arXiv subjects

Sébastien Designolle

Publications and source records attributed to Sébastien Designolle.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

$k$-fold unbiased measurements and maximal incompatibility

Mutually unbiased bases capture perfect complementarity between two quantum measurements. Extensions beyond pairwise unbiasedness have been proposed, but essentially no non-trivial higher-order constructions are known. We introduce $k$-fold unbiased measurements ($k$-UMs), extending the $k$-fold unbiased bases notion of [arXiv:1706.04446] from rank-one basis measurements to arbitrary-rank projective measurements, and show that this higher-rank setting supports a much richer theory. We develop the notions of algebraic and spectral $k$-UMs and prove that they coincide for rank-one measurements and triples of measurements (3-UMs). We establish strong no-go results for higher-order rank-one constructions and three-outcome 3-UMs, but obtain infinitely many higher-rank triples using Hadamard matrices and Clifford algebras. We then give these structures an exact operational interpretation in terms of measurement incompatibility. For 3-UMs with any number of outcomes, we determine their generalised incompatibility robustness exactly and construct an explicit joint measurement for their noisy versions at the compatibility threshold. Finally, we implement the symmetry reduction of the sum-of-squares hierarchy recently introduced in [New J. Phys. 28, 064509 (2026)] and give numerical evidence that the noise thresholds arising from the $k$-UM analysis may characterise the asymptotic behaviour of this hierarchy. In particular, with very high precision, we numerically show that our constructed four-outcome 3-UMs are among the most incompatible triples of four-outcome measurements.

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arXiv2026

Pauli Encodings & Unclonable Encryption

The unclonable bit question asks whether quantum encryption can prevent an adversary from producing two systems that both reveal the plaintext once the key is disclosed. We introduce and study Pauli Encodings, a simple class of one-bit encryption schemes whose ciphertexts are normalized eigenspace projectors of Pauli strings. For every Pauli Encoding with K Pauli strings, we prove a universal lower bound $1/2+1/(2\sqrt{K})$ on the optimal monogamy-of-entanglement winning probability, together with sharper bounds for several structured families. We then establish two limitations of natural approaches to unclonable security. First, if the Pauli strings are restricted to strings of X and Z of length n, the encoding is not secure. Second, we identify a universal 3/4 obstruction showing that arguments based only on pairwise guessing marginals cannot establish unclonable-indistinguishable security. When the Pauli strings all pairwise anticommute, the protocol becomes the one studied in [Quantum 10, 2157 (2026)]. We exploit the symmetry of this protocol to solve the third level of the natural semidefinite programming relaxation obtaining an asymptotic upper bound of approximately 0.5556 on the winning probability. Finally, we prove strong unclonable-indistinguishable security against bounded-local-dimension adversaries and strong indistinguishability security for several efficient Pauli families. First-level NPA computations provide additional numerical evidence towards the strong unclonable-indistinguishable security.

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arXiv2026

Most incompatible measurements and sum-of-squares optimisation

Measurement incompatibility, or joint measurability, is a cornerstone of quantum theory and a useful resource. For finite-dimensional systems, quantifying this resource and establishing universal bounds valid for all measurements is a long-standing problem. In this work, we exhibit analytical universal parent measurements giving access to bounds that beat the state of the art. In particular, we can show that, for relevant robustnesses, sets of anticommuting observables give rise to the most incompatible dichotomic measurements. We also formalise the construction of such universal parent measurements in the framework of sum-of-squares optimisation and obtain preliminary numerical results demonstrating the power of the method by improving on our own analytical values. All results find direct application for demonstrating genuine high-dimensional steering, that is, certifying the dimensionality of a quantum system in a one-sided device-independent manner.

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arXiv2026

Measurement incompatibility and quantum steering via linear programming

The problem of deciding whether a set of quantum measurements is jointly measurable is known to be equivalent to determining whether a quantum assemblage is unsteerable. This problem can be formulated as a semidefinite program (SDP). However, the number of variables and constraints in such a formulation grows exponentially with the number of measurements, rendering it intractable for large measurement sets. In this work, we circumvent this problem by transforming the SDP into a hierarchy of linear programs that compute upper and lower bounds on the incompatibility robustness with a complexity that grows polynomially in the number of measurements. The hierarchy is guaranteed to converge and it can be applied to arbitrary measurements -- including non-projective POVMs (Positive Operator-Valued Measures) -- in arbitrary dimensions. While convergence becomes impractical in high dimensions, in the case of qubits our method reliably provides accurate upper and lower bounds for the incompatibility robustness of sets with several hundred measurements in a short time using a standard laptop. We also apply our methods to qutrits, obtaining non-trivial upper and lower bounds in scenarios that are otherwise intractable using the standard SDP approach, although such bounds are significantly looser than the ones obtained in the qubit case. Finally, we show how our methods can be used to construct local hidden state models for states (i.e., to prove that a state cannot lead to steering under any possible local measurements), or conversely, to certify that a given state exhibits steering; for two-qubit quantum states, our approach is comparable to, and in some cases outperforms, the current best methods.

