arXiv subjects

Adán Cabello

Publications and source records attributed to Adán Cabello.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Device-independent tests of structures of measurement incompatibility

In contrast with classical physics, in quantum physics some sets of measurements are incompatible in the sense that they can not be performed simultaneously. Among other applications, incompatibility allows for contextuality and Bell nonlocality. This makes of crucial importance developing tools for certifying whether a set of measurements posses a certain structure of incompatibility. Here we show that, for quantum or nonsignaling models, if the measurements employed in a Bell test satisfy a given type of compatibility, then the amount of violation of some specific Bell inequalities become limited. Then, we show that correlations arising from local measurements on two-qubit states violate these limits, which rules out in a device-independent way such structures of incompatibility. In particular, we prove that quantum correlations allow for a device-independent demonstration of genuine triplewise incompatibility. Finally, we translate these results into a semi-device-independent Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-steering scenario.

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arXiv2019

Robust self-testing of quantum systems via noncontextuality inequalities

Characterising unknown quantum states and measurements is a fundamental problem in quantum information processing. In this Letter, we provide a novel scheme to self-test local quantum systems using non-contextuality inequalities. Our work leverages the graph-theoretic framework for contextuality introduced by Cabello, Severini, and Winter, combined with tools from mathematical optimisation that guarantee the unicity of optimal solutions. As an application, we show that the celebrated Klyachko-Can-Biniciogglu-Shumovsky inequality and its generalisation to contextuality scenarios with odd n-cycle compatibility relations admit robust self-testing.

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arXiv2019

Tracking the dynamics of an ideal quantum measurement

The existence of ideal quantum measurements is one of the fundamental predictions of quantum mechanics. In theory the measurement projects onto the eigenbasis of the measurement observable while preserving all coherences of degenerate eigenstates. The question arises whether there are dynamical processes in nature that correspond to such ideal quantum measurements. Here we address this question and present experimental results monitoring the dynamics of a naturally occurring measurement process: the coupling of a trapped ion qutrit to the photon environment. By taking tomographic snapshots during the detection process, we show with an average fidelity of $94\%$ that the process develops in agreement with the model of an ideal quantum measurement.

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arXiv2019

Necessary and sufficient condition for contextuality from incompatibility

Measurement incompatibility is the most basic resource that distinguishes quantum from classical physics. Contextuality is the critical resource behind the power of some models of quantum computation and is also a necessary ingredient for many applications in quantum information. A fundamental problem is thus identifying when incompatibility produces contextuality. Here, we show that, given a structure of incompatibility characterized by a graph in which nonadjacent vertices represent incompatible ideal measurements, the necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a quantum realization producing contextuality is that this graph contains induced cycles of size larger than three.

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arXiv2019

The thermodynamical cost of some interpretations of quantum theory. Reply to Prunkl and Timpson, and Davidsson

Here we clarify the assumptions made and conclusions reached in our paper "The thermodynamical cost of some interpretations of quantum theory" [Phys. Rev. A 94, 052127 (2016)], at the light of the criticisms of Prunkl and Timpson [Stud. Hist. Philos. Sci. Part B 63, 114 (2018)], and Davidsson (Master thesis, Stockholm University, 2018). We point out some misunderstandings and some weaknesses of the counterexample Prunkl and Timpson present to challenge our conclusion. We thus conclude, once more, that interpretations of quantum theory which consider the probabilities of measurement outcomes to be determined by objective properties of the measured system and satisfy the assumption that the measured system only has finite memory have a thermodynamical cost.

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arXiv2018

Minimal true-implies-false and true-implies-true sets of propositions in noncontextual hidden variable theories

An essential ingredient in many examples of the conflict between quantum theory and noncontextual hidden variables (e.g., the proof of the Kochen-Specker theorem and Hardy's proof of Bell's theorem) is a set of atomic propositions about the outcomes of ideal measurements such that, when outcome noncontextuality is assumed, if proposition $A$ is true, then, due to exclusiveness and completeness, a nonexclusive proposition $B$ ($C$) must be false (true). We call such a set a {\em true-implies-false set} (TIFS) [{\em true-implies-true set} (TITS)]. Here we identify all the minimal TIFSs and TITSs in every dimension $d \ge 3$, i.e., the sets of each type having the smallest number of propositions. These sets are important because each of them leads to a proof of impossibility of noncontextual hidden variables and corresponds to a simple situation with quantum vs classical advantage. Moreover, the methods developed to identify them may be helpful to solve some open problems regarding minimal Kochen-Specker sets.

