arXiv subjects

Ana C. S. Costa

Publications and source records attributed to Ana C. S. Costa.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Power-resolved ergotropy and correlation redistribution in a bosonic quantum battery driven by a coherent-state superposition

Ergotropic-gap relations provide thermodynamic witnesses of quantum correlations, but a direct dynamical connection between extractable work and entanglement remains largely unexplored in multipartite non-Gaussian bosonic systems. Here, we establish such a connection for a bosonic quantum battery driven by a coherent-state superposition. Despite the infinite-dimensional Hilbert space, the dynamics retains a simple structure that allows the relevant work and correlation measures to be obtained exactly. We show that the loss of extractable work associated with the passive part of the battery energy is directly determined by charger-battery entanglement. This relation also separates the charging power into contributions from energy transfer and from changes in the battery spectrum. At the same time, multipartite correlations are progressively redistributed from charger-involving correlations to correlations internal to the battery. For a symmetric resonant protocol, complete energy transfer coincides with charger-battery disentanglement and fully extractable stored energy, while multipartite correlations within the battery are maximal. Individual cells, however, remain mixed, revealing a distinction between global and local work extraction. We further show that, in the regime considered, locally extractable work is entirely supported by energetic coherence. Under single-photon loss, the analytical structure survives, but environmental correlations separate charger disentanglement from maximal work extraction.

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arXiv2026

Theory-Independent Context Incompatibility: Quantification and Experimental Demonstration

The concept of compatibility originally emerged as a synonym for the commutativity of observables and later evolved into the notion of measurement compatibility. In any case, however, it has remained predominantly algebraic in nature, tied to the formalism of quantum mechanics. Recently, still within the quantum domain, the concept of context incompatibility has been proposed as a resource for detecting eavesdropping in quantum communication channels. Here, we propose a significant generalization of this concept by introducing the notion of theory-independent context compatibility, a concept that is trivially satisfied by classical statistical theory but is found in conflict with quantum mechanics. Moreover, we propose a figure of merit capable of quantifying the degree of violation of theory-independent context incompatibility, and we experimentally demonstrate, using a quantum optics platform, that quantum systems can exhibit pronounced degrees of violation. Besides yielding a concept that extends to generic probabilistic theories and retrieving the notion of measurement incompatibility in the quantum domain, our results offer a promising perspective on evaluating the role of incompatibility in the manifestation of non-local correlations.

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arXiv2026

Bell and EPR experiments with signalling data

The no-signalling principle is a fundamental assumption in Bell-inequality and quantum-steering experiments. Nonetheless, experimental imperfections can lead to apparent violations beyond those expected from finite-sample statistics. Here, we propose extensions of local hidden variable and local hidden state theories that allow for bounded, operationally quantifiable, amounts of signalling. We show how non-classicality tests can be developed for these models, both through exact methods based on the full set of observed statistics and through corrections to the standard Bell and steering inequalities. We demonstrate the applicability of these methods via two scenarios that feature apparent signalling: an IBM quantum processor and post-selected data from inefficient detectors.

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arXiv2025

Correcting for finite statistics effects in a quantum steering experiment

Verifying entanglement between parties is essential for creating secure quantum communication. However, finite statistics can lead to false positive outcomes in any tests for entanglement. Here, we introduce a one-sided device-independent protocol that corrects for apparent signaling effects in experimental probability distributions, caused by statistical fluctuations and experimental imperfections. We use semidefinite programming to identify the optimal inequality, for our experimental probability distribution, without resource-intensive tomography. Our protocol is numerically and experimentally analysed in the context of random, misaligned measurements, correcting apparent signaling where necessary. Our results show a significantly higher probability of violation than existing state-of-the-art inequalities. This work demonstrates the power of semidefinite programming for entanglement verification and brings quantum networks closer to practical applications.

