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Computer Science, Logic in Computer Science

Local States in String Diagrams: A Key to Understanding Many-Worlds Calculus

Local States in String Diagrams: A Key to Understanding Many-Worlds Calculus

Imagine you’re a time traveler, and every time you make a decision, you create a new reality. In the many-worlds calculus, this idea is taken to the extreme, where every wire connection in a diagram can lead to a separate universe. The article explores the normal form of diagrams in this context, which helps us understand how these wires are connected and what they represent.

Defining Normal Form

The authors define the normal form of a morphism (or function) between two sets of variables as follows:
f = [HvG03] [Mai07] [Mel14] [Lac04] [Laf89] [PRZ17] [HR15] [HV19] [Had15]
This equation represents the idea that every wire connection can be simplified to a single form, which makes it easier to understand and analyze the diagram. The authors provide examples of how this normal form works in practice.

Mutually Exclusive Wires

In the many-worlds calculus, each wire is assigned a unique number, and these numbers determine which universe the wire belongs to. The authors explain that wires can be connected in a way that creates multiple universes, but they must be mutually exclusive, meaning each wire can only belong to one universe. This concept is crucial for understanding how the many-worlds calculus works.

Definition of Normal Form

The authors define the normal form of a morphism as follows:
f = [HvG03] [Mai07] [Mel14] [Lac04] [Laf89] [PRZ17] [HR15] [HV19] [Had15]
This equation represents the idea that every wire connection can be simplified to a single form, which makes it easier to understand and analyze the diagram. The authors provide examples of how this normal form works in practice.

Conclusion

In summary, the many-worlds calculus is a theoretical framework that allows for the creation of multiple universes based on different wire connections in a diagram. The normal form of diagrams is a crucial concept in this theory, as it helps us understand how these wires are connected and what they represent. By simplifying the wire connections into a single form, we can better analyze and understand the many-worlds calculus.