Causal Incompleteness: A New Perspective on Quantum Non-locality

Abstract

The mathematical notion of incompleteness (eg of rational numbers, Turing-computable functions, and arithmetic proof) does not play a key role in conventional physics. Here, a reformulation of the kinematics of quantum theory is attempted, based on an inherently granular and discontinuous state space, in which the quantum wavefunction is associated with a finite set of finite bit strings, and the unitary transformations of complex Hilbert space are reformulated as finite permutation and related operators incorporating complex and hyper-complex structure. Such a reformulation, consistent with Wheeler's `It from Bit' programme, provides the basis for a novel interpretation of the Bell theorem: that the experimental violation of the Bell inequalities reveals the inevitable incompleteness of the causal structure of physical theory. The kinematic reformulation of quantum theory so developed, provides a new perspective on the age-old dichotomy of free will versus determinism.