Sufficient criterion for guaranteeing that a two-qubit state is unsteerable

Quantum steering can be detected via the violation of steering inequalities, which provide sufficient conditions for the steerability of quantum states. Here we discuss the converse problem, namely ensuring that a state is unsteerable, and hence Bell local. We present a simple criterion, applicable to any two-qubit state, which guarantees that the state admits a local hidden state model for arbitrary projective measurements. We find new classes of unsteerable entangled states, which can thus not violate any steering or Bell inequality. In turn, this leads to sufficient conditions for a state to be only one-way steerable, and provides the simplest possible example of one-way steering. Finally, by exploiting the connection between steering and measurement incompatibility, we give a sufficient criterion for a continuous set of qubit measurements to be jointly measurable.Comment: 7 page

Incompatible quantum measurements admitting a local hidden variable model

The observation of quantum nonlocality, i.e. quantum correlations violating a Bell inequality, implies the use of incompatible local quantum measurements. Here we consider the converse question. That is, can any set of incompatible measurements be used in order to demonstrate Bell inequality violation? Our main result is to construct a local hidden variable model for an incompatible set of qubit measurements. Specifically, we show that if Alice uses this set of measurements, then for any possible shared entangled state, and any possible dichotomic measurements performed by Bob, the resulting statistics are local. This represents significant progress towards proving that measurement incompatibility does not imply Bell nonlocality in general.Comment: A few small changes, closer to the published versio

Genuine hidden quantum nonlocality

The nonlocality of certain quantum states can be revealed by using local filters before performing a standard Bell test. This phenomenon, known as hidden nonlocality, has been so far demonstrated only for a restricted class of measurements, namely projective measurements. Here we prove the existence of genuine hidden nonlocality. Specifically, we present a class of two-qubit entangled states, for which we construct a local model for the most general local measurements (POVMs), and show that the states violate a Bell inequality after local filtering. Hence there exist entangled states, the nonlocality of which can be revealed only by using a sequence of measurements. Finally, we show that genuine hidden nonlocality can be maximal. There exist entangled states for which a sequence of measurements can lead to maximal violation of a Bell inequality, while the statistics of non-sequential measurements is always local.Comment: 5 pages, no figure

Quantum measurement incompatibility does not imply Bell nonlocality

We discuss the connection between the incompatibility of quantum measurements, as captured by the notion of joint measurability, and the violation of Bell inequalities. Specifically, we present explicitly a given a set of non jointly measurable POVMs $\mathcal{M}_A$ with the following property. Considering a bipartite Bell test where Alice uses $\mathcal{M}_A$, then for any possible shared entangled state $\rho$ and any set of (possibly infinitely many) POVMs $\mathcal{N}_B$ performed by Bob, the resulting statistics admits a local model, and can thus never violate any Bell inequality. This shows that quantum measurement incompatibility does not imply Bell nonlocality in general.Comment: See also arXiv:1705.10069 for a related work Small changes on the main text. Some typos were fixe

Better local hidden variable models for two-qubit Werner states and an upper bound on the Grothendieck constant KG(3)K_G(3)

We consider the problem of reproducing the correlations obtained by arbitrary local projective measurements on the two-qubit Werner state $\rho = v |\psi_- > <\psi_- | + (1- v ) \frac{1}{4}$ via a local hidden variable (LHV) model, where $|\psi_- >$ denotes the singlet state. We show analytically that these correlations are local for $v = 999\times689\times{10^{-6}}$ $\cos^4(\pi/50) \simeq 0.6829$. In turn, as this problem is closely related to a purely mathematical one formulated by Grothendieck, our result implies a new bound on the Grothendieck constant $K_G(3) \leq 1/v \simeq 1.4644$. We also present a LHV model for reproducing the statistics of arbitrary POVMs on the Werner state for $v \simeq 0.4553$. The techniques we develop can be adapted to construct LHV models for other entangled states, as well as bounding other Grothendieck constants.Comment: 12 pages, typos correcte

