It from Qubit: Simons Collaboration on Quantum Fields, Gravity, and Information
“It from bit symbolizes the idea that every item of the physical world has at bottom — a very deep bottom, in most instances — an immaterial source and explanation; that which we call reality arises in the last analysis from the posing of yes-or-no questions and the registering of equipment-evoked responses; in short, that all things physical are information-theoretic in origin and that this is a participatory universe.” —John A. Wheeler, 1990
Goals
Developments over the past ten years have shown that major advances in our understanding of quantum gravity, quantum field theory and other aspects of fundamental physics can be achieved by bringing to bear insights and techniques from quantum information theory. Nonetheless, fundamental physics and quantum information theory remain distinct disciplines and communities, separated by significant barriers to communication and collaboration. Funded by a grant from the Simons Foundation, “It from Qubit” is a large-scale effort by some of the leading researchers in both communities to foster communication, education and collaboration between them, thereby advancing both fields and ultimately solving some of the deepest problems in physics.