Bell Nonlocality in Classical Systems Coexisting with Other System Types.

The realistic interpretation of classical theory assumes that every classical system has well-defined properties, which may be unknown to the observer but are nevertheless part of reality and can, in principle, be revealed by measurements. Here we show that this interpretation can, in principle, be falsified if classical systems coexist with other types of physical systems. To make this point, we construct a toy theory that (i) includes classical theory as a subtheory and (ii) allows classical systems to be entangled with another type of system, called anticlassical. We show that our toy theory allows for the violation of Bell inequalities in two-party scenarios where one of the settings corresponds to a local measurement performed on a classical system alone. Building on this fact, we show that measurement outcomes in classical theory cannot, in general, be regarded as predetermined by the state of an underlying reality.

Experimental Demonstration of Input-Output Indefiniteness in a Single Quantum Device.

Quantum theory allows information to flow through a single device in a coherent superposition of two opposite directions, resulting into situations where the input-output direction is indefinite. Here we introduce a theoretical method to witness input-output indefiniteness in a single quantum device, and we experimentally demonstrate it by constructing a photonic setup that exhibits input-output indefiniteness with a statistical significance exceeding 69 standard deviations. Our results provide a way to characterize input-output indefiniteness as a resource for quantum information and photonic quantum technologies and enable tabletop simulations of hypothetical scenarios exhibiting quantum indefiniteness in the direction of time.

Virtual Quantum Broadcasting.

The quantum no-broadcasting theorem states that it is impossible to produce perfect copies of an arbitrary quantum state, even if the copies are allowed to be correlated. Here we show that, although quantum broadcasting cannot be achieved by any physical process, it can be achieved by a virtual process, described by a Hermitian-preserving trace-preserving map. This virtual process is canonical: it is the only map that broadcasts all quantum states, is covariant under unitary evolution, is invariant under permutations of the copies, and reduces to the classical broadcasting map when subjected to decoherence. We show that the optimal physical approximation to the canonical broadcasting map is the optimal universal quantum cloning, and we also show that virtual broadcasting can be achieved by a virtual measure-and-prepare protocol, where a virtual measurement is performed, and, depending on the outcomes, two copies of a virtual quantum state are generated. Finally, we use canonical virtual broadcasting to prove a uniqueness result for quantum states over time.

Device-independent certification of indefinite causal order in the quantum switch.

Quantum theory is compatible with scenarios in which the order of operations is indefinite. Experimental investigations of such scenarios, all of which have been based on a process known as the quantum switch, have provided demonstrations of indefinite causal order conditioned on assumptions on the devices used in the laboratory. But is a device-independent certification possible, similar to the certification of Bell nonlocality through the violation of Bell inequalities? Previous results have shown that the answer is negative if the switch is considered in isolation. Here, however, we present an inequality that can be used to device-independently certify indefinite causal order in the quantum switch in the presence of an additional spacelike-separated observer under an assumption asserting the impossibility of superluminal and retrocausal influences.

Quantum Similarity Testing with Convolutional Neural Networks.

The task of testing whether two uncharacterized quantum devices behave in the same way is crucial for benchmarking near-term quantum computers and quantum simulators, but has so far remained open for continuous variable quantum systems. In this Letter, we develop a machine learning algorithm for comparing unknown continuous variable states using limited and noisy data. The algorithm works on non-Gaussian quantum states for which similarity testing could not be achieved with previous techniques. Our approach is based on a convolutional neural network that assesses the similarity of quantum states based on a lower-dimensional state representation built from measurement data. The network can be trained off-line with classically simulated data from a fiducial set of states sharing structural similarities with the states to be tested, with experimental data generated by measurements on the fiducial states, or with a combination of simulated and experimental data. We test the performance of the model on noisy cat states and states generated by arbitrary selective number-dependent phase gates. Our network can also be applied to the problem of comparing continuous variable states across different experimental platforms, with different sets of achievable measurements, and to the problem of experimentally testing whether two states are equivalent up to Gaussian unitary transformations.

Measuring Incompatibility and Clustering Quantum Observables with a Quantum Switch.

The existence of incompatible observables is a cornerstone of quantum mechanics and a valuable resource in quantum technologies. Here we introduce a measure of incompatibility, called the mutual eigenspace disturbance (MED), which quantifies the amount of disturbance induced by the measurement of a sharp observable on the eigenspaces of another. The MED provides a metric on the space of von Neumann measurements, and can be efficiently estimated by letting the measurement processes act in an indefinite order, using a setup known as the quantum switch, which also allows one to quantify the noncommutativity of arbitrary quantum processes. Thanks to these features, the MED can be used in quantum machine learning tasks. We demonstrate this application by providing an unsupervised algorithm that clusters unknown von Neumann measurements. Our algorithm is robust to noise and can be used to identify groups of observers that share approximately the same measurement context.

The nonequilibrium cost of accurate information processing.

