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Order Unit Spaces and Probabilistic Models

arXiv Quantum Physics
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⚡ Quantum Brief
Harding and Wilce present a mathematical bridge between order unit spaces (OUS) and probabilistic models, demonstrating a functor that maps OUS structures into test-space frameworks without requiring generalized test spaces. The work unifies two foundational approaches to quantum theory—the convex-operational framework and test-space models—by showing the former can be embedded in the latter while preserving key structural properties. For monoidal subcategories of OUS (with positive, normalized bilinear composition), the functor remains monoidal, ensuring compatibility with tensor-product-like operations critical in quantum information theory. A secondary construction introduces "weighted coin" tests into probabilistic models, offering new insight into unsharp observables—measurements that don’t perfectly distinguish states, a key feature in quantum mechanics. Published in March 2026, the paper advances categorical quantum foundations by formalizing links between abstract algebraic structures and operational probabilistic theories.
Order Unit Spaces and Probabilistic Models

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Quantum Physics arXiv:2603.05682 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 5 Mar 2026] Title:Order Unit Spaces and Probabilistic Models Authors:John Harding, Alex Wilce View a PDF of the paper titled Order Unit Spaces and Probabilistic Models, by John Harding and Alex Wilce View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:We exhibit a functor from the category OUS of order unit spaces and positive, unit-preserving mappings into the category $\Prob$ of probabilistic models (test spaces with designated state spaces) and morphisms thereof. Restricted to any subcategory of OUS monoidal with respect to a positive, normalized, bilinear composition rule, our functor is also monoidal. This shows that the convex-operational approach to physical theories can be subsumed by the test-space approach, without resort to ``generalized test spaces''. A second construction, equipping a probabilistic model with tests representing ``weighted coins'', also sheds light on the nature of unsharp observables. Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2603.05682 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2603.05682v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.05682 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Submission history From: Alexander Wilce [view email] [v1] Thu, 5 Mar 2026 21:16:05 UTC (25 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Order Unit Spaces and Probabilistic Models, by John Harding and Alex WilceView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-03 References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) Links to Code Toggle Papers with Code (What is Papers with Code?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)

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Source: arXiv Quantum Physics