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arXiv2026

Efficient Quadratic Corrections for Frank-Wolfe Algorithms

We develop a Frank-Wolfe algorithm with corrective steps, generalizing previous algorithms including blended conditional gradients, blended pairwise conditional gradients, and fully-corrective Frank-Wolfe. For this, we prove tight convergence guarantees together with an optimal face identification property. Furthermore, we propose two highly efficient corrective steps for convex quadratic objectives based on linear optimization or linear system solving, akin to Wolfe's minimum-norm point, and show that they converge in finite time under suitable conditions. Beyond optimization problems that are directly quadratic, we revisit two algorithms - split conditional gradient and second-order conditional gradient sliding - which can leverage quadratic corrections to accelerate their quadratic subproblems. We demonstrate improved convergence rates for the first and broader applicability for the second, which may be of independent interest. Finally, we show substantial computational speedups for Frank-Wolfe-based algorithms with quadratic corrections across the considered problem classes.

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arXiv2026

Can outcome communication explain Bell nonlocality?

A central aspect of quantum information is that correlations between spacelike separated observers sharing entangled states cannot be reproduced by local hidden variable (LHV) models, a phenomenon known as Bell nonlocality. If one wishes to explain such correlations by classical means, a natural possibility is to allow communication between the parties. In particular, LHV models augmented with two bits of classical communication can explain the correlations of any two-qubit state. Would this still hold if communication is restricted to measurement outcomes? While in certain scenarios with a finite number of inputs the answer is yes, we prove that if a model must reproduce all projective measurements, then for any qubit-qudit state the answer is no. In fact, a qubit-qudit under projective measurements admits an LHV model with outcome communication if and only if it already admits an LHV model without communication. On the other hand, we also show that when restricted sets of measurements are considered (for instance, when the qubit measurements are in the upper hemisphere of the Bloch ball), outcome communication does offer an advantage. This exemplifies that trivial properties in standard LHV scenarios, such as deterministic measurements and outcome-relabelling, play a crucial role in the outcome communication scenario.

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arXiv2026

Better bounds on finite-order Grothendieck constants

Grothendieck constants $K_G(d)$ bound the advantage of $d$-dimensional strategies over $1$-dimensional ones in a specific optimisation task. They have applications ranging from approximation algorithms to quantum nonlocality. However, apart from $d=2$, their values are unknown. Here, we exploit a recent Frank-Wolfe approach to provide good candidates for lower bounding some of these constants. The complete proof relies on solving difficult binary quadratic optimisation problems. For $d\in\{3,4,5\}$, we construct specific rectangular instances that we can solve to certify better bounds than those previously known; by monotonicity, our lower bounds improve on the state of the art for $d\leqslant9$. For $d\in\{4,7,8\}$, we exploit elegant structures to build highly symmetric instances achieving even greater bounds; however, we can only solve them heuristically. We also recall the standard relation with violations of Bell inequalities and elaborate on it to interpret generalised Grothendieck constants $K_G(d\mapsto2)$ as the advantage of complex $d$-dimensional quantum mechanics over real qubit quantum mechanics. Motivated by this connection, we also improve the bounds on $K_G(d\mapsto2)$.

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arXiv2026

Exploring Bell Nonlocality with Extremal Non-Signaling Boxes

Extremal non-signaling (ENS) boxes are correlations that correspond to vertices of the non-signaling polytope of a Bell scenario. Neither quantum theory nor any theory for ideal measurements allows for ENS boxes. That is, according to quantum theory, ENS boxes are nonphysical. Still, ENS boxes are crucial for addressing a number of problems in Bell nonlocality. Here, we obtain ENS boxes in arbitrary bipartite Bell scenarios and present the complete list of ENS boxes for several unexplored scenarios. Equipped with the boxes, we revisit several foundational questions. We find that already two copies of any ENS box violate the exclusivity (or local orthogonality) and Specker's principles. We provide the minimal decomposition of the magic square correlation - the simplest known perfect correlation in nature - in terms of ENS boxes. We identify the minimal scenario in which a dit of communication (with d < 6) is insufficient to simulate ENS boxes. Our results show that the ENS boxes approach leads to new results and opens new avenues for research.

