arXiv subjects

David Schmid

Publications and source records attributed to David Schmid.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

Copenhagenish interpretations of quantum mechanics

We define a class of Copenhagenish interpretations encompassing modern interpretations that follow the Copenhagen spirit. These interpretations are characterized by four postulates: Observers Observe, Universality, Anti-$ψ$-ontology, and Completeness. We explain why such interpretations are not equivalent to the textbook (or orthodox) interpretation, nor to the view that one should shut up and calculate, nor to strict operationalism. We then discuss what lessons are implied for Copenhagenish interpretations by the measurement problem, the Wigner's friend thought experiment, and the simple variants of the Wigner's friend thought experiment that we term Wigner's enemy, stalkee, and penpal. In particular, we discuss how Copenhagenish interpretations give multiple distinct descriptions of each experiment, where these descriptions are each individually true, yet cannot be combined into any single description. To make such interpretations consistent, then, one requires epistemological constraints forbidding certain perspectives from being combined. We discuss these constraints, their motivations, and some of the challenges they introduce.

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arXiv2025

On whether quantum theory needs complex numbers: the foil theories perspective

Recent work by Renou et al. (2021) has led to some controversy concerning the question of whether quantum theory requires complex numbers for its formulation. We promote the view that the main result of that work is best understood not as a claim about the relative merits of different representations of quantum theory, but rather as a claim about the possibility of experimentally adjudicating between standard quantum theory and an alternative theory -- a foil theory -- known as real-amplitude quantum theory (RQT). In particular, the claim is that this adjudication can be achieved given only an assumption about the causal structure of the experiment. Here, we aim to shed some light on why this is possible, by reconceptualizing the comparison of the two theories as an instance of a broader class of such theory comparisons. By recasting RQT as the subtheory of quantum theory that arises by symmetrizing with respect to the collective action of a time-reversal symmetry, we can compare it to other subtheories that arise by symmetrization, but for different symmetries. If the symmetry has a unitary representation, the resulting foil theory is termed a twirled quantum world, and if it does not (as is the case in RQT), the resulting foil theory is termed a swirled quantum world. We show that, in contrast to RQT, there is no possibility of distinguishing any twirled quantum world from quantum theory given only an assumption about causal structure. We also define analogues of twirling and swirling for an arbitrary generalized probabilistic theory and identify certain necessary conditions on a causal structure for it to be able to support a causal compatibility gap between the theory and its symmetrized version. We draw out the implications of these analyses for the question of how a lack of a shared reference frame state features into the possibility of such a gap.

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arXiv2024

Relating Wigner's Friend Scenarios to Nonclassical Causal Compatibility, Monogamy Relations, and Fine Tuning

Nonclassical causal modeling was developed in order to explain violations of Bell inequalities while adhering to relativistic causal structure and faithfulness -- that is, avoiding fine-tuned causal explanations. Recently, a no-go theorem that can be viewed as being stronger than Bell's theorem has been derived, based on extensions of the Wigner's friend thought experiment: the Local Friendliness (LF) no-go theorem. Here we show that the LF no-go theorem poses formidable challenges for the field of causal modeling, even when nonclassical and/or cyclic causal explanations are considered. We first recast the LF inequalities, one of the key elements of the LF no-go theorem, as special cases of monogamy relations stemming from a statistical marginal problem. We then further recast LF inequalities as causal compatibility inequalities stemming from a nonclassical causal marginal problem, for a causal structure implied by well-motivated causal-metaphysical assumptions. We find that the LF inequalities emerge from this causal structure even when one allows the latent causes of observed events to admit post-quantum descriptions, such as in a generalized probabilistic theory or in an even more exotic theory. We further prove that no nonclassical causal model can explain violations of LF inequalities without violating the No Fine-Tuning principle. Finally, we note that these obstacles cannot be overcome even if one appeals to cyclic causal models, and we discuss potential directions for further extensions of the causal modeling framework.

