119 research outputs found
Noise and Disturbance of Qubit Measurements: An Information-Theoretic Characterisation
Information-theoretic definitions for the noise associated with a quantum
measurement and the corresponding disturbance to the state of the system have
recently been introduced [F. Buscemi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 050401
(2014)]. These definitions are invariant under relabelling of measurement
outcomes, and lend themselves readily to the formulation of state-independent
uncertainty relations both for the joint estimate of observables (noise-noise
relations) and the noise-disturbance tradeoff. Here we derive such relations
for incompatible qubit observables, which we prove to be tight in the case of
joint estimates, and present progress towards fully characterising the
noise-disturbance tradeoff. In doing so, we show that the set of obtainable
noise-noise values for such observables is convex, whereas the conjectured form
for the set of obtainable noise-disturbance values is not. Furthermore,
projective measurements are not optimal with respect to the joint-measurement
noise or noise-disturbance tradeoffs. Interestingly, it seems that four-outcome
measurements are needed in the former case, whereas three-outcome measurements
are optimal in the latter.Comment: Minor changes, corresponds to final published version. 14 pages, 5
figure
Von Neumann Normalisation of a Quantum Random Number Generator
In this paper we study von Neumann un-biasing normalisation for ideal and
real quantum random number generators, operating on finite strings or infinite
bit sequences. In the ideal cases one can obtain the desired un-biasing. This
relies critically on the independence of the source, a notion we rigorously
define for our model. In real cases, affected by imperfections in measurement
and hardware, one cannot achieve a true un-biasing, but, if the bias "drifts
sufficiently slowly", the result can be arbitrarily close to un-biasing. For
infinite sequences, normalisation can both increase or decrease the
(algorithmic) randomness of the generated sequences. A successful application
of von Neumann normalisation---in fact, any un-biasing transformation---does
exactly what it promises, un-biasing, one (among infinitely many) symptoms of
randomness; it will not produce "true" randomness.Comment: 27 pages, 2 figures. Updated to published versio
On the definition and characterisation of multipartite causal (non)separability
The concept of causal nonseparability has been recently introduced, in
opposition to that of causal separability, to qualify physical processes that
locally abide by the laws of quantum theory, but cannot be embedded in a
well-defined global causal structure. While the definition is unambiguous in
the bipartite case, its generalisation to the multipartite case is not so
straightforward. Two seemingly different generalisations have been proposed,
one for a restricted tripartite scenario and one for the general multipartite
case. Here we compare the two, showing that they are in fact inequivalent. We
propose our own definition of causal (non)separability for the general case,
which---although a priori subtly different---turns out to be equivalent to the
concept of "extensible causal (non)separability" introduced before, and which
we argue is a more natural definition for general multipartite scenarios. We
then derive necessary, as well as sufficient conditions to characterise
causally (non)separable processes in practice. These allow one to devise
practical tests, by generalising the tool of witnesses of causal
nonseparability
A Non-Probabilistic Model of Relativised Predictability in Physics
Little effort has been devoted to studying generalised notions or models of
(un)predictability, yet is an important concept throughout physics and plays a
central role in quantum information theory, where key results rely on the
supposed inherent unpredictability of measurement outcomes. In this paper we
continue the programme started in [1] developing a general, non-probabilistic
model of (un)predictability in physics. We present a more refined model that is
capable of studying different degrees of "relativised" unpredictability. This
model is based on the ability for an agent, acting via uniform, effective
means, to predict correctly and reproducibly the outcome of an experiment using
finite information extracted from the environment. We use this model to study
further the degree of unpredictability certified by different quantum
phenomena, showing that quantum complementarity guarantees a form of
relativised unpredictability that is weaker than that guaranteed by
Kochen-Specker-type value indefiniteness. We exemplify further the difference
between certification by complementarity and value indefiniteness by showing
that, unlike value indefiniteness, complementarity is compatible with the
production of computable sequences of bits.Comment: 10 page
Multipartite Causal Correlations: Polytopes and Inequalities
We consider the most general correlations that can be obtained by a group of
parties whose causal relations are well-defined, although possibly
probabilistic and dependent on past parties' operations. We show that, for any
fixed number of parties and inputs and outputs for each party, the set of such
correlations forms a convex polytope, whose vertices correspond to
deterministic strategies, and whose (nontrivial) facets define so-called causal
inequalities. We completely characterize the simplest tripartite polytope in
terms of its facet inequalities, propose generalizations of some inequalities
to scenarios with more parties, and show that our tripartite inequalities can
be violated within the process matrix formalism, where quantum mechanics is
locally valid but no global causal structure is assumed.Comment: 14 pages and 1 supplementary CDF fil
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