On linearity of separating multi-particle differential Schr\"odinger operators for identical particles

We show that hierarchies of differential Schroedinger operators for identical particles which are separating for the usual (anti-)symmetric tensor product, are necessarily linear, and offer some speculations on the source of quantum linearity.Comment: As accepted by Journal of Mathematical Physics. Original title "Separating multi-particle differential Schroedinger operators for identical particles are necessarily linear". Some new discussion and references. Main result unchanged. Uses RevTeX 4, 9 page

Nonlinear Quantum Mechanics at the Planck Scale

I argue that the linearity of quantum mechanics is an emergent feature at the Planck scale, along with the manifold structure of space-time. In this regime the usual causality violation objections to nonlinearity do not apply, and nonlinear effects can be of comparable magnitude to the linear ones and still be highly suppressed at low energies. This can offer alternative approaches to quantum gravity and to the evolution of the early universe.Comment: Talk given at the International Quantum Structures 2004 meeting, 16 pages LaTe

Equivariance, Variational Principles, and the Feynman Integral

We argue that the variational calculus leading to Euler's equations and Noether's theorem can be replaced by equivariance and invariance conditions avoiding the action integral. We also speculate about the origin of Lagrangian theories in physics and their connection to Feynman's integral

Feynman's path integral and mutually unbiased bases

Our previous work on quantum mechanics in Hilbert spaces of finite dimensions N is applied to elucidate the deep meaning of Feynman's path integral pointed out by G. Svetlichny. He speculated that the secret of the Feynman path integral may lie in the property of mutual unbiasedness of temporally proximal bases. We confirm the corresponding property of the short-time propagator by using a specially devised N x N -approximation of quantum mechanics in L^2(R) applied to our finite-dimensional analogue of a free quantum particle.Comment: 12 pages, submitted to Journal of Physics A: Math. Theor., minor correction

Three-particle entanglement versus three-particle nonlocality

The notions of three-particle entanglement and three-particle nonlocality are discussed in the light of Svetlichny's inequality [Phys. Rev. D 35, 3066 (1987)]. It is shown that there exist sets of measurements which can be used to prove three-particle entanglement, but which are nevertheless useless at proving three-particle nonlocality. In particular, it is shown that the quantum predictions giving a maximal violation of Mermin's three-particle Bell inequality [Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 1838 (1990)] can be reproduced by a hybrid hidden variables model in which nonlocal correlations are present only between two of the particles. It should be possible, however, to test the existence of both three-particle entanglement and three-particle nonlocality for any given quantum state via Svetlichny's inequality.Comment: REVTeX4, 4 pages, journal versio

Quadratic Bell inequalities as tests for multipartite entanglement

This letter presents quantum mechanical inequalities which distinguish, for systems of $N$ spin-\half particles ($N>2$), between fully entangled states and states in which at most $N-1$ particles are entangled. These inequalities are stronger than those obtained by Gisin and Bechmann-Pasquinucci [Phys.\ Lett. A {\bf 246}, 1 (1998)] and by Seevinck and Svetlichny [quant-ph/0201046].Comment: 4 pages, including 1 figure. Typo's removed and one proof simplified in revised versio

Approximate quantum cloning and the impossibility of superluminal information transfer

We show that nonlocality of quantum mechanics cannot lead to superluminal transmission of information, even if most general local operations are allowed, as long as they are linear and trace preserving. In particular, any quantum mechanical approximate cloning transformation does not allow signalling. On the other hand, the no-signalling constraint on its own is not sufficient to prevent a transformation from surpassing the known cloning bounds. We illustrate these concepts on the basis of some examples.Comment: 4 pages, 1eps figur

Mutually Unbiased Bases and Complementary Spin 1 Observables

The two observables are complementary if they cannot be measured simultaneously, however they become maximally complementary if their eigenstates are mutually unbiased. Only then the measurement of one observable gives no information about the other observable. The spin projection operators onto three mutually orthogonal directions are maximally complementary only for the spin 1/2. For the higher spin numbers they are no longer unbiased. In this work we examine the properties of spin 1 Mutually Unbiased Bases (MUBs) and look for the physical meaning of the corresponding operators. We show that if the computational basis is chosen to be the eigenbasis of the spin projection operator onto some direction z, the states of the other MUBs have to be squeezed. Then, we introduce the analogs of momentum and position operators and interpret what information about the spin vector the observer gains while measuring them. Finally, we study the generation and the measurement of MUBs states by introducing the Fourier like transform through spin squeezing. The higher spin numbers are also considered.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, comments welcom