Categories of quantum cpos

Abstract This paper unites two research lines. The first involves finding categorical models of quantum programming languages with recursion and their type systems. The second line concerns the program of quantization of mathematical structures, which amounts to finding noncommutative generalizations (also called quantum generalizations) of these structures. Using a quantization method called discrete quantization , which essentially amounts to the internalization of structures in a category of von Neumann algebras and quantum relations, we find a noncommutative generalization of $\omega$ -complete partial orders (cpos), called quantum cpos . Cpos are central in domain theory and are widely used to construct categorical models of programming languages with recursion. We show that quantum cpos have similar categorical properties to cpos and are therefore suitable for the construction of categorical models for quantum programming languages, which is illustrated with some examples. Because of their noncommutative character, quantum cpos may form the backbone of a future quantum domain theory that provides structural methods for the denotational semantics of recursive quantum programming languages.