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arXiv · 2610.03279

Pricing of graph-based quantum portfolios from first principles

Abstract

A central topic in economics and finance is the valuation of strategic games and bets, of investments providing uncertain future cashflows, and of other asset-like structures and contracts. Often, such valuation involves a probabilistic model, random variables, and computing expectation values of complex payoffs. Extending beyond this classical framework, a scenario emerges where assets are non-commuting operators and the inherent uncertainty is described by quantum states. In this work, we combine such notions of quantum finance with a graph-theoretic framework and ideas from contextuality. We discuss exclusive quantum assets and introduce scenarios when holding such assets can provide advantages over holding classical assets. In particular, we consider a "quantum market" based on nonlocal games such as the CHSH game and demonstrate that this setting can function as a market with well-defined financial structures. We provide upper bounds on the fair prices of the quantum assets based on graph-theoretic quantities like the independence number and the Lovász theta number. Our insights into markets of non-commuting assets help to elucidate what a financial system in a world filled with quantum technology could look like.

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BibTeXRIS

Daniel J. Spencer, Bin Cheng, Dinh-Long Vu, Kishor Bharti, Alexey V. Gorshkov, Patrick Rebentrost. 2026-10-02. Pricing of graph-based quantum portfolios from first principles. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03279

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