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Convexity and uncertainty in operational quantum foundations

To find the essential nature of quantum theory has been an important problem for not only theoretical interest but also applications to quantum technologies. In those studies on quantum foundations, the notion of uncertainty plays a primary role among several stunning features of quantum theory. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate fundamental aspects of uncertainty. In particular, we address this problem focusing on convexity, which has an operational origin. We first try to reveal why in quantum theory similar bounds are often obtained for two types of uncertainty relations, namely, preparation and measurement uncertainty relations. To do this, we consider uncertainty relations in the most general framework of physics called generalized probabilistic theories (GPTs). It is proven that some geometric structures of states connect those two types of uncertainty relations in GPTs in terms of several expressions such as entropic one. Our result implies what is essential for the close relation between those uncertainty relations. Then we consider a broader expression of uncertainty in quantum theory called quantum incompatibility. Motivated by an operational intuition, we propose and investigate new quantifications of incompatibility which are related directly to the convexity of states. It is also shown that there can be observed a notable phenomenon for those quantities even in the simplest incompatibility for a pair of mutually unbiased qubit observables. Finally, we study thermodynamical entropy of mixing in quantum theory, which also can be seen as a quantification of uncertainty. We consider its operationally natural extension to GPTs, and then try to characterize how specific the entropy in quantum theory is. It is shown that the operationally natural entropy is allowed to exist only in classical and quantum-like theories among a class of GPTs called regular polygon theories.