Bell Correlations Research Articles

Deriving Three-Outcome Permutationally Invariant Bell Inequalities.

We present strategies to derive Bell inequalities valid for systems composed of many three-level parties. This scenario is formalized by a Bell experiment with N observers, each of which performs one out of two possible three-outcome measurements on their share of the system. As the complexity of the set of classical correlations prohibits its full characterization in this multipartite scenario, we consider its projection to a lower-dimensional subspace spanned by permutationally invariant one- and two-body observables. This simplification allows us to formulate two complementary methods for detecting nonlocality in multipartite three-level systems, both having a complexity independent of N. Our work can have interesting applications in the detection of Bell correlations in paradigmatic spin-1 models, as well as in experiments with solid-state systems or atomic ensembles.

Bell correlations of a thermal fully connected spin chain in the vicinity of a quantum critical point

Bell correlations of a thermal fully connected spin chain in the vicinity of a quantum critical point

Generation of scalable many-body Bell correlations in spin chains with short-range two-body interactions

Dynamical generation of strong and scalable quantum resources, like many-body entanglement and Bell correlations, in spin-1/2 chains is possible with all-to-all interactions, either for constant interaction strength realizing one-axis twisting protocol or for power-law decaying potentials. We show, however, that such quantum resources can also be dynamically generated with a finite range of interactions. We identify a threshold range and indicate a threshold time when scalable quantum correlations appear. Finally, we show that the certification of generated states is accessible in modern quantum simulator platforms. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Detecting Bell Correlations in Multipartite Non-Gaussian Spin States.

We expand the toolbox for studying Bell correlations in multipartite systems by introducing permutationally invariant Bell inequalities (PIBIs) involving few-body correlators. First, we present around twenty families of PIBIs with up to three- or four-body correlators, that are valid for an arbitrary number of particles. Compared to known inequalities, these show higher noise robustness, or the capability to detect Bell correlations in highly non-Gaussian spin states. We then focus on finding PIBIs that are of practical experimental implementation, in the sense that the associated operators require collective spin measurements along only a few directions. To this end, we formulate this search problem as a semidefinite program that embeds the constraints required to look for PIBIs of the desired form.

Bell correlations outside physics

Correlations are ubiquitous in nature and their principled study is of paramount importance in scientific development. The seminal contributions from John Bell offer a framework for analyzing the correlations between the components of quantum mechanical systems and have instigated an experimental tradition which has recently culminated with the Nobel Prize in Physics (2022). In physics, Bell’s framework allows the demonstration of the non-classical nature of quantum systems just from the analysis of the observed correlation patterns. Bell’s ideas need not be restricted to physics. Our contribution is to show an example of a Bell approach, based on the insight that correlations can be broken down into a part due to common, ostensibly significant causes, and a part due to noise. We employ data from finance (price changes of securities) as an example to demonstrate our approach, highlighting several general applications: first, we demonstrate a new measure of association, informed by the assumed causal relationship between variables. Second, our framework can lead to streamlined Bell-type tests of widely employed models of association, which are in principle applicable to any discipline. In the area of finance, such models of association are Factor Models and the bivariate Gaussian model. Overall, we show that Bell’s approach and the models we consider are applicable as general statistical techniques, without any domain specificity. We hope that our work will pave the way for extending our general understanding for how the structure of associations can be analyzed.

One-Axis Twisting as a Method of Generating Many-Body Bell Correlations.

We demonstrate that the one-axis twisting (OAT), a versatile method of creating nonclassical states of bosonic qubits, is a powerful source of many-body Bell correlations. We develop a fully analytical and universal treatment of the process, which allows us to identify the critical time at which the Bell correlations emerge and predict the depth of Bell correlations at all subsequent times. Our findings are illustrated with a highly nontrivial example of the OAT dynamics generated using the Bose-Hubbard model.

Avenues to generalising Bell inequalities

Characterizing the set of all Bell inequalities is a notably hard task. An insightful method of solving it in case of Bell correlation inequalities for scenarios with two dichotomic measurements per site—for arbitrary number of parties—was given in references [2001 Phys. Rev. A 64 010102(R)] and [2001 Phys. Rev. A 64 032112]. Using complex-valued correlation functions, we generalize their approach to a broader class of Bell scenarios, in which the parties may choose from more than two multi-outcome measurements. Although the resulting families of Bell inequalities are not always tight, their coefficients have an intuitively understandable structure. We probe their usefulness by numerically testing their ability to detect Bell nonclassicality in simple interferometric experiments. Moreover, we identify a similar structure in the CGLMP inequality expressed in a correlation-based form, which allows us to generalise it to three parties.