Entanglement without hidden nonlocality

We consider Bell tests in which the distant observers can perform local filtering before testing a Bell inequality. Notably, in this setup, certain entangled states admitting a local hidden variable model in the standard Bell scenario can nevertheless violate a Bell inequality after filtering, displaying so-called hidden nonlocality. Here we ask whether all entangled states can violate a Bell inequality after well-chosen local filtering. We answer this question in the negative by showing that there exist entangled states without hidden nonlocality. Specifically, we prove that some two-qubit Werner states still admit a local hidden variable model after any possible local filtering on a single copy of the state.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure

Topology and Phase Transitions II. Theorem on a necessary relation

In this second paper, we prove a necessity Theorem about the topological origin of phase transitions. We consider physical systems described by smooth microscopic interaction potentials V_N(q), among N degrees of freedom, and the associated family of configuration space submanifolds {M_v}_{v \in R}, with M_v={q \in R^N | V_N(q) \leq v}. On the basis of an analytic relationship between a suitably weighed sum of the Morse indexes of the manifolds {M_ v}_{v \in R} and thermodynamic entropy, the Theorem states that any possible unbound growth with N of one of the following derivatives of the configurational entropy S^{(-)}(v)=(1/N) \log \int_{M_v} d^Nq, that is of |\partial^k S^{(-)}(v)/\partial v^k|, for k=3,4, can be entailed only by the weighed sum of Morse indexes. Since the unbound growth with N of one of these derivatives corresponds to the occurrence of a first or of a second order phase transition, and since the variation of the Morse indexes of a manifold is in one-to-one correspondence with a change of its topology, the Main Theorem of the present paper states that a phase transition necessarily stems from a topological transition in configuration space. The proof of the Theorem given in the present paper cannot be done without Main Theorem of paper I.Comment: 21 pages. This second paper follows up paper I archived in math-ph/0505057. Added minor changes: Title, Abstract, Introductio

Path Integral Description of a Semiclassical Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Model

The electron motion along a chain is described by a continuum version of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Hamiltonian in which phonon fields and electronic coordinates are mapped onto the time scale. The path integral formalism allows us to derive the non local source action for the particle interacting with the oscillators bath. The method can be applied for any value of the {\it e-ph} coupling. The path integral dependence on the model parameters has been analysed by computing the partition function and some thermodynamical properties from $T= 1K$ up to room temperature. A peculiar upturn in the low temperature {\it heat capacity over temperature} ratio (pointing to a glassy like behavior) has been ascribed to the time dependent electronic hopping along the chain

A Theorem on the origin of Phase Transitions

For physical systems described by smooth, finite-range and confining microscopic interaction potentials V with continuously varying coordinates, we announce and outline the proof of a theorem that establishes that unless the equipotential hypersurfaces of configuration space \Sigma_v ={(q_1,...,q_N)\in R^N | V(q_1,...,q_N) = v}, v \in R, change topology at some v_c in a given interval [v_0, v_1] of values v of V, the Helmoltz free energy must be at least twice differentiable in the corresponding interval of inverse temperature (\beta(v_0), \beta(v_1)) also in the N -> \infty$limit. Thus the occurrence of a phase transition at some \beta_c =\beta(v_c) is necessarily the consequence of the loss of diffeomorphicity among the {\Sigma_v}_{v < v_c}$ and the {\Sigma_v}_{v > v_c}, which is the consequence of the existence of critical points of V on \Sigma_{v=v_c}, that is points where \nabla V=0.Comment: 10 pages, Statistical Mechanics, Phase Transitions, General Theory. Phys. Rev. Lett., in pres

Phase Separation and Three-site Hopping in the 2-dimensional t-J Model

We study the t-J model with the inclusion of the so called three-site term which comes out from the t/U --> 0 expansion of the Hubbard model. We find that this singlet pair hopping term has no qualitative effect on the structure of the pure mean field phase diagram for nonmagnetic states. In accordance with experimental data on high-T_c materials and some numerical studies, we also find wide regions of phase coexistence whenever the coupling J is greater than a critical value J_c. We show that J_c varies linearly with the temperature T, going to zero at T=0.Comment: 10 pages, LaTex, 3 Postscript figure