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arXiv2024

A review and analysis of six extended Wigner's friend arguments

The Wigner's friend thought experiment was intended to illustrate the difficulty one has in describing an agent as a quantum system when that agent performs a measurement. While it does pose a challenge to the orthodox interpretation of quantum theory, most modern interpretations have no trouble in resolving the difficulty. Recently, a number of extensions of Wigner's ideas have been proposed. We provide a gentle introduction to six such arguments, modifying the specifics of many of them so that they are as simple and unified as possible. In particular, we show that all of the arguments hinge on assumptions about correlations between measurement outcomes that are not accessible to any observer, even in principle. We then provide a critical analysis of each argument, focusing especially on how well one can motivate the required assumptions regarding these inaccessible correlations. Although we argue that some of these assumptions are not entirely well-motivated, all of the arguments do shed light on the nature of quantum theory, especially when concerning the description of agents and their measurements.

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arXiv2024

Noncontextuality inequalities for prepare-transform-measure scenarios

We provide the first systematic technique for deriving witnesses of contextuality in prepare-transform-measure scenarios. More specifically, we show how linear quantifier elimination can be used to compute a polytope of correlations consistent with generalized noncontextuality in such scenarios. This polytope is specified as a set of noncontextuality inequalities that are necessary and sufficient conditions for observed data in the scenario to admit of a classical explanation relative to any linear operational identities, if one ignores some constraints from diagram preservation. While including these latter constraints generally leads to tighter inequalities, it seems that nonlinear quantifier elimination would be required to systematically include them. We also provide a linear program which can certify the nonclassicality of a set of numerical data arising in a prepare-transform-measure experiment. We apply our results to get a robust noncontextuality inequality for transformations that can be violated within the stabilizer subtheory. Finally, we give a simple algorithm for computing all the linear operational identities holding among a given set of states, of transformations, or of measurements.

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arXiv2024

Accessible fragments of generalized probabilistic theories, cone equivalence, and applications to witnessing nonclassicality

The formalism of generalized probabilistic theories (GPTs) was originally developed as a way to characterize the landscape of conceivable physical theories. Thus, the GPT describing a given physical theory necessarily includes all physically possible processes. We here consider the question of how to provide a GPT-like characterization of a particular experimental setup within a given physical theory. We show that the resulting characterization is not generally a GPT in and of itself-rather, it is described by a more general mathematical object that we introduce and term an accessible GPT fragment. We then introduce an equivalence relation, termed cone equivalence, between accessible GPT fragments (and, as a special case, between standard GPTs). We give a number of examples of experimental scenarios that are best described using accessible GPT fragments, and where moreover cone-equivalence arises naturally. We then prove that an accessible GPT fragment admits of a classical explanation if and only if every other fragment that is cone-equivalent to it also admits of a classical explanation. Finally, we leverage this result to prove several fundamental results regarding the experimental requirements for witnessing the failure of generalized noncontextuality. In particular, we prove that neither incompatibility among measurements nor the assumption of freedom of choice is necessary for witnessing failures of generalized noncontextuality, and, moreover, that such failures can be witnessed even using arbitrarily inefficient detectors.

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arXiv2024

Contextuality with vanishing coherence and maximal robustness to dephasing

Generalized contextuality is a resource for a wide range of communication and information processing protocols. However, contextuality is not possible without coherence, and so can be destroyed by dephasing noise. Here, we explore the robustness of contextuality to partially dephasing noise in a scenario related to state discrimination (for which contextuality is a resource). We find that a vanishing amount of coherence is sufficient to demonstrate the failure of noncontextuality in this scenario, and we give a proof of contextuality that is robust to arbitrary amounts of partially dephasing noise. This is in stark contrast to partially depolarizing noise, which is always sufficient to destroy contextuality.

