Quantum Reversibility Meets Classical Reverse Diffusion

Abstract

Bayes’ rule connects forward and reverse processes in classical probability theory, and its quantum analogue has been discussed in terms of the Petz (transpose) map. For quantum dynamics governed by the Lindblad equation, the corresponding Petz map can also be written in Lindblad form. In classical stochastic systems, the analogue of the Lindblad equation is the Fokker–Planck equation, and applying Bayes’ rule to it yields the reverse diffusion equation underlying modern diffusion-based generative models. It is known that a semiclassical approximation of the Lindblad equation yields the Fokker–Planck equation for the Wigner function, which is a quasiprobability distribution defined on phase space as the Wigner transform of the density operator. Here we demonstrate that applying the same approximation to the Lindblad equation associated with the Petz map produces an equation that coincides with that obtained from the Fokker–Planck equation via Bayes’ rule. This finding establishes a direct correspondence between the Petz map and Bayes’ rule, unifying quantum reversibility with classical reverse diffusion.