Tracing the Loop: Non-Causal Computation, Partial Traces, & Postselected Entanglement

Abstract

This paper gives a categorical interpretation of Baumeler \& Wolf's logically consistent non-causal circuits, connecting them to postselected quantum teleportation. Looped feedback is represented by a trace in the category of non-negative matrices, and it is shown that the traced process is stochastic precisely when the induced loop transition matrix has trace $1$ for every external input, a condition shown to be equivalent to a unique fixed point for the loop for each input to a deterministic circuit. A classical non-causal circuit is represented by a measure-and-prepare quantum channel with an internal register utilising a maximally entangled Bell-state with postselection. The main result is that classical logical consistency is equivalent to the postselected Bell outcome having, for loop dimension $d$, probability exactly $1/d^2$ for each classical input distribution. The subsequent normalised conditional output then agrees exactly with the classical categorical trace. This work identifies a class of quantum Bell-postselection constructions whose conditional evolution maintains linear dependence on classical input distributions.