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arXiv2024

Contextuality without incompatibility

The existence of incompatible measurements is often believed to be a feature of quantum theory which signals its inconsistency with any classical worldview. To prove the failure of classicality in the sense of Kochen-Specker noncontextuality, one does indeed require sets of incompatible measurements. However, a more broadly applicable notion of classicality is the existence of a generalized-noncontextual ontological model. In particular, this notion can imply constraints on the representation of outcomes even within a single nonprojective measurement. We leverage this fact to demonstrate that measurement incompatibility is neither necessary nor sufficient for proofs of the failure of generalized noncontextuality. Furthermore, we show that every proof of the failure of generalized noncontextuality in a quantum prepare-measure scenario can be converted into a proof of the failure of generalized noncontextuality in a corresponding scenario with no incompatible measurements.

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arXiv2024

A linear program for testing nonclassicality and an open-source implementation

A well motivated method for demonstrating that an experiment resists any classical explanation is to show that its statistics violate generalized noncontextuality. We here formulate this problem as a linear program and provide an open-source implementation of it which tests whether or not any given prepare-measure experiment is classically-explainable in this sense. The input to the program is simply an arbitrary set of quantum states and an arbitrary set of quantum effects; the program then determines if the Born rule statistics generated by all pairs of these can be explained by a classical (noncontextual) model. If a classical model exists, it provides an explicit model. If it does not, then it computes the minimal amount of noise that must be added such that a model does exist, and then provides this model. We generalize all these results to arbitrary generalized probabilistic theories (and accessible fragments thereof) as well; indeed, our linear program is a test of simplex-embeddability.

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arXiv2024

A structure theorem for generalized-noncontextual ontological models

It is useful to have a criterion for when the predictions of an operational theory should be considered classically explainable. Here we take the criterion to be that the theory admits of a generalized-noncontextual ontological model. Existing works on generalized noncontextuality have focused on experimental scenarios having a simple structure: typically, prepare-measure scenarios. Here, we formally extend the framework of ontological models as well as the principle of generalized noncontextuality to arbitrary compositional scenarios. We leverage a process-theoretic framework to prove that, under some reasonable assumptions, every generalized-noncontextual ontological model of a tomographically local operational theory has a surprisingly rigid and simple mathematical structure -- in short, it corresponds to a frame representation which is not overcomplete. One consequence of this theorem is that the largest number of ontic states possible in any such model is given by the dimension of the associated generalized probabilistic theory. This constraint is useful for generating noncontextuality no-go theorems as well as techniques for experimentally certifying contextuality. Along the way, we extend known results concerning the equivalence of different notions of classicality from prepare-measure scenarios to arbitrary compositional scenarios. Specifically, we prove a correspondence between the following three notions of classical explainability of an operational theory: (i) existence of a noncontextual ontological model for it, (ii) existence of a positive quasiprobability representation for the generalized probabilistic theory it defines, and (iii) existence of an ontological model for the generalized probabilistic theory it defines.

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arXiv2023

A review and reformulation of macroscopic realism: resolving its deficiencies using the framework of generalized probabilistic theories

The notion of macrorealism was introduced by Leggett and Garg in an attempt to capture our intuitive conception of the macroscopic world, which seems difficult to reconcile with our knowledge of quantum physics. By now, numerous experimental witnesses have been proposed as methods of falsifying macrorealism. In this work, I critically review and analyze both the definition of macrorealism and the various proposed tests thereof, identifying a number of problems with these (and revisiting key criticisms raised by other authors). I then show that all these problems can be resolved by reformulating macrorealism within the framework of generalized probabilistic theories. In particular, I argue that a theory should be considered to be macrorealist if and only if it describes every macroscopic system by a strictly classical (i.e., simplicial) generalized probabilistic theory. This approach brings significant clarity and precision to our understanding of macrorealism, and provides us with a host of new tools -- both conceptual and technical -- for studying macrorealism. I leverage this approach i) to clarify in what sense macrorealism is a notion of classicality, ii) to propose a new test of macrorealism that is maximally informative and theory-independent (unlike all prior tests of macrorealism), and iii) to show that every proof of generalized contextuality on a macroscopic system implies the failure of macrorealism.