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arXiv2018

Observation of stronger-than-binary correlations with entangled photonic qutrits

We present the first experimental confirmation of the quantum-mechanical prediction of stronger-than-binary correlations. These are correlations that cannot be explained under the assumption that the occurrence of a particular outcome of an $n \ge 3$-outcome measurement is due to a two-step process in which, in the first step, some classical mechanism precludes $n-2$ of the outcomes and, in the second step, a binary measurement generates the outcome. Our experiment uses pairs of photonic qutrits distributed between two laboratories, where randomly chosen three-outcome measurements are performed. We report a violation by {9.3} standard deviations of the optimal inequality for nonsignaling binary correlations.

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arXiv2018

Quantum predictions for an unmeasured system cannot be simulated with a finite-memory classical system

We consider an ideal experiment in which unlimited nonprojective quantum measurements are sequentially performed on a system that is initially entangled with a distant one. At each step of the sequence, the measurements are randomly chosen between two. However, regardless of which measurement is chosen or which outcome is obtained, the quantum state of the pair always remains entangled. We show that the classical simulation of the reduced state of the distant system requires not only unlimited rounds of communication, but also that the distant system has infinite memory. Otherwise, a thermodynamical argument predicts heating at a distance. Our proposal can be used for experimentally ruling out nonlocal finite-memory classical models of quantum theory.

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arXiv2018

Optimal classical simulation of state-independent quantum contextuality

Simulating quantum contextuality with classical systems requires memory. A fundamental yet open question is what is the minimum memory needed and, therefore, the precise sense in which quantum systems outperform classical ones. Here, we make rigorous the notion of classically simulating quantum state-independent contextuality (QSIC) in the case of a single quantum system submitted to an infinite sequence of measurements randomly chosen from a finite QSIC set. We obtain the minimum memory needed to simulate arbitrary QSIC sets via classical systems under the assumption that the simulation should not contain any oracular information. In particular, we show that, while classically simulating two qubits tested with the Peres-Mermin set requires $\log_2 24 \approx 4.585$ bits, simulating a single qutrit tested with the Yu-Oh set requires, at least, $5.740$ bits.

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arXiv2018

Device-independent certification of two bits of randomness from one entangled bit and Gisin's elegant Bell inequality

We prove that as conjectured by Ac\'ın et al. [Phys. Rev. A 93, 040102(R) (2016)], two bits of randomness can be certified in a device-independent way from one bit of entanglement using the maximal quantum violation of Gisin's elegant Bell inequality. This suggests a surprising connection between maximal entanglement, complete sets of mutually unbiased bases, and elements of symmetric informationally complete positive operator-valued measures, on one side, and the optimal way of certifying maximal randomness, on the other.

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arXiv2017

Self-testing properties of Gisin's elegant Bell inequality

An experiment in which the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality is maximally violated is self-testing (i.e., it certifies in a device-independent way both the state and the measurements). We prove that an experiment maximally violating Gisin's elegant Bell inequality is not similarly self-testing. The reason can be traced back to the problem of distinguishing an operator from its complex conjugate. We provide a complete and explicit characterization of all scenarios in which the elegant Bell inequality is maximally violated. This enables us to see exactly how the problem plays out.

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arXiv2017

Proposed experiment to test fundamentally binary theories

Fundamentally binary theories are nonsignaling theories in which measurements of many outcomes are constructed by selecting from binary measurements. They constitute a sensible alternative to quantum theory and have never been directly falsified by any experiment. Here we show that fundamentally binary theories are experimentally testable with current technology. For that, we identify a feasible Bell-type experiment on pairs of entangled qutrits. In addition, we prove that, for any n, quantum n-ary correlations are not fundamentally (n-1)-ary. For that, we introduce a family of inequalities that hold for fundamentally (n-1)-ary theories but are violated by quantum n-ary correlations.

