Some Consequences of the Thermodynamic Cost of System Identification

Abstract

The concept of a ``system'' is foundational to physics, but the question of how observers identify systems is seldom addressed. Classical thermodynamics restricts observers to finite, finite-resolution observations with which to identify the systems on which ``pointer state'' measurements are to be made. It is shown that system identification is at best approximate, even in a finite world, and that violations of the Leggett--Garg and Bell/CHSH (Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt) inequalities emerge naturally as requirements for successful system identification.