Quantum contextuality of YO-13 rays

Abstract

Quantum contextuality, a more general quantum correlation, is an important resource for quantum computing and quantum information processing. Meanwhile, quantum contextuality plays an important role in fundamental quantum physics. Yu and Oh (YO) proposed a proof of the Kochen–Specker theorem for a qutrit with only 13 rays. Here, we further study quantum contextuality of YO-13 rays using the inequality approach. The maximum quantum violation value of the optimal noncontextuality inequality constructed by YO-13 rays is increased to 11.9776 in the four-dimensional system, which is larger than 11.6667 in the qutrit system. The result shows that the set of YO-13 rays has stronger quantum contextuality in the four-dimensional system. Moreover, we provide an all-versus-nothing proof (i.e. Hardy-like proof) to study YO-13 rays without using any inequality, which is easily applied to experimental tests. Our results will further deepen the understanding of YO-13 rays.