In this chapter a general mathematical framework for probabilistic theories of operationally understood circuits is laid out. Circuits are comprised of operations and wires. An operation is one use of an apparatus and a wire is a diagrammatic device for showing how apertures on the apparatuses are placed next to each other. Mathematical objects are defined in terms of the circuit understood graphically. In particular, we do not think of the circuit as sitting in a background time. Circuits can be foliated by hypersurfaces comprised of sets of wires. Systems are defined to be associated with wires. A closable set of operations is defined to be one for which the probability associated with any circuit built from this set is independent both of choices on other circuits and of extra circuitry that may be added to outputs from this circuit. States can be associated with circuit fragments corresponding to preparations. These states evolve on passing through circuit fragments corresponding to transformations. The composition of transformations is treated. A number of theorems are proven including one which rules out quaternionic quantum theory. The case of locally tomographic theories (where local measurements on a systems components suffice to determine the global state) is considered. For such theories the probability can be calculated for a circuit from matrices pertaining the operations that comprise that circuit. Classical probability theory and quantum theory are exhibited as examples in this framework.
There have been many attempts at reconstructing quantum theory, not all of them in the probabilistic framework of the sort considered in the above works. A recent conference on the general problem of reconstructing quantum theory can be seen at @cite_11 .
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We review some of our recent results (with collaborators) on information processing in an ordered linear spaces framework for probabilistic theories. These include demonstrations that many "inherently quantum" phenomena are in reality quite general characteristics of non-classical theories, quantum or otherwise. As an example, a set of states in such a theory is broadcastable if, and only if, it is contained in a simplex whose vertices are cloneable, and therefore distinguishable by a single measurement. As another example, information that can be obtained about a system in this framework without causing disturbance to the system state, must be inherently classical. We also review results on teleportation protocols in the framework, and the fact that any non-classical theory without entanglement allows exponentially secure bit commitment in this framework. Finally, we sketch some ways of formulating our framework in terms of categories, and in this light consider the relation of our work to that of Abramsky, Coecke, Selinger, Baez and others on information processing and other aspects of theories formulated categorically.