Physics as Information Processing

I review some recent advances in foundational research at Pavia QUIT group. The general idea is that there is only Quantum Theory without quantization rules, and the whole Physics—including space‐time and relativity—is emergent from the quantum‐information processing. And since Quantum Theory itself is axiomatized solely on informational principles, the whole Physics must be reformulated in information‐theoretical terms: this is the It from bit of J. A. Wheeler.The review is divided into four parts: a) the informational axiomatization of Quantum Theory; b) how space‐time and relativistic covariance emerge from quantum computation; c) what is the information‐theoretical meaning of inertial mass and of ℏ, and how the quantum field emerges; d) an observational consequence of the new quantum field theory: a mass‐dependent refraction index of vacuum. I will conclude with the research lines that will follow in the immediate future.

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