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arXiv2023

Understanding the interplay of entanglement and nonlocality: motivating and developing a new branch of entanglement theory

A standard approach to quantifying resources is to determine which operations on the resources are freely available, and to deduce the partial order over resources that is induced by the relation of convertibility under the free operations. If the resource of interest is the nonclassicality of the correlations embodied in a quantum state, i.e., entanglement, then the common assumption is that the appropriate choice of free operations is Local Operations and Classical Communication (LOCC). We here advocate for the study of a different choice of free operations, namely, Local Operations and Shared Randomness (LOSR), and demonstrate its utility in understanding the interplay between the entanglement of states and the nonlocality of the correlations in Bell experiments. Specifically, we show that the LOSR paradigm (i) provides a resolution of the anomalies of nonlocality, wherein partially entangled states exhibit more nonlocality than maximally entangled states, (ii) entails new notions of genuine multipartite entanglement and nonlocality that are free of the pathological features of the conventional notions, and (iii) makes possible a resource-theoretic account of the self-testing of entangled states which generalizes and simplifies prior results. Along the way, we derive some fundamental results concerning the necessary and sufficient conditions for convertibility between pure entangled states under LOSR and highlight some of their consequences, such as the impossibility of catalysis for bipartite pure states. The resource-theoretic perspective also clarifies why it is neither surprising nor problematic that there are mixed entangled states which do not violate any Bell inequality. Our results motivate the study of LOSR-entanglement as a new branch of entanglement theory.

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arXiv2023

Aspects of the phenomenology of interference that are genuinely nonclassical

Interference phenomena are often claimed to resist classical explanation. However, such claims are undermined by the fact that the specific aspects of the phenomenology upon which they are based can in fact be reproduced in a noncontextual ontological model [Catani et al., Quantum 7, 1119 (2023)]. This raises the question of what other aspects of the phenomenology of interference do in fact resist classical explanation. We answer this question by demonstrating that the most basic quantum wave-particle duality relation, which expresses the precise tradeoff between path distinguishability and fringe visibility, cannot be reproduced in any noncontextual model. We do this by showing that it is a specific type of uncertainty relation and then leveraging a recent result establishing that noncontextuality restricts the functional form of this uncertainty relation [Catani et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 240401 (2022)]. Finally, we discuss what sorts of interferometric experiment can demonstrate contextuality via the wave-particle duality relation.

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arXiv2023

The resource theory of nonclassicality of channel assemblages

When two parties, Alice and Bob, share correlated quantum systems and Alice performs local measurements, Alice's updated description of Bob's state can provide evidence of nonclassical correlations. This simple scenario, famously introduced by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR), can be modified by allowing Bob to also have a classical or quantum system as an input. In this case, Alice updates her knowledge of the channel (rather than of a state) in Bob's lab. In this paper, we provide a unified framework for studying the nonclassicality of various such generalizations of the EPR scenario. We do so using a resource theory wherein the free operations are local operations and shared randomness (LOSR). We derive a semidefinite program for studying the pre-order of EPR resources and discover possible conversions between the latter. Moreover, we study conversions between post-quantum resources both analytically and numerically.

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arXiv2023

Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory

Quantum interference phenomena are widely viewed as posing a challenge to the classical worldview. Feynman even went so far as to proclaim that they are the only mystery and the basic peculiarity of quantum mechanics. Many have also argued that basic interference phenomena force us to accept a number of radical interpretational conclusions, including: that a photon is neither a particle nor a wave but rather a Jekyll-and-Hyde sort of entity that toggles between the two possibilities, that reality is observer-dependent, and that systems either do not have properties prior to measurements or else have properties that are subject to nonlocal or backwards-in-time causal influences. In this work, we show that such conclusions are not, in fact, forced on us by basic interference phenomena. We do so by describing an alternative to quantum theory, a statistical theory of a classical discrete field (the `toy field theory') that reproduces the relevant phenomenology of quantum interference while rejecting these radical interpretational claims. It also reproduces a number of related interference experiments that are thought to support these interpretational claims, such as the Elitzur-Vaidman bomb tester, Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment, and the quantum eraser experiment. The systems in the toy field theory are field modes, each of which possesses, at all times, both a particle-like property (a discrete occupation number) and a wave-like property (a discrete phase). Although these two properties are jointly possessed, the theory stipulates that they cannot be jointly known. The phenomenology that is generally cited in favour of nonlocal or backwards-in-time causal influences ends up being explained in terms of inferences about distant or past systems, and all that is observer-dependent is the observer's knowledge of reality, not reality itself.