Accurate information processing is crucial both in technology and in nature. To achieve it, any information processing system needs an initial supply of resources away from thermal equilibrium. Here we establish a fundamental limit on the accuracy achievable with a given amount of nonequilibrium resources. The limit applies to arbitrary information processing tasks and arbitrary information processing systems subject to the laws of quantum mechanics. It is easily computable and is expressed in terms of an entropic quantity, which we name the reverse entropy, associated to a time reversal of the information processing task under consideration. The limit is achievable for all deterministic classical computations and for all their quantum extensions. As an application, we establish the optimal tradeoff between nonequilibrium and accuracy for the fundamental tasks of storing, transmitting, cloning, and erasing information. Our results set a target for the design of new devices approaching the ultimate efficiency limit, and provide a framework for demonstrating thermodynamical advantages of quantum devices over their classical counterparts.

Flexible learning of quantum states with generative query neural networks.

Deep neural networks are a powerful tool for characterizing quantum states. Existing networks are typically trained with experimental data gathered from the quantum state that needs to be characterized. But is it possible to train a neural network offline, on a different set of states? Here we introduce a network that can be trained with classically simulated data from a fiducial set of states and measurements, and can later be used to characterize quantum states that share structural similarities with the fiducial states. With little guidance of quantum physics, the network builds its own data-driven representation of a quantum state, and then uses it to predict the outcome statistics of quantum measurements that have not been performed yet. The state representations produced by the network can also be used for tasks beyond the prediction of outcome statistics, including clustering of quantum states and identification of different phases of matter.

Quantum and Classical Data Transmission through Completely Depolarizing Channels in a Superposition of Cyclic Orders.

Completely depolarizing channels are often regarded as the prototype of physical processes that are useless for communication: any message that passes through them along a well-defined trajectory is completely erased. When two such channels are used in a quantum superposition of two alternative orders, they become able to transmit some amount of classical information, but still no quantum information can pass through them. Here, we show that the ability to place N completely depolarizing channels in a superposition of N alternative causal orders enables a high-fidelity heralded transmission of quantum information with error vanishing as 1/N. This phenomenon highlights a fundamental difference with the N=2 case, where completely depolarizing channels are unable to transmit quantum data, even when placed in a superposition of causal orders. The ability to place quantum channels in a superposition of orders also leads to an increase of the classical communication capacity with N, which we rigorously prove by deriving an exact single-letter expression. Our results highlight the more complex patterns of correlations arising from multiple causal orders, which are similar to the more complex patterns of entanglement arising in multipartite quantum systems.

Efficient Verification of Continuous-Variable Quantum States and Devices without Assuming Identical and Independent Operations.

Continuous-variable quantum information, encoded into infinite-dimensional quantum systems, is a promising platform for the realization of many quantum information protocols, including quantum computation, quantum metrology, quantum cryptography, and quantum communication. To successfully demonstrate these protocols, an essential step is the certification of multimode continuous-variable quantum states and quantum devices. This problem is well studied under the assumption that multiple uses of the same device result in identical and independently distributed (i.i.d.) operations. However, in realistic scenarios, identical and independent state preparation and calls to the quantum devices cannot be generally guaranteed. Important instances include adversarial scenarios and instances of time-dependent and correlated noise. In this Letter, we propose the first set of reliable protocols for verifying multimode continuous-variable entangled states and devices in these non-i.i.d scenarios. Although not fully universal, these protocols are applicable to Gaussian quantum states, non-Gaussian hypergraph states, as well as amplification, attenuation, and purification of noisy coherent states.

Optimal Universal Programming of Unitary Gates.

A universal quantum processor is a device that takes as input a (quantum) program, containing an encoding of an arbitrary unitary gate, and a (quantum) data register, on which the encoded gate is applied. While no perfect universal quantum processor can exist, approximate processors have been proposed in the past two decades. A fundamental open question is how the size of the smallest quantum program scales with the approximation error. Here we answer the question, by proving a bound on the size of the program and designing a concrete protocol that attains the bound in the asymptotic limit. Our result is based on a connection between optimal programming and the Heisenberg limit of quantum metrology, and establishes an asymptotic equivalence between the tasks of programming, learning, and estimating unitary gates.

Quantum Metrology with Indefinite Causal Order.

We address the study of quantum metrology enhanced by indefinite causal order, demonstrating a quadratic advantage in the estimation of the product of two average displacements in a continuous variable system. We prove that no setup where the displacements are used in a fixed order can have root-mean-square error vanishing faster than the Heisenberg limit 1/N, where N is the number of displacements contributing to the average. In stark contrast, we show that a setup that probes the displacements in a superposition of two alternative orders yields a root-mean-square error vanishing with super-Heisenberg scaling 1/N^{2}, which we prove to be optimal among all superpositions of setups with definite causal order. Our result opens up the study of new measurement setups where quantum processes are probed in an indefinite order, and suggests enhanced tests of the canonical commutation relations, with potential applications to quantum gravity.

