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Tobias Fritz

Publications and source records attributed to Tobias Fritz.

90 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
arXiv2014

Quantum theory realises all joint measurability graphs

Joint measurability of sharp quantum observables is determined pairwise, and so can be captured in a graph. We prove the converse: any graph, whose vertices represent sharp observables, and whose edges represent joint measurability, is realised by quantum theory. This leads us to show that it is not always possible to use Neumark dilation to turn unsharp observables into sharp ones with the same joint measurability relations, highlighting a caveat in the church of the larger Hilbert space".

quant-ph↗
arXiv2013

Velocity Polytopes of Periodic Graphs and a No-Go Theorem for Digital Physics

A periodic graph in dimension $d$ is a directed graph with a free action of $\Z^d$ with only finitely many orbits. It can conveniently be represented in terms of an associated finite graph with weights in $\Z^d$, corresponding to a $\Z^d$-bundle with connection. Here we use the weight sums along cycles in this associated graph to construct a certain polytope in $\R^d$, which we regard as a geometrical invariant associated to the periodic graph. It is the unit ball of a norm on $\R^d$ describing the large-scale geometry of the graph. It has a physical interpretation as the set of attainable velocities of a particle on the graph which can hop along one edge per timestep. Since a polytope necessarily has distinguished directions, there is no periodic graph for which this velocity set is isotropic. In the context of classical physics, this can be viewed as a no-go theorem for the emergence of an isotropic space from a discrete structure.

math-ph↗
arXiv2013

On infinite-dimensional state spaces

It is well-known that the canonical commutation relation $[x,p]=i$ can be realized only on an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space. While any finite set of experimental data can also be explained in terms of a finite-dimensional Hilbert space by approximating the commutation relation, Occam's razor prefers the infinite-dimensional model in which $[x,p]=i$ holds on the nose. This reasoning one will necessarily have to make in any approach which tries to detect the infinite-dimensionality. One drawback of using the canonical commutation relation for this purpose is that it has unclear operational meaning. Here, we identify an operationally well-defined context from which an analogous conclusion can be drawn: if two unitary transformations $U,V$ on a quantum system satisfy the relation $V^{-1}U^2V=U^3$, then finite-dimensionality entails the relation $UV^{-1}UV=V^{-1}UVU$; this implication strongly fails in some infinite-dimensional realizations. This is a result from combinatorial group theory for which we give a new proof. This proof adapts to the consideration of cases where the assumed relation $V^{-1}U^2V=U^3$ holds only up to $\eps$ and then yields a lower bound on the dimension.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2013

Can you compute the operator norm?

In this note we address various algorithmic problems that arise in the computation of the operator norm in unitary representations of a group on Hilbert space. We show that the operator norm in the universal unitary representation is computable if the group is residually finite-dimensional or amenable with decidable word problem. Moreover, we relate the computability of the operator norm on the product of non-abelian free groups to Kirchberg's QWEP Conjecture, a fundamental open problem in the theory of operator algebras.

math.FA↗
arXiv2012

Entropic Inequalities and Marginal Problems

A marginal problem asks whether a given family of marginal distributions for some set of random variables arises from some joint distribution of these variables. Here we point out that the existence of such a joint distribution imposes non-trivial conditions already on the level of Shannon entropies of the given marginals. These entropic inequalities are necessary (but not sufficient) criteria for the existence of a joint distribution. For every marginal problem, a list of such Shannon-type entropic inequalities can be calculated by Fourier-Motzkin elimination, and we offer a software interface to a Fourier-Motzkin solver for doing so. For the case that the hypergraph of given marginals is a cycle graph, we provide a complete analytic solution to the problem of classifying all relevant entropic inequalities, and use this result to bound the decay of correlations in stochastic processes. Furthermore, we show that Shannon-type inequalities for differential entropies are not relevant for continuous-variable marginal problems; non-Shannon-type inequalities are, both in the discrete and in the continuous case. In contrast to other approaches, our general framework easily adapts to situations where one has additional (conditional) independence requirements on the joint distribution, as in the case of graphical models. We end with a list of open problems. A complementary article discusses applications to quantum nonlocality and contextuality.

cs.IT↗
arXiv2012

Beyond Bell's Theorem: Correlation Scenarios

Bell's Theorem witnesses that the predictions of quantum theory cannot be reproduced by theories of local hidden variables in which observers can choose their measurements independently of the source. Working out an idea of Branciard, Rosset, Gisin and Pironio, we consider scenarios which feature several sources, but no choice of measurement for the observers. Every Bell scenario can be mapped into such a \emph{correlation scenario}, and Bell's Theorem then discards those local hidden variable theories in which the sources are independent. However, most correlation scenarios do not arise from Bell scenarios, and we describe examples of (quantum) nonlocality in some of these scenarios, while posing many open problems along the way. Some of our scenarios have been considered before by mathematicians in the context of causal inference.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

