arXiv subjects

Markus Frembs

Publications and source records attributed to Markus Frembs.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Contextuality in the $n$-qubit Pauli group

The $n$-qubit Pauli group is an essential ingredient to most quantum applications, from computing and error correction to benchmarking and simulation. Despite comprising merely a discrete set of operators, it exhibits many quintessential features of quantum theory, including contextuality, which has been identified as a key resource to quantum advantage in a variety of different flavours. Here, we extend this analysis, introducing the notion of a `noncontextual property' whose nonexistence proves the Kochen-Specker theorem, similarly to and generalising common arguments based on the nonexistence of valuations. We relate this notion formally to the existence of Boolean-valued frame functions, and characterise all such frame functions in the case of the $n$-qubit Pauli group. For two qubits, we show that the Pauli group admits noncontextual properties, despite admitting no valuations. We then establish this as the only nontrivial such case with $n\geq 2$, by proving that any Boolean-valued frame function on stabiliser states is constant for more than two qubits. We also perform a similar analysis for the symplectic theory underlying the $n$-qubit Pauli group, for which nonconstant Boolean-valued frame functions exist for all $n$, yet only in restricted form. By comparison, this shows that contextuality in the $n$-qubit Pauli group is not only a consequence of the projective nature of the Pauli group as a representation of its underlying symplectic vector space, but of the geometry of symplectic polar spaces itself. In geometric terms, our result determines all Cameron-Liebler sets of maximal totally isotropic flats in the binary affine-symplectic space.

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arXiv2026

Unextendible stabiliser bases

We study incomplete sets of orthogonal stabiliser states that cannot be extended by a further stabiliser state orthogonal to all of its members. Such sets are the stabiliser analogue of unextendible product bases (UPBs), and we thus call them unextendible stabiliser bases (USBs). Leveraging the symplectic geometry underlying the $n$-qudit Pauli group in prime local dimension, we explicitly construct USBs for systems of four qubits and three qudits of odd prime local dimension. Moreover, we show that these are the respective minimal qubit, respectively qudit numbers for which such bases exist, and that USBs exist for all $n\geq4$ qubit and for all $n\geq3$ odd-prime-dimensional qudit systems. Finally, we compare the resource-theoretic aspects of USBs with those of UPBs. We establish that, analogous to the case of UPBs, the orthogonal complement of every unextendible stabiliser set is a stabiliser-free subspace, and its normalised projector is necessarily magic; moreover, it is bound magic in odd prime dimension, yet need not be for qubits. We also show that USB unextendibility alone imposes no uniform quantitative obstruction to discrimination by stabiliser operations.

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arXiv2026

An algebraically closed family of informational n-qubit purity invariants

We present a family of quadratics in Pauli expectation values, and prove that they constitute state-independent invariants for all n-qubit pure states. This family generalises the two-qubit `pentagon identities', discovered in the reconstruction programme of [P. A. H\"ohn, Quantum 1, 38 (2017), P. A. H\"ohn and C. S. P. Wever, Phys. Rev. A 95, 012102 (2017)], where they characterise the space of pure states, as well as the unitary group, and are interpreted as complementarity equalities in the Brukner-Zeilinger information measure. The generalisation to arbitrarily many qubits is nontrivial as it requires new tools which in turn reveal novel structural properties that are absent in the two-qubit case. A thorough analysis of these properties, and their relation with mutual unbiasedness and complementarity in the n-qubit Pauli group, can be found in two companion papers.

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arXiv2026

Maximal complementarity in the n-qubit Pauli group

Observables in quantum mechanics are generally complementary, that is, they reveal mutually incompatible pieces of information about a given system. This property is not only a fundamental tenet of the quantum formalism, but also a key component in quantum cryptographic protocols. As such it has fuelled much research into finding sets of highly complementary observables. In its strongest form -- the one we consider in this work -- the information between complementary observables is not merely incompatible but mutually exclusive: maximal information about one observable implies no information about the other, and vice versa. Maximal sets of non-degenerate complementary observables are known to exist in systems of prime power dimension such as n-qubit systems. Here, we study complementarity of degenerate observables, specifically we prove that observables associated with the n-qubit Pauli group also exhibit complementarity under this restriction: first, we obtain a criterion for two such observables to be complementary and, second, we relate maximal sets of complementary observables with informational pure state complementarity equalities, further studied in two companion papers. Equivalently, these results can be formulated in terms of maximal complementary sets of (not necessarily maximal) Abelian subgroups of the Pauli group linking with (possibly coarse-grained) mutually unbiased bases. Finally, we prove that these complementarity sets entail strong entropic uncertainty relations.

