiments could we set out to falsify the law?

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Two videos of Sabine Hossenfelder got me thinking a radical thought… “Are we willing to challenge the information conservation ‘law’ in physics?” As Sabine points out in video 2, one way of eliminating paradoxes is to challenge the assumptions on which they are predicated. However, information conservation is thought to be more or less fundamentally inviolable.

Videos

1/ Did the Black Hole Information Paradox just Disappear? https://youtu.be/50bcjqEJuoc?si=3JJ8M50KPpRxXZQF

2/ My problem with the black hole information loss problem https://youtu.be/5rtqVFfwE_A?si=OdOwmS7a3XdXdTIn

Such an idea is challenging to question; here are some of the consequences: depending on your pov about reality, they aren’t necessarily all negative.

And there should be observable/testable experiments to check. I added a section at the end on that.

*****Consequence of information conservation violation

Dropping the assumption that information is conserved in physical processes would have significant consequences for both theoretical physics and our understanding of reality. Here are some of the main implications:

1. Challenges to Quantum Mechanics and Unitarity:

? Violation of Unitarity: Quantum mechanics relies on the principle of unitarity, which ensures that information is preserved during the evolution of a closed system. If information is not conserved, unitarity would be violated, undermining one of the core principles of quantum mechanics.

? Impact on Wavefunction Evolution: The Schr?dinger equation, which describes the time evolution of quantum states, is unitary and reversible. If information loss were allowed, it would imply that the evolution could be non-reversible or lead to states where information about initial conditions is permanently lost.

2. Black Hole Information Paradox:

? Resolution of the Paradox: The assumption of information conservation is central to the black hole information paradox, which arises when considering the fate of information that falls into a black hole. If information could be lost, it would imply that quantum information swallowed by a black hole might not return when the black hole evaporates, as suggested by Stephen Hawking’s initial formulation of black hole radiation.

? Violation of Quantum Mechanics: Allowing information loss in black holes would challenge the compatibility of general relativity and quantum mechanics, suggesting that our current understanding of how these theories interact is incomplete or fundamentally flawed.

3. Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics:

? Redefinition of Entropy: The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of a closed system never decreases, implying a conservation of information at a fundamental level. If information is not conserved, the interpretation of entropy as a measure of information content could become ambiguous.

? Implications for Thermodynamic Systems: Non-conservation of information could mean that processes could occur where entropy might decrease in a way that contradicts traditional interpretations, leading to potential reversals of expected physical processes or “information-erasing” dynamics.

4. Implications for Determinism and Predictability:

? Deterministic Theories: If information can be lost, then physical processes may not be deterministically reversible. This would make it impossible to reconstruct past states from current states with certainty, challenging the classical notion of determinism.

? Causality and Time’s Arrow: Information loss could have implications for the arrow of time, potentially leading to scenarios where the distinction between past and future becomes less defined or reversible in specific contexts.

5. Impacts on Fundamental Symmetries:

? Violation of CPT Symmetry: The conservation of information is closely tied to CPT (charge, parity, and time-reversal) symmetry in quantum field theory. Dropping information conservation could imply violations of this fundamental symmetry, leading to potentially observable consequences in particle physics.

? Consequences for Conservation Laws: Information loss might imply that other conservation laws (such as energy or momentum) could be modified or reinterpreted under conditions where information is lost.

6. Foundations of Quantum Information Theory:

? Rethinking Quantum Computing: Quantum information theory, which underpins quantum computing, relies on the principle that information encoded in quantum states can be preserved and manipulated. If information is not conserved, the theoretical basis for quantum error correction and quantum computation would need to be re-evaluated.

? Quantum Entanglement and Entropy: Information loss could alter how we understand quantum entanglement, possibly impacting how entropy and information flow are modelled in quantum systems.

7. Cosmological Implications:

? Evolution of the Universe: The early universe and cosmological models often rely on the assumption that information is conserved. Dropping this assumption could lead to new models where the universe's initial conditions may not fully determine later states.

? Cosmological Horizons: Phenomena such as the behaviour of information at cosmological event horizons (e.g., during inflation) could be reevaluated to understand whether information loss might play a role on cosmic scales.

8. Philosophical and Interpretational Shifts:

? Nature of Reality: The assumption that information is conserved supports the notion that reality is fundamentally describable and predictable. Dropping it might imply that the universe has inherently unpredictable, non-retrievable aspects.

? Information-Theoretic Frameworks: Many theories, such as those proposed by John Wheeler (e.g., It from Bit), suggest that the universe is fundamentally based on information. Dropping information conservation would require rethinking such theories, possibly redefining the concept of reality as a whole.

Conclusion:

Dropping the assumption of information conservation would have profound and far-reaching consequences across physics, from quantum mechanics to cosmology and beyond. It would challenge many foundational principles, require new theoretical frameworks, and change how we interpret the nature of reality itself. This likely leads to the development of new physics that reconciles these issues or replaces the current models with more comprehensive theories that account for information loss in specific or generalized scenarios.

