arXiv subjects

A. S. Majumdar

Publications and source records attributed to A. S. Majumdar.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Operational certification of nonclassicality in arbitrary quantum states from few copies

States with negative Wigner functions constitute a fundamental nonclassical resource underlying quantum advantage. However, their experimental certification typically relies on reconstructing the full phase-space distribution, resulting in a prohibitive measurement overhead for arbitrary quantum states. In this letter, we overcome this limitation by introducing Wigner moments, a family of global phase-space quantities that admit an exact multicopy realization as parity expectation values, and are therefore directly measurable from only a modest number of state copies. This operational correspondence enables systematic hierarchies of detection criteria together with experimentally accessible lower bounds on the logarithmic Wigner negativity, and constitutes a genuine measure of nonclassicality. Numerical benchmarking of our protocol reveals a substantial reduction in copy budget relative to conventional Wigner tomography, establishing Wigner moments as an efficient framework for certifying continuous-variable quantum resources such as genuine multipartite entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Modified Cosmological Expansion and the JWST CMB Optical Depth Tension in Self Interaction Gravity

Recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations favor an earlier and more efficient reionization history, leading to Thomson-scattering optical depths larger than those inferred from the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We investigate whether this tension can be alleviated within the framework of self-interaction (SI) gravity by modifying the cosmological expansion history while retaining the standard astrophysical description of reionization. The SI gravity parameters are constrained through a Bayesian MCMC analysis of the Union3 Type Ia supernova and DESI DR2 Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) data. The resulting expansion history is then used to predict the ionization history and Thomson optical depth. We find that the predicted optical depth decreases from $τ_{\rm{CMB}}\simeq0.076$ in $Λ$CDM to $τ_{\rm{CMB}}\simeq0.061$, consistent with the Planck PR4 measurement within $1σ$, thereby substantially reducing the optical-depth tension.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

On the characterization of partially entanglement breaking and annihilating channels

Transmission of high dimensional entanglement through quantum channels is a significant area of interest in quantum information science. The certification of high dimensional entanglement is usually done through Schmidt numbers, which quantify the entanglement dimensionality of quantum states. States with high Schmidt numbers provide a larger advantage in various quantum information processing tasks compared to quantum states with low Schmidt numbers. However, the action of quantum channels may reduce the Schmidt number of transmitted states, thereby degrading their resourcefulness. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of partially entanglement breaking channels which reduce the Schmidt number of bipartite composite systems. From a resource theoretic perspective, it becomes imperative to identify channels that preserve the Schmidt number. Based on our characterization we lay down prescriptions to identify such channels which are non-resource breaking, i.e., preserve the Schmidt number. Additionally, we introduce a new class of quantum channels, termed partially entanglement annihilating channels which reduce the Schmidt number of a quantum state that is a part of a larger composite system. Finally, we study the connection between entanglement breaking, partially entanglement breaking, and partially entanglement annihilating channels.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Optical depth to reionization in a Universe with multiple inhomogeneous domains

We study the optical depth to reionization in a cosmological setting that includes backreaction from matter inhomogeneities, using the Buchert averaging formalism. We construct a spacetime model consisting of multiple inhomogeneous domains, hereafter referred to as the backreaction model, characterized by a set of parameters. We first examine how these parameters influence the computation of the optical depth to reionization, $τ_{reion}$. Next, we carry out a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis based on the PantheonPlus+SH0ES Type Ia supernova sample to infer the best-fit values of the model parameters, and then use these to evaluate $τ_{reion}$. We obtain $τ_{reion} = 0.0581^{+0.0105}_{-0.0096}$ (68$\%$ confidence limits). This result indicates that, when PantheonPlus+SH0ES data are used to constrain the model parameters, our backreaction model yields a value of $τ_{reion}$ that aligns more closely with observational estimates than the value predicted by the standard cosmological model. We further demonstrate that the backreaction model leads to a modest reduction of the Hubble tension, while avoiding the need for exotic or non-standard physics.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Security of Device-independent Quantum Key Distribution under Sequential Attack