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arXiv2026

No quantum solutions to linear constraint systems from monomial measurement-based quantum computation in odd prime dimension

We combine the study of resources in measurement-based quantum computation (MBQC) with that of quantum solutions to linear constraint systems (LCS). Contextuality of the input state in MBQC has been identified as a key resource for quantum advantage, and in a stronger form, underlies algebraic relations between (measurement) operators which obey classically unsatisfiable (linear) constraints. Here, we compare these two perspectives on contextuality, and study to what extent they are related. More precisely, we associate a LCS to certain MBQC which exhibit strong forms of state-dependent contextuality, and ask if the measurement operators in such MBQC give rise to state-independent contextuality in the form of quantum solutions of its associated LCS. Our main result rules out such quantum solutions for a large class of MBQC. This both sharpens the distinction between state-dependent and state-independent forms of contextuality, and further generalises results on the non-existence of quantum solutions to LCS in finite odd (prime) dimension.

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arXiv2025

Coming full circle -- A unified framework for Kochen-Specker contextuality

Contextuality is a key distinguishing feature between classical and quantum physics. It expresses a fundamental obstruction to describing quantum theory using classical concepts. In turn, when understood as a resource for quantum computation, it is expected to hold the key to quantum advantage. Yet, despite its long recognised importance in quantum foundations and, more recently, in quantum computation, the mathematics of contextuality has remained somewhat elusive - different frameworks address different aspects of the phenomenon, yet their precise relationship often is unclear. In fact, there is a glaring discrepancy already between the original notion of contextuality introduced by Kochen and Specker on the one side [J. Math. Mech., 17, 59, (1967)], and the modern approach of studying contextual correlations on the other [Rev. Mod. Phys., 94, 045007 (2022)]. In a companion paper [arXiv:2408.16764], we introduce the conceptually new tool called ``context connections'', which allows to cast and analyse Kochen-Specker (KS) contextuality in new form. Here, we generalise this notion, and based on it prove a complete characterisation of KS contextuality for finite-dimensional systems. To this end, we develop the framework of ``observable algebras". We show in detail how this framework subsumes the marginal and graph-theoretic approaches to contextuality, and thus that it offers a unified perspective on KS contextuality. In particular, we establish the precise relationships between the various notions of ``contextuality" used in the respective settings, and in doing so, generalise a number of results on the characterisation of the respective notions in the literature.

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arXiv2024

An algebraic characterisation of Kochen-Specker contextuality

Contextuality is a key distinguishing feature between classical and quantum physics. It expresses a fundamental obstruction to describing quantum theory using classical concepts. In turn, understood as a resource for quantum computation, it is expected to hold the key to quantum advantage. Yet, despite its long recognised importance in quantum foundations and, more recently, in quantum computation, the structural essence of contextuality has remained somewhat elusive - different frameworks address different aspects of the phenomenon, yet their precise relationship often remains unclear. This issue already looms large at the level of the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem: while traditional proofs proceed by showing the nonexistence of valuations, the notion of state-independent contextuality in the marginal approach allows to prove contextuality from seemingly weaker assumptions. In the light of this, and at the absence of a unified mathematical framework for Kochen-Specker contextuality, the original algebraic approach has been widely abandoned, in favour of the study of contextual correlations. Here, we reinstate the algebraic perspective on contextuality. Concretely, by building on the novel concept of context connections, we reformulate the algebraic relations between observables originally postulated by Kochen and Specker, and we explicitly demonstrate their consistency with the notion of state-independent contextuality. In the present paper, we focus on the new conceptual ideas and discuss them in the concrete setting of spin-1 observables, specifically those in the example of [S. Yu and C.H. Oh, Phys. Rev. Lett., 108, 030402 (2012)]; in a companion paper, we generalise these ideas, obtain a complete characterisation of Kochen-Specker contextuality and provide a detailed comparison with the related notions of contextuality in the marginal and graph-theoretic approach.