Polyhedral duality in Bell scenarios with two binary observables

For the Bell scenario with two parties and two binary observables per party, it is known that the no-signaling polytope is the polyhedral dual (polar) of the Bell polytope. Computational evidence suggests that this duality also holds for three parties. Using ideas of Werner, Wolf, Żukowski and Brukner, we prove this for any number of parties by describing a simple linear bijection mapping (tight) Bell inequalities to (extremal) no-signaling boxes and vice versa. Furthermore, a symmetry-based technique for extending Bell inequalities (resp. no-signaling boxes) with two binary observables from n parties to n+1 parties is described; the Mermin-Klyshko family of Bell inequalities arises in this way, as well as 11 of the 46 classes of tight Bell inequalities for 3 parties. Finally, we ask whether the set of quantum correlations is self-dual with respect to our transformation. We find this not to be the case in general, although it holds for 2 parties on the level of correlations. This self-duality implies Tsirelson's bound for the CHSH inequality.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

Tsirelson's problem and Kirchberg's conjecture

Tsirelson's problem asks whether the set of nonlocal quantum correlations with a tensor product structure for the Hilbert space coincides with the one where only commutativity between observables located at different sites is assumed. Here it is shown that Kirchberg's QWEP conjecture on tensor products of C*-algebras would imply a positive answer to this question for all bipartite scenarios. This remains true also if one considers not only spatial correlations, but also spatiotemporal correlations, where each party is allowed to apply their measurements in temporal succession; we provide an example of a state together with observables such that ordinary spatial correlations are local, while the spatiotemporal correlations reveal nonlocality. Moreover, we find an extended version of Tsirelson's problem which, for each nontrivial Bell scenario, is equivalent to the QWEP conjecture. This extended version can be conveniently formulated in terms of steering the system of a third party. Finally, a comprehensive mathematical appendix offers background material on complete positivity, tensor products of C*-algebras, group C*-algebras, and some simple reformulations of the QWEP conjecture.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

Operator system structures on the unital direct sum of C*-algebras

This work is motivated by Radulescu's result on the comparison of C*-tensor norms on C*(F_n) x C*(F_n). For unital C*-algebras A and B, there are natural inclusions of A and B into their unital free product, their maximal tensor product and their minimal tensor product. These inclusions define three operator system structures on the internal sum A+B, the first of which we identify as the coproduct of A and B in the category of operator systems. Partly using ideas from quantum entanglement theory, we prove various interrelations between these three operator systems. As an application, the present results yield a significant improvement over Radulescu's bound on C*(F_n) x C*(F_n). At the same time, this tight comparison is so general that it cannot be regarded as evidence for a positive answer to the QWEP conjecture.

math.OA↗
arXiv2012

Nonlocality with less Complementarity

In quantum mechanics, nonlocality (a violation of a Bell inequality) is intimately linked to complementarity, by which we mean that consistently assigning values to different observables at the same time is not possible. Nonlocality can only occur when some of the relevant observables do not commute, and this noncommutativity makes the observables complementary. Beyond quantum mechanics, the concept of complementarity can be formalized in several distinct ways. Here we describe some of these possible formalizations and ask how they relate to nonlocality. We partially answer this question by describing two toy theories which display nonlocality and obey the no-signaling principle, although each of them does not display a certain kind of complementarity. The first toy theory has the property that it maximally violates the CHSH inequality, although the corresponding local observables are pairwise jointly measurable. The second toy theory also maximally violates the CHSH inequality, although its state space is classical and all measurements are mutually nondisturbing: if a measurement sequence contains some measurement twice with any number of other measurements in between, then these two measurements give the same outcome with certainty.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

An entropic approach to local realism and noncontextuality

For any Bell locality scenario (or Kochen-Specker noncontextuality scenario), the joint Shannon entropies of local (or noncontextual) models define a convex cone for which the non-trivial facets are tight entropic Bell (or contextuality) inequalities. In this paper we explore this entropic approach and derive tight entropic inequalities for various scenarios. One advantage of entropic inequalities is that they easily adapt to situations like bilocality scenarios, which have additional independence requirements that are non-linear on the level of probabilities, but linear on the level of entropies. Another advantage is that, despite the nonlinearity, taking detection inefficiencies into account turns out to be very simple. When joint measurements are conducted by a single detector only, the detector efficiency for witnessing quantum contextuality can be arbitrarily low.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

