A channel-based framework for steering, non-locality and beyond

Non-locality and steering are both non-classical phenomena witnessed in nature as a result of quantum entanglement. It is now well-established that one can study non-locality independently of the formalism of quantum mechanics, in the so-called device-independent framework. With regards to steering, although one cannot study it completely independently of the quantum formalism, 'post-quantum steering' has been described, which is steering that cannot be reproduced by measurements on entangled states but does not lead to superluminal signalling. In this work we present a framework based on the study of quantum channels in which one can study steering (and non-locality) in quantum theory and beyond. In this framework, we show that kinds of steering, whether quantum or post-quantum, are directly related to particular families of quantum channels that have been previously introduced by Beckman et al (2001 Phys. Rev. A 64 052309). Utilizing this connection we also demonstrate new analytical examples of post-quantum steering, give a quantum channel interpretation of almost quantum non-locality and steering, easily recover and generalize the celebrated Gisin–Hughston–Jozsa–Wootters theorem, and initiate the study of post-quantum Buscemi non-locality and non-classical teleportation. In this way, we see post-quantum non-locality and steering as just two aspects of a more general phenomenon

Self-testing through EPR-steering

The verification of quantum devices is an important aspect of quantum information, especially with the emergence of more advanced experimental implementations of quantum computation and secure communication. Within this, the theory of device-independent robust self-testing via Bell tests has reached a level of maturity now that many quantum states and measurements can be verified without direct access to the quantum systems: interaction with the devices is solely classical. However, the requirements for this robust level of verification are daunting and require high levels of experimental accuracy. In this paper we discuss the possibility of self-testing where we only have direct access to one part of the quantum device. This motivates the study of self-testing via EPR-steering, an intermediate form of entanglement verification between full state tomography and Bell tests. Quantum non-locality implies EPR-steering so results in the former can apply in the latter, but we ask what advantages may be gleaned from the latter over the former given that one can do partial state tomography? We show that in the case of self-testing a maximally entangled two-qubit state, or ebit, EPR-steering allows for simpler analysis and better error tolerance than in the case of full device-independence. On the other hand, this improvement is only a constant improvement and (up to constants) is the best one can hope for. Finally, we indicate that the main advantage in self-testing based on EPR-steering could be in the case of self-testing multi-partite quantum states and measurements. For example, it may be easier to establish a tensor product structure for a particular party’s Hilbert space even if we do not have access to their part of the global quantum system

A formalism for steering with local quantum measurements

We develop a unified approach to classical, quantum and post-quantum steering. The framework is based on uncharacterised (black-box) parties performing quantum measurements on their share of a (possibly unphysical) quantum state, and its starting point is the characterisation of general no- signalling assemblages via non-positive local hidden-state models. By developing a connection to entanglement witnesses, this formalism allows for new definitions of families of assemblages, in particular via (i) non-decomposable positive maps and (ii) unextendible product bases. The former proves to be useful for constructing post-quantum assemblages with the built-in feature of yielding only quantum correlations in Bell experiments, while the latter always gives certifiably post-quantum assemblages. Finally, our framework is equipped with an inherent quantifier of post-quantum steering, which we call the negativity of post-quantum steering. We postulate that post-quantum steering should not increase under one-way quantum operations from the steered parties to the steering parties, and we show that, in this sense, the negativity of post-quantum steering is a convex post-quantum-steering monotone