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arXiv2017

Noncontextual wirings

Contextuality is a fundamental feature of quantum theory and is necessary for quantum computation and communication. Serious steps have therefore been taken towards a formal framework for contextuality as an operational resource. However, the most important component for a resource theory - a concrete, explicit form for the free operations of contextuality - was still missing. Here we provide such a component by introducing noncontextual wirings: a physically-motivated class of contextuality-free operations with a friendly parametrization. We characterize them completely for the general case of black-box measurement devices with arbitrarily many inputs and outputs. As applications, we show that the relative entropy of contextuality is a contextuality monotone and that maximally contextual boxes that serve as contextuality bits exist for a broad class of scenarios. Our results complete a unified resource-theoretic framework for contextuality and Bell nonlocality.

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arXiv2017

Single-photon quantum contextuality on a chip

In classical physics, properties of the objects exist independently on the context, i.e. whether and how measurements are performed. Quantum physics showed this assumption to be wrong and that Nature is indeed "contextual". Contextuality has been observed in the simplest physical systems such as single particles, and plays fundamental roles in quantum computation advantage. Here, we demonstrate for the first time quantum contextuality in an integrated photonic chip. The chip implements different combinations of measurements on a single photon delocalized on four distinct spatial modes. We show violations of a CHSH-like non-contextuality inequality by 14 standard deviations. This paves the way to compact and portable devices for contextuality-based quantum-powered protocols.

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arXiv2017

Comment on "Franson Interference Generated by a Two-Level System"

In a recent Letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 030501 (2017)], Peiris, Konthasinghe, and Muller report a Franson interferometry experiment using pairs of photons generated from a two-level semiconductor quantum dot. The authors report a visibility of 66% and claim that this visibility "goes beyond the classical limit of 50% and approaches the limit of violation of Bell's inequalities (70.7%)." We explain why we do not agree with this last statement and how to fix the problem.

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arXiv2016

Maximum nonlocality in the (3,2,2) scenario

We identify the simplest combinations of entanglement and incompatibility giving the maximum quantum violation for each of the 46 classes of tight Bell inequalities for the (3,2,2) scenario, i.e., three parties, two measurements per party, and two outcomes per measurement. This allows us to classify the maximum quantum nonlocality according to the simplest resources needed to achieve it. We show that entanglement and incompatibility only produce maximum nonlocality when they are combined in specific ways. For each entanglement class there is, in most cases, just one incompatibility class leading to maximum nonlocality. We also identify two interesting cases. We show that the maximum quantum violation of Śliwa inequality 23 only occurs when the third party measures the identity, so nonlocality cannot increase when we add a third party to the bipartite case. Almost quantum correlations predict that adding a new party increases nonlocality. This points out that either almost quantum correlations violate a fundamental principle or that there is a form of tripartite entanglement which quantum theory cannot account for. The other interesting case is the maximum quantum violation of Śliwa inequality 26, which, like the Mermin inequality, requires maximum incompatibility for all parties. In contrast, it requires a specific entangled state which has the same tripartite negativity as the W state.

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arXiv2016

Device-Independent Certification of a Nonprojective Qubit Measurement

Quantum measurements on a two-level system can have more than two independent outcomes, and in this case, the measurement cannot be projective. Measurements of this general type are essential to an operational approach to quantum theory, but so far, the nonprojective character of a measurement can only be verified experimentally by already assuming a specific quantum model of parts of the experimental setup. Here, we overcome this restriction by using a device-independent approach. In an experiment on pairs of polarization-entangled photonic qubits we violate by more than 8 standard deviations a Bell-like correlation inequality that is valid for all sets of two-outcome measurements in any dimension. We combine this with a device-independent verification that the system is best described by two qubits, which therefore constitutes the first device-independent certification of a nonprojective quantum measurement.

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arXiv2016

The unspeakable why

For years, the biggest unspeakable in quantum theory has been why quantum theory and what is quantum theory telling us about the world. Recent efforts are unveiling a surprisingly simple answer. Here we show that two characteristic limits of quantum theory, the maximum violations of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt and Klyachko-Can-Binicioğlu-Shumovsky inequalities, are enforced by a simple principle. The effectiveness of this principle suggests that non-realism is the key that explains why quantum theory.

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