***** Possible experimental tests/observations to be used to falsify the information conservation “law”

Designing experiments to test and potentially falsify the law of information conservation would require probing regimes where current physical theories suggest that information might be lost or altered. Here are some proposed experiments and observations that could be conducted to test the principle of information conservation:

1. Black Hole Evaporation Studies:

? Hawking Radiation Analysis: Observing the detailed spectrum of Hawking radiation emitted by black holes. If information is conserved, the radiation should contain subtle correlations that encode the information of the matter that fell into the black hole. Any failure to find such correlations, despite precise measurements, could support the idea of information loss.

? Quantum Entanglement Measurements: Using entangled particles and sending one particle into a black hole while observing its entangled partner outside the event horizon. Any unexplained decoherence or loss of entanglement could indicate information loss.

2. Tests in High-Energy Particle Collisions:

? Simulations of Micro Black Holes: If mini black holes can be produced in high-energy particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), studying the radiation emitted during their evaporation could reveal whether information is preserved or lost.

? Entropy Production in High-Energy Processes: Investigating whether entropy conservation matches predictions in high-energy particle interactions or if any unexplained loss of information occurs in the form of missing particles or unaccounted energy.

3. Quantum Erasure and Delayed-Choice Experiments:

? Modified Delayed-Choice Quantum Eraser: Enhancing delayed-choice quantum eraser experiments to test whether the choice to erase or not erase information affects the observable outcomes in a way that suggests permanent information loss.

? Entanglement Degradation: Studying systems where quantum entanglement is deliberately disrupted to see if there is any irreversible loss of the initial information encoded in the entangled pairs.

4. Testing Quantum Coherence in Isolated Systems:

? Macroscopic Quantum Superpositions: Creating and measuring large-scale quantum superpositions (e.g., with superconducting qubits or optomechanical systems) to determine whether there is any deviation from expected coherence times or an unexplained information loss as the system evolves.

? Quantum Decoherence Studies: Investigating whether specific systems exhibit non-standard decoherence rates that could imply information loss not accounted for by traditional environmental interactions.

5. Cosmological Observations:

? Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Studies: Looking for subtle anomalies or signatures in the CMB that could indicate information loss during the early universe’s inflationary period or other high-energy cosmic events.

? Entropy Variations Across Cosmic Structures: Measuring the entropy of large-scale structures to detect any inconsistencies or missing information that might imply non-conservation at cosmological scales.

6. Testing CPT Symmetry:

? Particle-Antiparticle Anomalies: Performing high-precision experiments to measure properties of particles and their antiparticles to test for violations of CPT symmetry. Any confirmed violation could imply information loss and challenges to conservation laws.

? Neutrino Oscillations: Investigating whether neutrino oscillations, which involve subtle transformations between neutrino types, show any unexplained loss of coherence or information that could suggest a fundamental change in conservation assumptions.

7. Experiments with Quantum Gravity Effects:

? Spacetime Foam Experiments: Probing the effects of spacetime foam or quantum fluctuations at the Planck scale through indirect measurements, such as light propagation from distant astrophysical sources. Any anomalies in phase or coherence that suggest information disturbance could support non-conservation.

? Testing Holographic Noise: Using interferometers to detect holographic noise or subtle distortions in spacetime that might suggest a breakdown of information conservation on very small scales.

8. Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics:

? Macroscopic Systems with High Entropy Changes: Setting up controlled experiments involving systems with large, rapid entropy changes to observe whether any apparent loss of information occurs that cannot be reconciled with conventional thermodynamic models.

? Closed Quantum System Entropy Analysis: Testing closed quantum systems for deviations in entropy trends that indicate whether information may be permanently lost or not retrievable.

9. Observational Tests of Cosmological Event Horizons:

? Horizon Entropy Studies: Observing the behaviour of information at event horizons, such as black holes or the universe’s cosmological horizon, to determine if information truly escapes or if it is lost in ways current theories do not predict.

? Quantum Field Theories with Boundaries: Investigating models where quantum field behaviour at event horizons may lead to information being unrecoverable, potentially revealing evidence of non-conservation.

10. Simulation-Based Quantum Information Experiments:

? Quantum Computing Tests: Using quantum computers to simulate complex entangled systems and observe whether there are conditions under which information cannot be retrieved or preserved as expected.

? Error Correction Limitations: Testing the limits of quantum error correction codes for evidence of fundamental barriers where information loss cannot be corrected, suggesting an inherent non-conservation property.

11. Entanglement in Extreme Conditions:

? Black Hole Analog Systems: Experiment with black hole analogues (e.g., acoustic black holes or laboratory simulations) to study information flow and potential losses in a controlled environment.

? Testing Information Recovery Post-Singularity: Using systems with simulated singularities to explore whether information about initial states can be recovered after such events.

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Here is an image purportedly depicting the concept of a violation of the information conservation law in physics, with a surreal representation of a black hole absorbing and losing information!

Image credit Dall-E