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arXiv2023

Quantifying EPR: the resource theory of nonclassicality of common-cause assemblages

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering is often (implicitly or explicitly) taken to be evidence for spooky action-at-a-distance. An alternative perspective on steering is that Alice has no causal influence on the physical state of Bob's system; rather, Alice merely updates her knowledge of the state of Bob's system by performing a measurement on a system correlated with his. In this work, we elaborate on this perspective (from which the very term 'steering' is seen to be inappropriate), and we are led to a resource-theoretic treatment of correlations in EPR scenarios. For both bipartite and multipartite scenarios, we develop the resulting resource theory, wherein the free operations are local operations and shared randomness (LOSR). We show that resource conversion under free operations in this paradigm can be evaluated with a single instance of a semidefinite program, making the problem numerically tractable. Moreover, we find that the structure of the pre-order of resources features interesting properties, such as infinite families of incomparable resources. In showing this, we derive new EPR resource monotones. We also discuss advantages of our approach over a pre-existing proposal for a resource theory of 'steering', and discuss how our approach sheds light on basic questions, such as which multipartite assemblages are classically explainable.

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arXiv2022

What is nonclassical about uncertainty relations?

Uncertainty relations express limits on the extent to which the outcomes of distinct measurements on a single state can be made jointly predictable. The existence of nontrivial uncertainty relations in quantum theory is generally considered to be a way in which it entails a departure from the classical worldview. However, this perspective is undermined by the fact that there exist operational theories which exhibit nontrivial uncertainty relations but which are consistent with the classical worldview insofar as they admit of a generalized-noncontextual ontological model. This prompts the question of what aspects of uncertainty relations, if any, cannot be realized in this way and so constitute evidence of genuine nonclassicality. We here consider uncertainty relations describing the tradeoff between the predictability of a pair of binary-outcome measurements (e.g., measurements of Pauli X and Pauli Z observables in quantum theory). We show that, for a class of theories satisfying a particular symmetry property, the functional form of this predictability tradeoff is constrained by noncontextuality to be below a linear curve. Because qubit quantum theory has the relevant symmetry property, the fact that its predictability tradeoff describes a section of a circle is a violation of this noncontextual bound, and therefore constitutes an example of how the functional form of an uncertainty relation can witness contextuality. We also deduce the implications for a selected group of operational foils to quantum theory and consider the generalization to three measurements.

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arXiv2022

Uniqueness of noncontextual models for stabilizer subtheories

We give a complete characterization of the (non)classicality of all stabilizer subtheories. First, we prove that there is a unique nonnegative and diagram-preserving quasiprobability representation of the stabilizer subtheory in all odd dimensions, namely Gross's discrete Wigner function. This representation is equivalent to Spekkens' epistemically restricted toy theory, which is consequently singled out as the unique noncontextual ontological model for the stabilizer subtheory. Strikingly, the principle of noncontextuality is powerful enough (at least in this setting) to single out one particular classical realist interpretation. Our result explains the practical utility of Gross's representation by showing that (in the setting of the stabilizer subtheory) negativity in this particular representation implies generalized contextuality. Since negativity of this particular representation is a necessary resource for universal quantum computation in the state injection model, it follows that generalized contextuality is also a necessary resource for universal quantum computation in this model. In all even dimensions, we prove that there does not exist any nonnegative and diagram-preserving quasiprobability representation of the stabilizer subtheory, and, hence, that the stabilizer subtheory is contextual in all even dimensions.

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