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Emergence and topological order in classical and quantum systems

McLeish, Tom; Pexton, Mark; Lancaster, Tom

Emergence and topological order in classical and quantum systems Thumbnail


Authors

Tom McLeish

Mark Pexton



Abstract

There has been growing interest in systems in condensed matter physics as a potential source of examples of both epistemic and ontological emergence. One of these case studies is the fractional quantum Hall state (FQHS). In the FQHS a system of electrons displays a type of holism due to a pattern of long-range quantum entanglement that some argue is emergent. Indeed, in general, quantum entanglement is sometimes cited as the best candidate for one form of ontological emergence. In this paper we argue that there are significant formal and physical parallels between the quantum FQHS and classical polymer systems. Both types of system cannot be explained simply by considering an aggregation of local microphysical properties alone, since important features of each are globally determined by topological features. As such, we argue that if the FQHS is a case of ontological emergence then it is not due to the quantum nature of the system and classical polymer systems are ontologically emergent as well.

Citation

McLeish, T., Pexton, M., & Lancaster, T. (2019). Emergence and topological order in classical and quantum systems. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 66, 155-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsb.2019.02.006

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 27, 2019
Online Publication Date Mar 9, 2019
Publication Date May 31, 2019
Deposit Date Mar 11, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 9, 2020
Journal Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics
Print ISSN 1355-2198
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 66
Pages 155-169
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsb.2019.02.006

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