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arXiv2025

A Frank-Wolfe-based primal heuristic for quadratic mixed-integer optimization

We propose a primal heuristic for quadratic mixed-integer problems. Our method extends the Boscia framework -- originally a mixed-integer convex solver leveraging a Frank-Wolfe-based branch-and-bound approach -- to address nonconvex quadratic objective and constraints. We reformulate nonlinear constraints, introduce preprocessing steps, and a suite of heuristics including rounding strategies, gradient-guided selection, and large neighborhood search techniques that exploit integer-feasible vertices generated during the Frank-Wolfe iterations. Computational results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in solving challenging MIQCQPs, achieving improvements on QPLIB instances within minutes and winning first place in the Land-Doig MIP Computational Competition 2025.

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arXiv2025

Improved algorithms and novel applications of the FrankWolfe.jl library

Frank-Wolfe (FW) algorithms have emerged as an essential class of methods for constrained optimization, especially on large-scale problems. In this paper, we summarize the algorithmic design choices and progress made in the last years of the development of FrankWolfe.jl, a Julia package gathering high-performance implementations of state-of-the-art FW variants. We review key use cases of the library in the recent literature, which match its original dual purpose: first, becoming the de-facto toolbox for practitioners applying FW methods to their problem, and second, offering a modular ecosystem to algorithm designers who experiment with their own variants and implementations of algorithmic blocks. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of several FW variants on important problem classes in several experiments, which we curated in a separate repository for continuous benchmarking.

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arXiv2025

A Unified Toolbox for Multipartite Entanglement Certification

We present a unified framework for multipartite entanglement characterization based on the conditional gradient (CG) method, incorporating both fast heuristic detection and rigorous witness construction with numerical error control. Our method enables entanglement certification in quantum systems of up to ten qubits and applies to arbitrary entanglement structures. We demonstrate its power by closing the gap between entanglement and separability bounds in white noise robustness benchmarks for a class of bound entangled states. Furthermore, the framework extends to entanglement robustness under general quantum noise channels, providing accurate thresholds in cases beyond the reach of previous algorithmic methods. These results position CG methods as a powerful tool for practical and scalable entanglement analysis in realistic experimental settings.

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arXiv2024

Symmetric multipartite Bell inequalities via Frank-Wolfe algorithms

In multipartite Bell scenarios, we study the nonlocality robustness of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state. When each party performs planar measurements forming a regular polygon, we exploit the symmetry of the resulting correlation tensor to drastically accelerate the computation of (i) a Bell inequality via Frank-Wolfe algorithms, and (ii) the corresponding local bound. The Bell inequalities obtained are facets of the symmetrised local polytope and they give the best known upper bounds on the nonlocality robustness of the GHZ state for three to ten parties. Moreover, for four measurements per party, we generalise our facets and hence show, for any number of parties, an improvement on Mermin's inequality in terms of noise robustness. We also compute the detection efficiency of our inequalities and show that some give rise to activation of nonlocality in star networks, a property that was only shown with an infinite number of measurements.

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arXiv2023

Improved local models and new Bell inequalities via Frank-Wolfe algorithms

In Bell scenarios with two outcomes per party, we algorithmically consider the two sides of the membership problem for the local polytope: constructing local models and deriving separating hyperplanes, that is, Bell inequalities. We take advantage of the recent developments in so-called Frank-Wolfe algorithms to significantly increase the convergence rate of existing methods. As an application, we study the threshold value for the nonlocality of two-qubit Werner states under projective measurements. Here, we improve on both the upper and lower bounds present in the literature. Importantly, our bounds are entirely analytical; moreover, they yield refined bounds on the value of the Grothendieck constant of order three: $1.4367\leqslant K_G(3)\leqslant1.4546$. We also demonstrate the efficiency of our approach in multipartite Bell scenarios, and present the first local models for all projective measurements with visibilities noticeably higher than the entanglement threshold. We make our entire code accessible as a Julia library called BellPolytopes.jl.

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arXiv2022

Naimark dilations of qubit POVMs and joint measurements

Measurement incompatibility is one of the cornerstones of quantum theory. This phenomenon appears in many forms, of which the concept of non-joint measurability has received considerable attention in the recent years. In order to characterise this non-classical phenomenon, various analytical and numerical methods have been developed. The analytical approaches have mostly concentrated on the qubit case, as well as to scenarios involving sets of measurements with symmetries, such as position and momentum or sets of mutually unbiased bases. The numerical methods can, in principle, decide any finite-dimensional and discrete joint measurability problem, but they naturally have practical limitations in terms of computational power. These methods exclusively start from a given set of measurements and ask whether the set possesses incompatibility. Here, we take a complementary approach by asking which measurements are compatible with a given measurement. It turns out, that this question can be answered in full generality through a minimal Naimark dilation of the given measurement: the set of interest is exactly those measurements that have a block-diagonal representation in such dilation. We demonstrate the use of the technique through various qubit examples, leading to an alternative characterisation of all compatible pairs of binary qubit measurements, which retrieves the celebrated Busch criterion. We further apply the technique to special examples of trinary and continuous qubit measurements.

