Role of quantum degrees of freedom of relativistic fields in quantum information protocols

Abstract

We analyze the differences between relativistic fields with or without quantum degrees of freedom in relativistic quantum information protocols. We classify the regimes where the existence of quantum degrees of freedom is necessary to explain the phenomenology of interacting quantum systems. We also identify the precise regimes where quantum fields can be well approximated by quantum-controlled classical fields in relativistic quantum information protocols. Our results can be useful to discern which features are fundamentally different in classical and quantum field theory.