Physics of the Galactic Center Cloud G2, on its Way towards the Super-Massive Black Hole

The origin, structure and evolution of the small gas cloud, G2, is investigated, that is on an orbit almost straight into the Galactic central supermassive black hole (SMBH). G2 is a sensitive probe of the hot accretion zone of Sgr A*, requiring gas temperatures and densities that agree well with models of captured shock-heated stellar winds. Its mass is equal to the critical mass below which cold clumps would be destroyed quickly by evaporation. Its mass is also constrained by the fact that at apocenter its sound crossing timescale was equal to its orbital timescale. Our numerical simulations show that the observed structure and evolution of G2 can be well reproduced if it formed in pressure equilibrium with the surrounding in 1995 at a distance from the SMBH of 7.6e16 cm. If the cloud would have formed at apocenter in the 'clockwise' stellar disk as expected from its orbit, it would be torn into a very elongated spaghetti-like filament by 2011 which is not observed. This problem can be solved if G2 is the head of a larger, shell-like structure that formed at apocenter. Our numerical simulations show that this scenario explains not only G2's observed kinematical and geometrical properties but also the Br_gamma observations of a low surface brightness gas tail that trails the cloud. In 2013, while passing the SMBH G2 will break up into a string of droplets that within the next 30 years mix with the surrounding hot gas and trigger cycles of AGN activity.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2011

A Characterization of Entropy in Terms of Information Loss

There are numerous characterizations of Shannon entropy and Tsallis entropy as measures of information obeying certain properties. Using work by Faddeev and Furuichi, we derive a very simple characterization. Instead of focusing on the entropy of a probability measure on a finite set, this characterization focuses on the `information loss', or change in entropy, associated with a measure-preserving function. Information loss is a special case of conditional entropy: namely, it is the entropy of a random variable conditioned on some function of that variable. We show that Shannon entropy gives the only concept of information loss that is functorial, convex-linear and continuous. This characterization naturally generalizes to Tsallis entropy as well.

cs.IT↗
arXiv2011

Categories of Fractions Revisited

The theory of categories of fractions as originally developed by Gabriel and Zisman is reviewed in a pedagogical manner giving detailed proofs of all statements. A weakening of the category of fractions axioms used by Higson is discussed and shown to be equivalent to the original axioms.

math.CT↗
arXiv2011

Hardy's Non-locality Paradox and Possibilistic Conditions for Non-locality

Hardy's non-locality paradox is a proof without inequalities showing that certain non-local correlations violate local realism. It is `possibilistic' in the sense that one only distinguishes between possible outcomes (positive probability) and impossible outcomes (zero probability). Here we show that Hardy's paradox is quite universal: in any (2,2,l) or (2,k,2) Bell scenario, the occurence of Hardy's paradox is a necessary and sufficient condition for possibilistic non-locality. In particular, it subsumes all ladder paradoxes. This universality of Hardy's paradox is not true more generally: we find a new `proof without inequalities' in the (2,3,3) scenario that can witness non-locality even for correlations that do not display the Hardy paradox. We discuss the ramifications of our results for the computational complexity of recognising possibilistic non-locality.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2010

Transition probabilities and measurement statistics of postselected ensembles

It is well-known that a quantum measurement can enhance the transition probability between two quantum states. Such a measurement operates after preparation of the initial state and before postselecting for the final state. Here we analyze this kind of scenario in detail and determine which probability distributions on a finite number of outcomes can occur for an intermediate measurement with postselection, for given values of the following two quantities: (i) the transition probability without measurement, (ii) the transition probability with measurement. This is done for both the cases of projective measurements and of generalized measurements. Among other constraints, this quantifies a trade-off between high randomness in a projective measurement and high measurement-modified transition probability. An intermediate projective measurement can enhance a transition probability such that the failure probability decreases by a factor of up to 2, but not by more.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2010

On the existence of quantum representations for two dichotomic measurements

Under which conditions do outcome probabilities of measurements possess a quantum-mechanical model? This kind of problem is solved here for the case of two dichotomic von Neumann measurements which can be applied repeatedly to a quantum system with trivial dynamics. The solution uses methods from the theory of operator algebras and the theory of moment problems. The ensuing conditions reveal surprisingly simple relations between certain quantum-mechanical probabilities. It also shown that generally, none of these relations holds in general probabilistic models. This result might facilitate further experimental discrimination between quantum mechanics and other general probabilistic theories.

quant-ph↗