arXiv subjects

Isadora Veeren

Publications and source records attributed to Isadora Veeren.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Boltzmann counting in Hilbert space

We introduce a geometric entropy for quantum preparations, defined as the logarithm of the Hilbert-space volume of pure states compatible with a given set of constraints. This construction extends Boltzmann's counting perspective to the quantum setting, where compatible states need not be orthogonal and the relevant notion of "number of states" is naturally replaced by a volume in state space. We analyze three classes of constraints: restriction to a subspace, fixed expectation values, and coarse-grained subsystem descriptions. For representative examples, including subspace projection, spin expectation values, partial trace, and an imperfect detector map, we obtain explicit scaling laws and closed-form expressions for the associated volumes. The resulting framework provides a geometric measure of quantum ignorance at the level of the preparation and complements entropy notions based on density matrices and coarse graining.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Distributed Quantum Algorithms Cannot Color Cycles with Probability 1

We prove that any distributed quantum algorithm that finds a $3$-coloring with probability $1$ in a cycle of anonymous identical computers has to be global, that is, it needs $\Omega(n)$ communication rounds. It follows that quantum computation and communication does not help with this problem. All prior lower bounds on quantum advantage in distributed graph algorithms use arguments related to physical causality. However, it is known that such arguments cannot rule out fast quantum advantage for $3$-coloring cycles. In particular, any causality-based argument would rule out the existence of finitely dependent coloring, but Holroyd and Liggett (2016) showed that such colorings do exist. Hence to tackle this problem, we need a ``genuinely quantum'' lower-bound technique that can distinguish between (1) distributions that do not violate physical causality vs. (2) distributions that can be realized with a quantum strategy. We present the first such lower-bound technique in this context. First, we show that $1$-round quantum algorithms cannot break symmetry with probability $1$. Second, we present a wishful teleportation strategy that can be used to turn $T$-round quantum 3-coloring algorithms into $1$-round quantum algorithms breaking symmetry, while preserving success probability $1$. Put together, the lower bound follows.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2026

Latent splitting as a causal probe

Generalizations of Bell's framework to causal networks have yielded new foundational insights and applications, including the use of interventions to enhance the detection of nonclassicality in scenarios with communication. Such interventions, however, become uninformative when all observable variables are space-like separated. To address this limitation, we introduce the latent splitting procedure, a generalization of interventions to quantum networks in which controlled manipulations are applied to latent quantum systems. We show that latent splitting enables the detection of nonclassicality by combining observational and interventional data even when conventional interventions fail. Focusing on the triangle network, we derive new analytical witnesses that robustly certify nonclassicality, including nonlinear inequalities for minimal binary-variable scenarios and extensions of the nonclassical region of previously proposed experiments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Distributed Quantum Advantage for Local Problems

We present the first local problem that shows a super-constant separation between the classical randomized LOCAL model of distributed computing and its quantum counterpart. By prior work, such a separation was known only for an artificial graph problem with an inherently global definition [Le Gall et al. 2019]. We present a problem that we call iterated GHZ, which is defined using only local constraints. Formally, it is a family of locally checkable labeling problems [Naor and Stockmeyer 1995]; in particular, solutions can be verified with a constant-round distributed algorithm. We show that in graphs of maximum degree $Δ$, any classical (deterministic or randomized) LOCAL model algorithm will require $Ω(Δ)$ rounds to solve the iterated GHZ problem, while the problem can be solved in $1$ round in quantum-LOCAL. We use the round elimination technique to prove that the iterated GHZ problem requires $Ω(Δ)$ rounds for classical algorithms. This is the first work that shows that round elimination is indeed able to separate the two models, and this also demonstrates that round elimination cannot be used to prove lower bounds for quantum-LOCAL. To apply round elimination, we introduce a new technique that allows us to discover appropriate problem relaxations in a mechanical way; it turns out that this new technique extends beyond the scope of the iterated GHZ problem and can be used to e.g. reproduce prior results on maximal matchings [FOCS 2019, PODC 2020] in a systematic manner.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2024

Characterizing high-dimensional quantum contextuality

As a phenomenon encompassing measurement incompatibility and Bell nonlocality, quantum contextuality is not only central to our understanding of quantum mechanics, but also an essential resource in many quantum information processing tasks. The dimension-dependent feature of quantum contextuality is known ever since its discovery, but systematic methods for characterizing the quantum contextuality in systems with fixed dimension are still lacking. In this work, we solve this problem. We provide systematic and reliable methods for verifying whether or not an obtained probability distribution can result from a $d$-dimensional quantum system, as well as calculating finite-dimensional violation of a general noncontextuality inequality. As an application, our methods reveal the non-convex structure of finite-dimensional quantum contextuality.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Semi-device-independent certification of number of measurements

We develop a method for semi-device-independent certification of number of measurements. We achieve this by testing whether Bob's steering equivalent observables (SEO) can be simulated by k measurements, which we do by testing whether they are k-compatible with separable joint observable. This test can be performed with the aid of hierarchy of semidefinite programs, and whenever it fails one can conclude that Alice must have access to at least k + 1 incompatible measurements.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Entropic Uncertainty Relations and the Quantum-to-Classical transition

Our knowledge of quantum mechanics can satisfactorily describe simple, microscopic systems, but is yet to explain the macroscopic everyday phenomena we observe. Here we aim to shed some light on the quantum-to-classical transition as seen through the analysis of uncertainty relations. We employ entropic uncertainty relations to show that it is only by the inclusion of imprecision in our model of macroscopic measurements that we can prepare a system with two simultaneously well-defined quantities, even if their associated observables do not commute. We also establish how the precision of measurements must increase in order to keep quantum properties, a desirable feature for large quantum computers.

quant-ph↗