Advantages of Multicopy Nonlocality Distillation and Its Application to Minimizing Communication Complexity.

Nonlocal correlations are a central feature of quantum theory, and understanding why quantum theory has a limited amount of nonlocality is a fundamental problem. Since nonlocality also has technological applications, e.g., for device-independent cryptography, it is useful to understand it as a resource and, in particular, whether and how different types of nonlocality can be interconverted. Here we focus on nonlocality distillation which involves using several copies of a nonlocal resource to generate one with more nonlocality. We introduce several distillation schemes which distill an extended part of the set of nonlocal correlations including quantum correlations. Our schemes are based on a natural set of operational procedures known as wirings that can be applied regardless of the underlying theory. Some are sequential algorithms that repeatedly use a two-copy protocol, while others are genuine three-copy distillation protocols. In some regions we prove that genuine three-copy protocols are strictly better than two-copy protocols. By applying our new protocols we also increase the region in which nonlocal correlations are known to give rise to trivial communication complexity. This brings us closer to an understanding of the sets of nonlocal correlations that can be recovered from information-theoretic principles, which, in turn, enhances our understanding of what is special about quantum theory.

Testing Real Quantum Theory in an Optical Quantum Network.

Quantum theory is commonly formulated in complex Hilbert spaces. However, the question of whether complex numbers need to be given a fundamental role in the theory has been debated since its pioneering days. Recently it has been shown that tests in the spirit of a Bell inequality can reveal quantum predictions in entanglement swapping scenarios that cannot be modeled by the natural real-number analog of standard quantum theory. Here, we tailor such tests for implementation in state-of-the-art photonic systems. We experimentally demonstrate quantum correlations in a network of three parties and two independent EPR sources that violate the constraints of real quantum theory by over 4.5 standard deviations, hence disproving real quantum theory as a universal physical theory.

Quantum theory based on real numbers can be experimentally falsified.

Although complex numbers are essential in mathematics, they are not needed to describe physical experiments, as those are expressed in terms of probabilities, hence real numbers. Physics, however, aims to explain, rather than describe, experiments through theories. Although most theories of physics are based on real numbers, quantum theory was the first to be formulated in terms of operators acting on complex Hilbert spaces1,2. This has puzzled countless physicists, including the fathers of the theory, for whom a real version of quantum theory, in terms of real operators, seemed much more natural3. In fact, previous studies have shown that such a 'real quantum theory' can reproduce the outcomes of any multipartite experiment, as long as the parts share arbitrary real quantum states4. Here we investigate whether complex numbers are actually needed in the quantum formalism. We show this to be case by proving that real and complex Hilbert-space formulations of quantum theory make different predictions in network scenarios comprising independent states and measurements. This allows us to devise a Bell-like experiment, the successful realization of which would disprove real quantum theory, in the same way as standard Bell experiments disproved local physics.

Optimized Detection of High-Dimensional Entanglement.

Entanglement detection is one of the most conventional tasks in quantum information processing. While most experimental demonstrations of high-dimensional entanglement rely on fidelity-based witnesses, these are powerless to detect entanglement within a large class of entangled quantum states, the so-called unfaithful states. In this Letter, we introduce a highly flexible automated method to construct optimal tests for entanglement detection given a bipartite target state of arbitrary dimension, faithful or unfaithful, and a set of local measurement operators. By restricting the number or complexity of the considered measurement settings, our method outputs the most convenient protocol which can be implemented using a wide range of experimental techniques such as photons, superconducting qudits, cold atoms, or trapped ions. With an experimental quantum optics setup that can prepare and measure arbitrary high-dimensional mixed states, we implement some three-setting protocols generated by our method. These protocols allow us to experimentally certify two- and three-unfaithful entanglement in four-dimensional photonic states, some of which contain well above 50% of noise.

Self-Testing of Physical Theories, or, Is Quantum Theory Optimal with Respect to Some Information-Processing Task?

Self-testing usually refers to the task of taking a given set of observed correlations that are assumed to arise via a process that is accurately described by quantum theory, and trying to infer the quantum state and measurements. In other words it is concerned with the question of whether we can tell what quantum black-box devices are doing by looking only at their input-output behavior and is known to be possible in several cases. Here we introduce a more general question: is it possible to self-test a theory, and, in particular, quantum theory? More precisely, we ask whether within a particular causal structure there are tasks that can only be performed in theories that have the same correlations as quantum mechanics in any scenario. We present a candidate task for such a correlation self-test and analyze it in a range of generalized probabilistic theories (GPTs), showing that none of these perform better than quantum theory. A generalization of our results showing that all nonquantum GPTs are strictly inferior to quantum mechanics for this task would point to a new way to axiomatize quantum theory, and enable an experimental test that simultaneously rules out such GPTs.

Analysing causal structures with entropy.

A central question for causal inference is to decide whether a set of correlations fits a given causal structure. In general, this decision problem is computationally infeasible and hence several approaches have emerged that look for certificates of compatibility. Here, we review several such approaches based on entropy. We bring together the key aspects of these entropic techniques with unified terminology, filling several gaps and establishing new connections, all illustrated with examples. We consider cases where unobserved causes are classical, quantum and post-quantum, and discuss what entropic analyses tell us about the difference. This difference has applications to quantum cryptography, where it can be crucial to eliminate the possibility of classical causes. We discuss the achievements and limitations of the entropic approach in comparison to other techniques and point out the main open problems.

Axiomatic Relation between Thermodynamic and Information-Theoretic Entropies.

Thermodynamic entropy, as defined by Clausius, characterizes macroscopic observations of a system based on phenomenological quantities such as temperature and heat. In contrast, information-theoretic entropy, introduced by Shannon, is a measure of uncertainty. In this Letter, we connect these two notions of entropy, using an axiomatic framework for thermodynamics [E. H. Lieb and J. Yngvason Proc. R. Soc. 469, 20130408 (2013)]. In particular, we obtain a direct relation between the Clausius entropy and the Shannon entropy, or its generalization to quantum systems, the von Neumann entropy. More generally, we find that entropy measures relevant in nonequilibrium thermodynamics correspond to entropies used in one-shot information theory.