Device-independent quantum key distribution (DI-QKD) leverages nonlocal correlations to establish cryptographic keys between two honest parties while making minimal assumptions about the underlying systems. The security of DI-QKD is grounded in the validity of quantum theory, with Bell violations ensuring the intrinsic unpredictability of observed statistics, independent of the trustworthiness of the devices. While traditional collective QKD attacks assume that the adversary prepares the shared system, we analyse a scenario where the adversary does not control the source and instead interacts sequentially with the travelling system. In this setting, Eve performs an unsharp measurement that produces effective noise while preserving the observed Bell violation. Although such behaviour is already accounted for in existing DI-QKD security proofs, examining it through an explicit sequential interaction offers a concrete and physically motivated example of how these effective statistics can arise in practice. Our analysis further shows that, within a specific parameter regime, this sequential strategy reproduces some features of an optimal collective attack.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Exclusion reshapes the operational manifestation of preparation contextuality

Replacing the task of retrieval with exclusion changes how preparation contextuality manifests operationally under parity-oblivious constraints, with exclusion showing a quantum advantage where retrieval does not. We introduce the parity-oblivious random exclusion code (POREC) and show that for prime symbol size $m$, classical and preparation-noncontextual encodings provide a tight noncontextual bound. For the first nontrivial case (two digits, three symbols), our derived exact qubit optimum violates this bound, in contrast to parity-oblivious retrieval, which displays no quantum advantage. This characteristic difference is absent without parity constraints. For general prime $m$, qubit strategies achieve a quantum-to-noncontextual gap that grows linearly relative to the random exclusion code (REC) gap, exceeding both parity-oblivious retrieval and standard REC. The exact qubit bound yields a sharp semi-device-independent certification of dimension $d \geq 3$. Our analysis of noise robustness demonstrates POREC to be amenable for experimental implementation on existing prepare-and-measure platforms, establishing parity-oblivious exclusion as a distinct operational probe of preparation contextuality, as well as a practical information processing protocol with wide applications.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Absolute Schmidt number: characterization, detection and resource-theoretic quantification

The dimensionality of entanglement, quantified by the Schmidt number, is a valuable resource for a wide range of quantum information processing tasks. In this work, we introduce the notion of the absolute Schmidt number, referring to states whose Schmidt number cannot be increased by any global unitary transformation. We provide a characterization of the set of arbitrary-dimensional states whose Schmidt number is invariant under all global unitaries. Our approach enables us to develop both witness-based and moment-based techniques to detect nonabsolute Schmidt number states which could provide significant operational advantages through Schmidt number enhancement by global unitaries. We next formulate two resource-theoretic measures of nonabsolute Schmidt number states, based respectively on Schmidt number witness and robustness, and demonstrate an operational utility of the latter in a channel discrimination task. Finally, we extend our analysis to quantum channels by introducing a new class of channels that possess the absolute Schmidt number property. We derive a necessary and sufficient condition for identifying when a channel has the absolute Schmidt number property, confining our analysis to the class of covariant channels.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Enhancement of an Unruh-DeWitt battery performance through quadratic environmental coupling

We investigate relativistic effects on the performance of a quantum battery in an open quantum framework. We consider an Unruh-DeWitt detector driven by a coherent classical pulse as a quantum battery that is interacting with a massless scalar field through a quadratic coupling. The battery follows a trajectory composed of uniform acceleration along one direction, combined with constant four-velocity components in the orthogonal plane to the acceleration. Accelerated motion degrades the performance of the quantum battery rapidly in the absence of the orthogonal velocity component. We first derive the Lindblad equation for quadratic coupling in detail. We then show that the quadratic scalar field coupling enhances coherence and stability in the presence of orthogonal velocity. We observe that decoherence is mitigated significantly, resulting in remarkable improvement in the battery capacity and efficiency compared to the case of the usual linear field coupling. This opens up the possibility of nonlinear environmental coupling enabling stored energy to be retained over longer durations, leading to more efficient operation of quantum devices.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Efficient Computation of Generalized Noncontextual Polytopes and Quantum violation of their Facet Inequalities

Finding a set of empirical criteria fulfilled by any theory satisfying the generalized notion of noncontextuality is a challenging task of both operational and foundational importance. This work presents a methodology for constructing the noncontextual polytope while ensuring that the dimension of the polytope associated with the preparations remains constant regardless of the number of measurements and their outcome size. The facet inequalities of the noncontextual polytope can thus be obtained in a computationally efficient manner. We illustrate the efficacy of our methodology through several distinct contextuality scenarios. Our investigation uncovers several hitherto unexplored noncontextuality inequalities and demonstrates applications of quantum contextual correlations in certification of non-projective measurements, witnessing the dimension of quantum systems, and randomness certification.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Decoherence from quantum spacetime noise: An open-systems framework with application to neutrino oscillations