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arXiv2023

A Semantics for Counterfactuals in Quantum Causal Models

We introduce a formalism for the evaluation of counterfactual queries in the framework of quantum causal models, generalising Pearl's semantics for counterfactuals in classical causal models, thus completing the last rung in the quantum analogue of Pearl's "ladder of causation". To this end, we define a suitable extension of Pearl's notion of a 'classical structural causal model', which we denote analogously by 'quantum structural causal model', and a corresponding extension of Pearl's three-step procedure of abduction, action, and prediction. We show that every classical (probabilistic) structural causal model can be extended to a quantum structural causal model, and prove that counterfactual queries that can be formulated within a classical structural causal model agree with their corresponding queries in the quantum extension -- but the latter is more expressive. Counterfactuals in quantum causal models come in different forms: we distinguish between active and passive counterfactual queries, depending on whether or not an intervention is to be performed in the action step. This is in contrast to the classical case, where counterfactuals are always interpreted in the active sense. Another distinctive feature of our formalism is that it breaks the connection between causal and counterfactual dependence that exists in the classical case: quantum counterfactuals allow for counterfactual dependence without causal dependence. This distinction between classical and quantum causal models may shed light on how the latter can reproduce quantum correlations that violate Bell inequalities while being faithful to the relativistic causal structure.

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arXiv2022

Variations on the Choi-Jamiolkowski isomorphism

We address various aspects of a widely used tool in quantum information theory: the Choi-Jamiolkowski isomorphism [A. Jamiolkowski, Rep. Math. Phys., 3, 275 (1972)]. We review different versions of the isomorphism, their properties and propose a unified description that combines them all. To this end, we identify the physical reason for the appearance of the (basis-dependent) operation of transposition in the isomorphism as used in Choi's theorem [M.-D. Choi, Lin. Alg. Appl., 10, 285 (1975)]. This requires a careful distinction between Jordan algebras and the different C*-algebras they arise from, which are distinguished by their order of composition. Physically, the latter encodes a choice of time orientation in the respective algebras, which relates to a number of recent results, including a characterisation of quantum from more general non-signalling bipartite correlations [M. Frembs and A. D\"oring, arXiv:2204.11471] and a classification of bipartite entanglement [M. Frembs, arXiv:2207.00024].

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arXiv2022

No quantum solutions to linear constraint systems in odd dimension from Pauli group and diagonal Cliffords

Linear constraint systems (LCS) have proven to be a surprisingly prolific tool in the study of non-classical correlations and various related issues in quantum foundations. Many results are known for the Boolean case, yet the generalisation to systems of odd dimension is largely open. In particular, it is not known whether there exist LCS in odd dimension, which admit finite-dimensional quantum, but no classical solutions. In recent work, [J. Phys. A, 53, 385304 (2020)] have shown that unlike in the Boolean case, where the n-qubit Pauli group gives rise to quantum solutions of LCS such as the Mermin-Peres square, the n-qudit Pauli group never gives rise to quantum solutions of a LCS in odd dimension. Here, we generalise this result towards the Clifford hierarchy. More precisely, we consider tensor products of groups generated by (single-qudit) Pauli and diagonal Clifford operators.

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arXiv2022

Bipartite entanglement and the arrow of time

We provide a new perspective on the close relationship between entanglement and time. Our main focus is on bipartite entanglement, where this connection is foreshadowed both in the positive partial transpose criterion due to Peres [A. Peres, Phys. Rev. Lett., 77, 1413 (1996)] and in the classification of quantum within more general non-signalling bipartite correlations [M. Frembs and A. D\"oring, arXiv:2204.11471]. Extracting the relevant common features, we identify a necessary and sufficient condition for bipartite entanglement in terms of a compatibility condition with respect to time orientations in local observable algebras, which express the dynamics in the respective subsystems. We discuss the relevance of the latter in the broader context of von Neumann algebras and the thermodynamical notion of time naturally arising within the latter.

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arXiv2022

Gleason's theorem for composite systems

Gleason's theorem [A. Gleason, J. Math. Mech., \textbf{6}, 885 (1957)] is an important result in the foundations of quantum mechanics, where it justifies the Born rule as a mathematical consequence of the quantum formalism. Formally, it presents a key insight into the projective geometry of Hilbert spaces, showing that finitely additive measures on the projection lattice $\PH$ extend to positive linear functionals on the algebra of bounded operators $\BH$. Over many years, and by the effort of various authors, the theorem has been broadened in its scope from type I to arbitrary von Neumann algebras (without type $\text{I}_2$ factors). Here, we prove a generalisation of Gleason's theorem to composite systems. To this end, we strengthen the original result in two ways: first, we extend its scope to dilations in the sense of Naimark [M. A. Naimark, C. R. (Dokl.) Acad. Sci. URSS, n. Ser., \textbf{41}, 359 (1943)] and Stinespring [W. F. Stinespring, Proc. Am. Math. Soc., \textbf{6}, 211 (1955)] and second, we require consistency with respect to dynamical correspondences on the respective (local) algebras in the composition [E. M. Alfsen and F. W. Shultz, Commun. Math. Phys., \textbf{194}, 87 (1998)]. We show that neither of these conditions changes the result in the single system case, yet both are necessary to obtain a generalisation to bipartite systems.

