Can a quantum goldfish exhibit more complex behaviour than a classical dolphin? In omplexity science, the complexity of an input-output process – a system that reacts differently when supplied with different environmental stimuli – can be quantified by the minimal memory needed to reproduce the process’s observed behaviour. This reflects the intuition that a goldfish – that remembers very little – can only exhibit fairly simple input-output behaviour. In this manuscript, we showed show how these ideas can radically change when generalized to the quantum domain. A quantum system may exhibit behaviour that appears considerably more complex than a classical system that has significantly more memory.
A popular account of this work is also available at the following press
- Will Androids dream of quantum sheep.
- http://Quantum Replicants: Should future androids dream of quantum sheep?