We present a general open-quantum-systems framework to model decoherence induced by stochastic Planck-scale fluctuations of spacetime, focusing on the kappa-Minkowski noncommutative geometry as a representative quantum-gravity scenario. Treating the deformation parameter as Gaussian white noise, we derive a Lindblad-type master equation applicable to arbitrary quantum systems and obtain a distinctive inverse-energy scaling of the decoherence rate, Gamma proportional to E^{-4}. As an illustrative example, we analyze a three-level system motivated by neutrino flavor oscillations and derive closed-form expressions for survival and transition probabilities with spacetime-induced damping. The E^{-4} scaling contrasts sharply with the positive power laws often invoked in quantum-gravity phenomenology and predicts negligible decoherence for high-energy neutrinos consistent with IceCube observations, while implying that the strongest effects arise in the extreme low-energy regime. In this context, the sub-eV-scale energies characteristic of the cosmic neutrino background provide a natural infrared benchmark for illustrating the enhanced sensitivity to quantum-spacetime fluctuations. Our results establish a unified formalism connecting quantum-information methods, open-system dynamics, and quantum-spacetime phenomenology, thereby offering a framework for exploring potential signatures of Planck-scale physics in future low-energy neutrino studies.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

Nonlocality in Continuous-Variable Quantum Networks

Quantum networks enable forms of nonlocality beyond the standard Bell scenario, with a multitude of potential applications. Continuous-variable (CV) platforms are particularly attractive for large-scale networks, offering deterministic entanglement generation and favorable prospects for long-distance distribution. Here we present a formalism to study CV network nonlocality using pseudospin measurements. Considering the linear chain and star configurations, we derive the maximal violations of the corresponding network locality inequalities for arbitrary two-mode states. Using two-mode squeezed vacuum states, we show that the strength of nonlocality in the star configuration remains independent of the network size. Moreover, the nonlocal correlations persist even at arbitrarily high temperatures provided the squeezing exceeds a critical threshold. Further, we demonstrate non-Gaussianity as an enhancer of network nonlocality through illustrations of various classes of non-Gaussian resources. Remarkably, a coherent superposition of single-photon subtractions across modes achieves maximal violation for vanishing squeezing. Finally, we provide schematics of an experimentally feasible implementation of CV network nonlocality based on the isomorphism between pseudospin and spatial parity observables.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Detection of nonabsolute separability in quantum states and channels through moments

In quantum information and computation, the generation of entanglement through unitary gates remains a significant and active area of research. However, there are states termed as absolutely separable, from which entanglement cannot be created through any non-local unitary action. Thus, from a resource-theoretic perspective, non-absolutely separable states are useful as they can be turned into entangled states using some appropriate unitary gates. In this work, we propose an efficient method to detect non-absolutely separable states. Our approach relies on evaluating moments that can bypass the need for full state tomography, thereby enhancing its practical applicability. We then present several examples in support of our detection scheme. We also address a closely related problem concerning states whose partial transpose remains positive under any arbitrary non-local unitary action. Furthermore, we examine the effectiveness of our moment-based approach in the detection of quantum channels that are not absolutely separating, which entails the detection of resource preserving channels. Finally, we demonstrate the operational significance of non-absolutely separable states by proving that every such state can provide an advantage in a quantum-channel discrimination task.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Secure One-Sided Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution Under Collective Attacks with Enhanced Robustness

We study the security of a quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol under the one-sided device-independent (1sDI) setting, which assumes trust in only one party's measurement device. This approach effectively provides a balance between the experimental viability of device-dependent (DD-QKD) and the minimal trust assumptions of device-independent (DI-QKD). An analytical lower bound on the asymptotic key rate is derived to provide security against collective attacks, in which the eavesdropper's information is limited only by the function of observed violation of a linear quantum steering inequality, specifically the three-setting Cavalcanti-Jones-Wiseman-Reid (CJWR) inequality. We provide a closed-form key rate formula by reducing the security analysis to mixtures of Bell-diagonal states by utilizing symmetries of the steering functional. We show that the protocol tolerates higher quantum bit error rates (QBER) than present DI-QKD protocols by benchmarking its performance under depolarizing noise. Furthermore, we explore the impact of detection inefficiencies and show that, in contrast to DI-QKD, which requires near-perfect detection, secure key generation can be achieved even with lower detection efficiency on the untrusted side. These findings highlight the advantages of 1sDI-QKD as a steering-based alternative for secure quantum communication and provide insights relevant for near-future experimental implementations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Robust certification of quantum instruments through a sequential communication game