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arXiv2022

Equivalence between simulability of high-dimensional measurements and high-dimensional steering

The effect of quantum steering arises from the judicious combination of an entangled state with a set of incompatible measurements. Recently, it was shown that this form of quantum correlations can be quantified in terms of a dimension, leading to the notion of genuine high-dimensional steering. While this naturally connects to the dimensionality of entanglement (Schmidt number), we show that this effect also directly connects to a notion of dimension for measurement incompatibility. More generally, we present a general connection between the concepts of steering and measurement incompatibility, when quantified in terms of dimension. From this connection, we propose a novel twist on the problem of simulating quantum correlations. Specifically, we show how the correlations of certain high-dimensional entangled states can be exactly recovered using only shared randomness and lower-dimensional entanglement. Finally, we derive criteria for testing the dimension of measurement incompatibility, and discuss the extension of these ideas to quantum channels.

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arXiv2022

Noise-Robust and Loss-Tolerant Quantum Steering with Qudits

A primary requirement for a robust and unconditionally secure quantum network is the establishment of quantum nonlocal correlations over a realistic channel. While loophole-free tests of Bell nonlocality allow for entanglement certification in such a device-independent setting, they are extremely sensitive to loss and noise, which naturally arise in any practical communication scenario. Quantum steering relaxes the strict technological constraints of Bell nonlocality by re-framing it in an asymmetric manner, thus providing the basis for one-sided device-independent quantum networks that can operate under realistic conditions. Here we introduce a noise-robust and loss-tolerant test of quantum steering designed for single detector measurements that harnesses the advantages of high-dimensional entanglement. We showcase the improvements over qubit-based systems by experimentally demonstrating detection loophole-free quantum steering in 53 dimensions through simultaneous loss and noise conditions corresponding to 14.2 dB loss equivalent to 79 km of telecommunication fibre, and 36% of white noise. We go on to show how the use of high dimensions counter-intuitively leads to a dramatic reduction in total measurement time, enabling a quantum steering violation almost two orders of magnitude faster obtained by simply doubling the Hilbert space dimension. By surpassing the constraints imposed upon the device-independent distribution of entanglement, our loss-tolerant, noise-robust, and resource-efficient demonstration of quantum steering proves itself a critical ingredient for making device-independent quantum communication over long distances a reality.

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arXiv2022

Robust genuine high-dimensional steering with many measurements

Quantum systems of high dimensions are attracting a lot of attention because they feature interesting properties when it comes to observing entanglement or other forms of correlations. In particular, their improved resistance to noise is favourable for experiments in quantum communication or quantum cryptography. However, witnessing this high-dimensional nature remains challenging, especially when the assumptions on the parties involved are weak, typically when one of them is considered as a black box. In this context, the concept of genuine high-dimensional steering has been recently introduced and experimentally demonstrated [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 200404 (2021)]; it allows for a one-sided device-independent certification of the dimension of a bipartite shared state by only using two measurements. Here I overcome this limitation by developing, for more than two measurements, universal bounds on the incompatibility robustness, turned into meaningful dimension certificates. Interestingly, even though the resulting bounds are quite loose, they still often offer an increased resistance to noise and could then be advantageously employed in experiments.

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arXiv2022

Simulability of high-dimensional quantum measurements

We investigate the compression of quantum information with respect to a given set $\mathcal{M}$ of high-dimensional measurements. This leads to a notion of simulability, where we demand that the statistics obtained from $\mathcal{M}$ and an arbitrary quantum state $ρ$ are recovered exactly by first compressing $ρ$ into a lower dimensional space, followed by some quantum measurements. A full quantum compression is possible, i.e., leaving only classical information, if and only if the set $\mathcal{M}$ is jointly measurable. Our notion of simulability can thus be seen as a quantification of measurement incompatibility in terms of dimension. After defining these concepts, we provide an illustrative examples involving mutually unbiased basis, and develop a method based on semi-definite programming for constructing simulation models. In turn we analytically construct optimal simulation models for all projective measurements subjected to white noise or losses. Finally, we discuss how our approach connects with other concepts introduced in the context of quantum channels and quantum correlations.

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