arXiv subjects

Fabio Costa

Publications and source records attributed to Fabio Costa.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Genuinely Multipartite Noncausality

The study of correlations with no definite causal order has revealed a rich structure emerging when more than two parties are involved. This motivates the consideration of multipartite "noncausal" correlations that cannot be realised even if noncausal resources are made available to a smaller number of parties. Here we formalise this notion: genuinely N-partite noncausal correlations are those that cannot be produced by grouping N parties into two or more subsets, where a causal order between the subsets exists. We prove that such correlations can be characterised as lying outside a polytope, whose vertices correspond to deterministic strategies and whose facets define what we call "2-causal" inequalities. We show that genuinely multipartite noncausal correlations arise within the process matrix formalism, where quantum mechanics holds locally but no global causal structure is assumed, although for some inequalities no violation was found. We further introduce two refined definitions that allow one to quantify, in different ways, to what extent noncausal correlations correspond to a genuinely multipartite resource.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Comment on "Quantum mechanics for non-inertial observers"

In a recent paper (arXiv:1701.04298 [quant-ph]) Toroš, Großardt and Bassi claim that the potential necessary to support a composite particle in a gravitational field must necessarily cancel the relativistic coupling between internal and external degrees of freedom. As such a coupling is responsible for the gravitational redshift measured in numerous experiments, the above statement is clearly incorrect. We identify the simple mistake in the paper responsible for the incorrect claim.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Updating the Born rule

Despite the tremendous empirical success of quantum theory there is still widespread disagreement about what it can tell us about the nature of the world. A central question is whether the theory is about our knowledge of reality, or a direct statement about reality itself. Regardless of their stance on this question, current interpretations of quantum theory regard the Born rule as fundamental and add an independent state-update (or "collapse") rule to describe how quantum states change upon measurement. In this paper we present an alternative perspective and derive a probability rule that subsumes both the Born rule and the collapse rule. We show that this more fundamental probability rule can provide a rigorous foundation for informational, or "knowledge-based", interpretations of quantum theory.

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arXiv2016

Multipartite Causal Correlations: Polytopes and Inequalities

We consider the most general correlations that can be obtained by a group of parties whose causal relations are well-defined, although possibly probabilistic and dependent on past parties' operations. We show that, for any fixed number of parties and inputs and outputs for each party, the set of such correlations forms a convex polytope, whose vertices correspond to deterministic strategies, and whose (nontrivial) facets define so-called causal inequalities. We completely characterize the simplest tripartite polytope in terms of its facet inequalities, propose generalizations of some inequalities to scenarios with more parties, and show that our tripartite inequalities can be violated within the process matrix formalism, where quantum mechanics is locally valid but no global causal structure is assumed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

General relativistic effects in quantum interference of "clocks"

Quantum mechanics and general relativity have been each successfully tested in numerous experiments. However, the regime where both theories are jointly required to explain physical phenomena remains untested by laboratory experiments, and is also not fully understood by theory. This contribution reviews recent ideas for a new type of experiments: quantum interference of "clocks", which aim to test novel quantum effects that arise from time dilation. "Clock" interference experiments could be realised with atoms or photons in near future laboratory experiments.

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arXiv2016

Quantum causal modelling

Causal modelling provides a powerful set of tools for identifying causal structure from observed correlations. It is well known that such techniques fail for quantum systems, unless one introduces `spooky' hidden mechanisms. Whether one can produce a genuinely quantum framework in order to discover causal structure remains an open question. Here we introduce a new framework for quantum causal modelling that allows for the discovery of causal structure. We define quantum analogues for many of the core features of classical causal modelling techniques, including the Causal Markov Condition and Faithfulness. Based on the process matrix formalism, this framework naturally extends to generalised structures with indefinite causal order.

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arXiv2015

Witnessing causal nonseparability

Our common understanding of the physical world deeply relies on the notion that events are ordered with respect to some time parameter, with past events serving as causes for future ones. Nonetheless, it was recently found that it is possible to formulate quantum mechanics without any reference to a global time or causal structure. The resulting framework includes new kinds of quantum resources that allow performing tasks - in particular, the violation of causal inequalities - which are impossible for events ordered according to a global causal order. However, no physical implementation of such resources is known. Here we show that a recently demonstrated resource for quantum computation - the quantum switch - is a genuine example of "indefinite causal order". We do this by introducing a new tool - the causal witness - which can detect the causal nonseparability of any quantum resource that is incompatible with a definite causal order. We show however that the quantum switch does not violate any causal nequality.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Brief reply to "Can gravity account for the emergence of classicality?"