We propose a communication game in the sequential measurement scenario, involving a sender and two receivers with restricted communication among the latter parties. In the framework of the prepare-transform-measure scenario, we find a prominent quantum advantage in the receiver's decoding of the message originally encoded by the sender. We show that an optimal trade-off between the success probabilities of the two receivers enables self-testing of the sender's state preparation, the first receiver's instruments, and the measurement device of the second receiver in a semi-device-independent way. Our protocol enables a more robust certification of the unsharp measurement parameter of the first receiver compared to an earlier protocol. We further generalize our game to higher-dimensional systems, revealing greater quantum advantage with an increase in dimensions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Classifying Measurement Incompatibility under Classical Pre- and Post-Processing Operations

Measurement incompatibility has proved to be an important resource for quantum information processing. In this work, we present an operational approach that leverages classical operations on the inputs (pre-processing) and outputs (post-processing) of measurement devices to explore different layers of incompatibility among the measurements performed by the device. We study classifications of measurement incompatibility with respect to these two types of classical operations, viz., post-processing or coarse-graining of measurement outcomes and pre-processing or convex-mixing of different measurements. We derive analytical criteria for determining when a set of projective measurements is fully incompatible with respect to coarse-graining or convex-mixing. Robustness against white noise for different layers of incompatibility for mutually unbiased bases is investigated. Furthermore, we study operational witnesses for incompatibility subject to these classical operations, using the input-output statistics of Bell-type experiments as well as experiments in the prepare-and-measure scenario.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Detecting genuine multipartite entanglement using moments of positive maps

Genuine multipartite entanglement (GME) represents the strongest form of entanglement in multipartite systems, providing significant advantages in various quantum information processing tasks. In this work, we propose an experimentally feasible scheme for detecting GME, based on the truncated moments of positive maps. Our method avoids the need for full state tomography, making it scalable for larger systems. We provide illustrative examples of both pure and mixed states to demonstrate the efficacy of our formalism in detecting inequivalent classes of tripartite genuine entanglement. We further demonstrate the detection of quadripartite genuine entanglement, underscoring the effectiveness of our method in identifying entanglement beyond the tripartite case. Finally, we present a proposal for realising these moments in real experiments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Thermodynamic Probes of Multipartite Entanglement in Strongly Interacting Quantum Systems

Quantifying multipartite entanglement in quantum many-body systems and hybrid quantum computing architectures is a fundamental yet challenging task. In recent years, thermodynamic quantities such as the maximum extractable work from an isolated system (the ergotropy) have allowed for entanglement measures that are operationally more accessible. However, these measures can be restrictive when applied to systems governed by Hamiltonians with strong collective or interparticle interactions. Motivated by advances in quantum simulators, we propose a framework that circumvents these restrictions by evaluating global and local ergotropy either through controlled quenching of interactions or by measuring suitable local observables only. We show that this formalism allows us to correctly estimate genuine multipartite entanglement in both stationary and time-evolved states of systems with strong interactions, including parametrized quantum states simulated on a quantum circuit with varying circuit depth and noise. We demonstrate its applicability to realistic physical models, namely, the Tavis-Cummings model, the three-level Dicke model, and the transverse-field Ising model, highlighting its potential as a versatile tool for characterizing entanglement in near-term quantum simulators.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Constraining the Hubble parameter with the 21 cm brightness temperature signal in a universe with inhomogeneities

We consider the 21\,cm brightness temperature as a probe of the Hubble tension in the framework of an inhomogeneous cosmological model. Employing Buchert's averaging formalism to study the effect of inhomogeneities on the background evolution, we consider scaling laws for the backreaction and curvature consistent with structure formation simulations. We calibrate the effective matter density using MCMC analysis using Union 2.1 Supernova Ia data. Our results show that a higher Hubble constant ($\sim73$\,km/s/Mpc) leads to a shallower absorption feature in the brightness temperature versus redshift curve. On the other hand, a lower value ($\sim67$\,km/s/Mpc) produces a remarkable dip in the brightness temperature $T_{21}$. Such a substantial difference is absent in the standard $Λ$CDM model. Our findings indicate that inhomogeneities could significantly affect the 21\,cm signal, and may shed further light on the different measurements of the Hubble constant.

astro-ph.CO↗