Quantum

Interacting quantum reference frames

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 22/10/2026, 04:13:24 UTC.

Briefings

A 2026 arXiv preprint proposes a quantum reference frame formalism using Dirac quantization of gauge theories. The authors demonstrate that the physical Hilbert space remains independent of the chosen frame orientation, and the frame change map is unitary even when the gauge group does not act as a tensor product. This framework allows for the emergence of a Schrödinger equation for interacting clocks and systems, avoiding non-unitarity issues. The paper also discusses spatial frame interactions and their dependence on coupling.

Key points

• The formalism defines quantum reference frames as systems of coherent states acting on a tensor factor of a kinematic Hilbert space.
• The main result is that the map implementing a change of frame is unitary, even when the gauge group does not act as a tensor-product representation across a factorization of the kinematic Hilbert space.

Context

This research addresses foundational issues in quantum reference frames by extending the Page-Wootters reduction map to general gauge theories. It provides a mechanism to define conditional probabilities and relational observables without requiring the gauge group to act as a tensor product, thereby avoiding non-unitarity problems in clock systems.

Limitations

The evidence is an unverified arXiv preprint (v1) from October 2026, so the results are not yet peer-reviewed. The paper does not provide experimental data, specific numerical values, or direct citations to confirm the theoretical claims.

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