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arXiv2025

Two-time quantities as elements of physical reality

In recent years, time correlators have received renewed attention, especially under the guise of identifiers of nonclassical correlations. However, the physical interpretation of these objects, and more generally of multi-times variables, remains ambiguous, which may be one of the reasons why they are so difficult to measure. In this work, we introduce and advance the perspective that a two-time correlator should actually be regarded as an average involving a novel single physical observable, one that cannot be rephrased in terms of the primitive ones, according to quantum principles. In particular, we provide examples showing that the presumed constituents of a two-time correlator and the proposed two-time operator itself cannot be simultaneous elements of the physical reality.

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arXiv2025

Axiomatic approach to measures of total correlations

Correlations play a pivotal role in various fields of science, particularly in quantum mechanics, yet their proper quantification remains a subject of debate. In this work, we aim to discuss the challenge of defining a reliable measure of total correlations. We first outline essential properties that an effective correlation measure should satisfy and review existing measures, including quantum mutual information, the p-norm of the correlation matrix, and the recently defined quantum Pearson correlation coefficient. Additionally, we introduce new measures based on Rényi and Tsallis relative entropies, as well as the Kullback-Leibler divergence. Our analysis reveals that while quantum mutual information, the p-norm, and the Pearson measure exhibit equivalence for two-qubit systems, they all suffer from an ordering problem. Despite criticisms regarding its reliability, we argue that quantum mutual information remains a valid measure of total correlations.

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arXiv2020

Experimental demonstration of robust quantum steering

We analyse and experimentally demonstrate quantum steering using criteria based on generalised entropies and criteria with minimal assumptions based on the so-called dimension-bounded steering. Further, we investigate and compare their robustness against experimental imperfections such as misalignment in the shared measurement reference frame. Whilst entropy based criteria are robust against imperfections in state preparation, we demonstrate an advantage in dimension-bounded steering in the presence of measurement imprecision. As steering with such minimal assumptions is easier to reach than fully non-local correlations, and as our setting requires very little trust in the measurement devices, the results provide a candidate for the costly Bell tests while remaining highly device-independent.

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arXiv2020

Quantum Steering

Quantum correlations between two parties are essential for the argument of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen in favour of the incompleteness of quantum mechanics. Schrödinger noted that an essential point is the fact that one party can influence the wave function of the other party by performing suitable measurements. He called this phenomenon quantum steering and studied its properties, but only in the last years this kind of quantum correlation attracted significant interest in quantum information theory. In this paper the theory of quantum steering is reviewed. First, the basic concepts of steering and local hidden state models are presented and their relation to entanglement and Bell nonlocality is explained. Then various criteria for characterizing steerability and structural results on the phenomenon are described. A detailed discussion is given on the connections between steering and incompatibility of quantum measurements. Finally, applications of steering in quantum information processing and further related topics are reviewed.

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arXiv2018

Steering criteria from general entropic uncertainty relations

The effect of steering describes a possible action at a distance via measurements but characterizing the quantum states that can be used for this task remains difficult. We provide a method to derive sufficient criteria for steering from entropic uncertainty relations using generalized entropies. We demonstrate that the resulting criteria outperform existing criteria in several scenarios; moreover, they allow one to detect weakly steerable states.

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arXiv2018

Entropic Steering Criteria: Applications to Bipartite and Tripartite Systems

The effect of quantum steering describes a possible action at a distance via local measurements. Whereas many attempts on characterizing steerability have been pursued, answering the question as to whether a given state is steerable or not remains a difficult task. Here, we investigate the applicability of a recently proposed method for building steering criteria from generalized entropic uncertainty relations. This method works for any entropy which satisfy the properties of (i) (pseudo-) additivity for independent distributions; (ii) state independent entropic uncertainty relation (EUR); and (iii) joint convexity of a corresponding relative entropy. Our study extends the former analysis to Tsallis and Rényi entropies on bipartite and tripartite systems. As examples, we investigate the steerability of the three-qubit GHZ and W states.

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