Necessary and sufficient conditions on measurements of quantum channels.

Quantum supermaps are a higher-order genera- lization of quantum maps, taking quantum maps to quantum maps. It is known that any completely positive and trace non-increasing (CPTNI) map can be performed as part of a quantum measurement. By providing an explicit counterexample we show that, instead, not every quantum supermap sending a quantum channel to a CPTNI map can be realized in a measurement on quantum channels. We find that the supermaps that can be implemented in this way are exactly those transforming quantum channels into CPTNI maps even when tensored with the identity supermap. We link this result to the fact that the principle of causality fails in the theory of quantum supermaps.

Experimental Transmission of Quantum Information Using a Superposition of Causal Orders.

Communication in a network generally takes place through a sequence of intermediate nodes connected by communication channels. In the standard theory of communication, it is assumed that the communication network is embedded in a classical spacetime, where the relative order of different nodes is well defined. In principle, a quantum theory of spacetime could allow the order of the intermediate points between sender and receiver to be in a coherent superposition. Here we experimentally realize a tabletop simulation of this exotic possibility on a photonic system, demonstrating high-fidelity transmission of quantum information over two noisy channels arranged in a superposition of two alternative causal orders.

Quantum Shannon theory with superpositions of trajectories.

Shannon's theory of information was built on the assumption that the information carriers were classical systems. Its quantum counterpart, quantum Shannon theory, explores the new possibilities arising when the information carriers are quantum systems. Traditionally, quantum Shannon theory has focused on scenarios where the internal state of the information carriers is quantum, while their trajectory is classical. Here we propose a second level of quantization where both the information and its propagation in space-time is treated quantum mechanically. The framework is illustrated with a number of examples, showcasing some of the counterintuitive phenomena taking place when information travels simultaneously through multiple transmission lines.

Correction to 'Quantum stopwatch: how to store time in a quantum memory'.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2017.0773.][This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2017.0773.].

Quantum speedup in the identification of cause-effect relations.

The ability to identify cause-effect relations is an essential component of the scientific method. The identification of causal relations is generally accomplished through statistical trials where alternative hypotheses are tested against each other. Traditionally, such trials have been based on classical statistics. However, classical statistics becomes inadequate at the quantum scale, where a richer spectrum of causal relations is accessible. Here we show that quantum strategies can greatly speed up the identification of causal relations. We analyse the task of identifying the effect of a given variable, and we show that the optimal quantum strategy beats all classical strategies by running multiple equivalent tests in a quantum superposition. The same working principle leads to advantages in the detection of a causal link between two variables, and in the identification of the cause of a given variable.

Quantum stopwatch: how to store time in a quantum memory.

Quantum mechanics imposes a fundamental trade-off between the accuracy of time measurements and the size of the systems used as clocks. When the measurements of different time intervals are combined, the errors due to the finite clock size accumulate, resulting in an overall inaccuracy that grows with the complexity of the set-up. Here, we introduce a method that, in principle, eludes the accumulation of errors by coherently transferring information from a quantum clock to a quantum memory of the smallest possible size. Our method could be used to measure the total duration of a sequence of events with enhanced accuracy, and to reduce the amount of quantum communication needed to stabilize clocks in a quantum network.

Test One to Test Many: A Unified Approach to Quantum Benchmarks.

Quantum benchmarks are routinely used to validate the experimental demonstration of quantum information protocols. Many relevant protocols, however, involve an infinite set of input states, of which only a finite subset can be used to test the quality of the implementation. This is a problem, because the benchmark for the finitely many states used in the test can be higher than the original benchmark calculated for infinitely many states. This situation arises in the teleportation and storage of coherent states, for which the benchmark of 50% fidelity is commonly used in experiments, although finite sets of coherent states normally lead to higher benchmarks. Here, we show that the average fidelity over all coherent states can be indirectly probed with a single setup, requiring only two-mode squeezing, a 50-50 beam splitter, and homodyne detection. Our setup enables a rigorous experimental validation of quantum teleportation, storage, amplification, attenuation, and purification of noisy coherent states. More generally, we prove that every quantum benchmark can be tested by preparing a single entangled state and measuring a single observable.

Enhanced Communication with the Assistance of Indefinite Causal Order.

In quantum Shannon theory, the way information is encoded and decoded takes advantage of the laws of quantum mechanics, while the way communication channels are interlinked is assumed to be classical. In this Letter, we relax the assumption that quantum channels are combined classically, showing that a quantum communication network where quantum channels are combined in a superposition of different orders can achieve tasks that are impossible in conventional quantum Shannon theory. In particular, we show that two identical copies of a completely depolarizing channel become able to transmit information when they are combined in a quantum superposition of two alternative orders. This finding runs counter to the intuition that if two communication channels are identical, using them in different orders should not make any difference. The failure of such intuition stems from the fact that a single noisy channel can be a random mixture of elementary, noncommuting processes, whose order (or lack thereof) can affect the ability to transmit information.