In a series of comments, Bonder et al. criticized our work on decoherence due to time dilation [Nature Physics 11, 668-672 (2015)]. First the authors erroneously claimed that our results contradict the equivalence principle, only to "resolve" the alleged conflict in a second note. The resolution - relativity of simultaneity - was already explained in our reply [arXiv:1508.03296], which Bonder et al. now essentially reiterate. The newly raised points were also already extensively clarified in our note. The physical prediction of our work remains valid: systems with internal dynamics decohere if the superposed paths have different proper times.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Time Dilation in Quantum Systems and Decoherence: Questions and Answers

Recent work has shown that relativistic time dilation results in correlations between a particle's internal and external degrees of freedom, leading to decoherence of the latter. In this note, we briefly summarize the results and address the comments and concerns that have been raised towards these findings. In addition to brief replies to the comments, we provide a pedagogical discussion of some of the underlying principles of the work. This note serves to clarify some of the counterintuitive aspects arising when the two theories are jointly considered.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

The simplest causal inequalities and their violation

In a scenario where two parties share, act on and exchange some physical resource, the assumption that the parties' actions are ordered according to a definite causal structure yields constraints on the possible correlations that can be established. We show that the set of correlations that are compatible with a definite causal order forms a polytope, whose facets define causal inequalities. We fully characterize this causal polytope in the simplest case of bipartite correlations with binary inputs and outputs. We find two families of nonequivalent causal inequalities; both can be violated in the recently introduced framework of process matrices, which extends the standard quantum formalism by relaxing the implicit assumption of a fixed causal structure. Our work paves the way to a more systematic investigation of causal inequalities in a theory-independent way, and of their violation within the framework of process matrices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Universal decoherence due to gravitational time dilation

The physics of low-energy quantum systems is usually studied without explicit consideration of the background spacetime. Phenomena inherent to quantum theory on curved space-time, such as Hawking radiation, are typically assumed to be only relevant at extreme physical conditions: at high energies and in strong gravitational fields. Here we consider low-energy quantum mechanics in the presence of gravitational time dilation and show that the latter leads to decoherence of quantum superpositions. Time dilation induces a universal coupling between internal degrees of freedom and the centre-of-mass of a composite particle. The resulting correlations cause decoherence of the particle's position, even without any external environment. We also show that the weak time dilation on Earth is already sufficient to decohere micron scale objects. Gravity therefore can account for the emergence of classicality and the effect can in principle be tested in future matter wave experiments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Experimental Superposition of Orders of Quantum Gates

In a quantum computer, creating superpositions of quantum bits (qubits) in different states can lead to a speed-up over classical computers [1], but quantum mechanics also allows for the superposition of quantum circuits [2]. In fact, it has recently been theoretically predicted that superimposing quantum circuits, each with a different gate order, could provide quantum computers with an even further computational advantage [3-5]. Here, we experimentally demonstrate this enhancement by applying two quantum gates in a superposition of both possible orders to determine whether the two gates commute or anti-commute. We are able to make this determination with only a single use (or query) of each gate, while all quantum circuits with a fixed order of gates would require at least two uses of one of the gates [3]. Remarkably, when the problem is scaled to N gates, creating a superposition of quantum circuits is likely to provide an exponential advantage over classical algorithms, and a linear advantage over quantum algorithms with fixed gate order [4]. The new resource that we exploit in our experiment can be interpreted as a "superposition of causal orders". We demonstrate such a superposition could allow some quantum algorithms to be implemented with an efficiency that is unlikely to be achieved on a quantum computer with a fixed gate order.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Renormalized entropy of entanglement in relativistic field theory

Entanglement is defined between subsystems of a quantum system, and at fixed time two regions of space can be viewed as two subsystems of a relativistic quantum field. The entropy of entanglement between such subsystems is ill-defined unless an ultraviolet cutoff is introduced, but it still diverges in the continuum limit. This behaviour is generic for arbitrary finite-energy states, hence a conceptual tension with the finite entanglement entropy typical of nonrelativistic quantum systems. We introduce a novel approach to explain the transition from infinite to finite entanglement, based on coarse graining the spatial resolution of the detectors measuring the field state. We show that states with a finite number of particles become localized, allowing an identification between a region of space and the nonrelativistic degrees of freedom of the particles therein contained, and that the renormalized entropy of finite-energy states reduces to the entanglement entropy of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Quantum circuits cannot control unknown operations