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arXiv2022

From no-signalling to quantum states

Characterising quantum correlations from physical principles is a central problem in the field of quantum information theory. Entanglement breaks bounds on correlations put by Bell's theorem, thus challenging the notion of local causality as a physical principle. A natural relaxation is to study no-signalling as a constraint on joint probability distributions. It has been shown that when considered with respect to so-called locally quantum observables, bipartite non-signalling correlations never exceed their quantum counterparts; still, such correlations generally do not derive from quantum states. This leaves open the search for additional principles which identify quantum states within the larger set of (collections of) non-signalling joint probability distributions over locally quantum observables. Here, we suggest a natural generalisation of no-signalling in the form of no-disturbance to dilated systems. We prove that non-signalling joint probability distributions satisfying this extension correspond with bipartite quantum states up to a choice of time orientation in subsystems.

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arXiv2022

Hierarchies of resources for measurement-based quantum computation

For certain restricted computational tasks, quantum mechanics provides a provable advantage over any possible classical implementation. Several of these results have been proven using the framework of measurement-based quantum computation (MBQC), where non-locality and more generally contextuality have been identified as necessary resources for certain quantum computations. Here, we consider the computational power of MBQC in more detail by refining its resource requirements, both on the allowed operations and the number of accessible qubits. More precisely, we identify which Boolean functions can be computed in non-adaptive MBQC, with local operations contained within a finite level in the Clifford hierarchy. Moreover, for non-adaptive MBQC restricted to certain subtheories such as stabiliser MBQC, we compute the minimal number of qubits required to compute a given Boolean function. Our results point towards hierarchies of resources that more sharply characterise the power of MBQC beyond the binary of contextuality vs non-contextuality.

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arXiv2020

No-signalling, Contextuality, and the Arrow of Time

Bell's seminal paper shows that some correlations in quantum theory are not reconcilable with hidden variables and the classical notion of locality. Yet, a weaker notion of locality, known as no-signalling, survives the no-go-result. Here, we study its restrictiveness by considering the full set of local quantum observables. This leads to a much larger set of no-signalling constraints than usually considered, which is enough to exclude PR-boxes and other types of super-quantum correlations. We emphasise the close connection with contextuality, in particular, we show how no-signalling arises naturally from context composition. Finally, we prove a one-to-one correspondence between quantum states and collections of (non-signalling) probability distributions over product contexts under an additional consistency condition between time arrows in subsystems.

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arXiv2019

Contextuality and the fundamental theorems of quantum mechanics

Contextuality is a key feature of quantum mechanics, as was first brought to light by Bohr and later realised more technically by Kochen and Specker. Isham and Butterfield put contextuality at the heart of their topos-based formalism and gave a reformulation of the Kochen-Specker theorem in the language of presheaves. Here, we broaden this perspective considerably (partly drawing on existing, but scattered results) and show that apart from the Kochen-Specker theorem, also Wigner's theorem, Gleason's theorem, and Bell's theorem relate fundamentally to contextuality. We provide reformulations of the theorems using the language of presheaves over contexts and give general versions valid for von Neumann algebras. This shows that a very substantial part of the structure of quantum theory is encoded by contextuality.

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arXiv2018

Contextuality as a resource for measurement-based quantum computation beyond qubits

Contextuality - the obstruction to describing quantum mechanics in a classical statistical way - has been proposed as a resource that powers quantum computing. The measurement-based model provides a concrete manifestation of contextuality as a computational resource, as follows. If local measurements on a multi-qubit state can be used to evaluate non-linear boolean functions with only linear control processing, then this computation constitutes a proof of strong contextuality - the possible local measurement outcomes cannot all be pre-assigned. However, this connection is restricted to the special case when the local measured systems are qubits, which have unusual properties from the perspective of contextuality. A single qubit cannot allow for a proof of contextuality, unlike higher-dimensional systems, and multiple qubits can allow for state-independent contextuality with only Pauli observables, again unlike higher-dimensional generalisations. Here we identify precisely that strong non-locality is necessary in a qudit measurement-based computation that evaluates high-degree polynomial functions with only linear control. We introduce the concept of local universality, which places a bound on the space of output functions accessible under the constraint of single-qudit measurements. Thus, the partition of a physical system into subsystems plays a crucial role for the increase in computational power. A prominent feature of our setting is that the enabling resources for qubit and qudit measurement-based computations are of the same underlying nature, avoiding the pathologies associated with qubit contextuality.

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