One of the essential building blocks of classical computer programs is the "if" clause, which executes a subroutine depending on the value of a control variable. Similarly, several quantum algorithms rely on applying a unitary operation conditioned on the state of a control system. Here we show that this control cannot be performed by a quantum circuit if the unitary is completely unknown. However, this no-go theorem does not prevent implementing quantum control of unknown unitaries in practice, as any physical implementation of an unknown unitary provides additional information that makes the control possible. We then argue that one should extend the quantum circuit formalism to capture this possibility in a straightforward way. This is done by allowing unknown unitaries to be applied to subspaces and not only to subsystems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Quantum correlations with no causal order

The idea that events obey a definite causal order is deeply rooted in our understanding of the world and at the basis of the very notion of time. But where does causal order come from, and is it a necessary property of nature? We address these questions from the standpoint of quantum mechanics in a new framework for multipartite correlations which does not assume a pre-defined global causal structure but only the validity of quantum mechanics locally. All known situations that respect causal order, including space-like and time-like separated experiments, are captured by this framework in a unified way. Surprisingly, we find correlations that cannot be understood in terms of definite causal order. These correlations violate a 'causal inequality' that is satisfied by all space-like and time-like correlations. We further show that in a classical limit causal order always arises, which suggests that space-time may emerge from a more fundamental structure in a quantum-to-classical transition.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

General relativistic effects in quantum interference of photons

Quantum mechanics and general relativity have been extensively and independently confirmed in many experiments. However, the interplay of the two theories has never been tested: all experiments that measured the influence of gravity on quantum systems are consistent with non-relativistic, Newtonian gravity. On the other hand, all tests of general relativity can be described within the framework of classical physics. Here we discuss a quantum interference experiment with single photons that can probe quantum mechanics in curved space-time. We consider a single photon travelling in superposition along two paths in an interferometer, with each arm experiencing a different gravitational time dilation. If the difference in the time dilations is comparable with the photon's coherence time, the visibility of the quantum interference is predicted to drop, while for shorter time dilations the effect of gravity will result only in a relative phase shift between the two arms. We discuss what aspects of the interplay between quantum mechanics and general relativity are probed in such experiments and analyze the experimental feasibility.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Quantum interferometric visibility as a witness of general relativistic proper time

Current attempts to probe general relativistic effects in quantum mechanics focus on precision measurements of phase shifts in matter-wave interferometry. Yet, phase shifts can always be explained as arising due to an Aharonov-Bohm effect, where a particle in a flat space-time is subject to an effective potential. Here we propose a novel quantum effect that cannot be explained without the general relativistic notion of proper time. We consider interference of a "clock" - a particle with evolving internal degrees of freedom - that will not only display a phase shift, but also reduce the visibility of the interference pattern. According to general relativity proper time flows at different rates in different regions of space-time. Therefore, due to quantum complementarity the visibility will drop to the extent to which the path information becomes available from reading out the proper time from the "clock". Such a gravitationally induced decoherence would provide the first test of the genuine general relativistic notion of proper time in quantum mechanics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Entanglement between smeared field operators in the Klein-Gordon vacuum

Quantum field theory is the application of quantum physics to fields. It provides a theoretical framework widely used in particle physics and condensed matter physics. One of the most distinct features of quantum physics with respect to classical physics is entanglement or the existence of strong correlations between subsystems that can even be spacelike separated. In quantum fields, observables restricted to a region of space define a subsystem. While there are proofs on the existence of local observables that would allow a violation of Bell's inequalities in the vacuum states of quantum fields as well as some explicit but technically demanding schemes requiring an extreme fine-tuning of the interaction between the fields and detectors, an experimentally accessible entanglement witness for quantum fields is still missing. Here we introduce smeared field operators which allow reducing the vacuum to a system of two effective bosonic modes. The introduction of such collective observables is motivated by the fact that no physical probe has access to fields in single spatial (mathematical) points but rather smeared over finite volumes. We first give explicit collective observables whose correlations reveal vacuum entanglement in the Klein-Gordon field. We then show that the critical distance between the two regions of space above which two effective bosonic modes become separable is of the order of the Compton wavelength of the particle corresponding to the massive Klein-Gordon field.

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