Many-body Bell inequalities for bosonic qubits

Since John Bell formulated his paramount inequality for a pair of spin-1/2 particles, quantum mechanics has been confronted with the postulates of local realism with various equivalent configurations. Current technology, with its advanced manipulation and detection methods, allows to extend the Bell tests to more complex structures. The aim of this work is to analyze a set of Bell inequalities suitable for a possibly broad family of many-body systems with the focus on bosonic qubits. We develop a method that allows for a step-by-step study of the many-body Bell correlations, for instance among atoms forming a two-mode Bose-Einstein condensate or between photons obtained from the parametric-down conversion. The presented approach is valid both for cases of fixed and non-fixed number of particles, hence it allows for a thorough analysis of quantum correlations in a variety of many-body systems.

Analysis of the superdeterministic Invariant-set theory in a hidden-variable setting

A recent proposal for a superdeterministic account of quantum mechanics, named Invariant-set theory, appears to bring ideas from several diverse fields like chaos theory, number theory and dynamical systems to quantum foundations. However, a clear cut hidden-variable model has not been developed, which makes it difficult to assess the Proposal from a quantum foundational perspective. In this article, we first build a hidden-variable model based on the Proposal, and then critically analyse several aspects of the Proposal using the model. We show that several arguments related to counter-factual measurements, nonlocality, non-commutativity of quantum observables, measurement independence etcetera that appear to work in the Proposal fail when considered in our model. We further show that our model is not only superdeterministic but also nonlocal, with an ontic quantum state. We argue that the bit string defined in the model is a hidden variable and that it contains redundant information. Lastly, we apply the analysis developed in a previous work (Sen I, Valentini A, 2020 Proc. R. Soc. A , 476 , 20200214) to illustrate the issue of superdeterministic conspiracy in the model. Our results lend further support to the view that superdeterminism is unlikely to solve the puzzle posed by the Bell correlations.

Is Retrocausal Quantum Mechanics Consistent with Special Relativity?

Retrocausal quantum mechanics (RQM) provides a local causal explanation of Bell correlations. It is widely thought that RQM is consistent with special relativity. In this paper, I point out that this view is not wholly right. It is argued that RQM violates the Lorentz invariance of the temporal relation between cause and effect for certain spacelike separated events in Bell-type experiments.

Spiking neuromorphic chip learns entangled quantum states

The approximation of quantum states with artificial neural networks has gained a lot of attention during the last years. Meanwhile, analog neuromorphic chips, inspired by structural and dynamical properties of the biological brain, show a high energy efficiency in running artificial neural-network architectures for the profit of generative applications. This encourages employing such hardware systems as platforms for simulations of quantum systems. Here we report on the realization of a prototype using the latest spike-based BrainScaleS hardware allowing us to represent few-qubit maximally entangled quantum states with high fidelities. Bell correlations of pure and mixed two-qubit states are well captured by the analog hardware, demonstrating an important building block for simulating quantum systems with spiking neuromorphic chips.

Vacuum Dependent Bell Local Hidden Variable Models and Generalized C.H.S.H. Inequalities

We extend a previous model of the author which generalizes Bell local hidden variable models to the case of entangled photon pairs assuming that the standard Bell correlation functions depend on a hidden vacuum index. We deduce a generalization of Bell theorem assuming that classical observables are not dichotomic and that photon pair emission and detection is not a stationary stochastic process. We derive a photon imperfect polarization correlation functions due to rotational invariance breaking induced by hidden vacuum spin currents. We implement formally this approach deducing a generalization of C.H.S.H. inequalities which asymptotically converges to the standard one and which might be competitive with standard quantum mechanics predictions. We suggest to test this inequalities conceiving new E.P.R.-Bell like tests with time dependent detector efficiency and photon flux. Finally, we suggest to apply these generalized inequalities to the correlation functions of entangled classical spinning waves realized recently with metamaterials.

Bell correlations in a split two-mode-squeezed Bose-Einstein condensate

We propose and analyze a protocol for observing a violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) Bell inequality using two spatially separated Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). To prepare the Bell-correlated state, spin-changing collisions are used to first prepare a two-mode squeezed BEC. This is then split into two BECs by controlling the spatial wavefunction, e.g., by modifying the trapping potential. Finally, spin-changing collisions are also exploited locally, to compensate local squeezing terms. The correlators appearing in the inequality are evaluated using three different approaches. In the first approach, correlators are estimated using normalized expectation values of number operators, in a similar way to evaluating continuous-variable Bell inequalities. An improvement to this approach is developed using the sign-binning of total spin measurements, which allows for the construction of two-outcome measurements and violations of the CHSH inequality without auxiliary assumptions. Finally, we show a third approach where maximal violations of the CH inequality can be obtained by assigning zero values to local vacua outcomes under a no-enhancement assumption. The effect of loss and imperfect detection efficiency is investigated and the observed violations are found to be robust to noise.

Violation of all two-party facet Bell inequalities by almost-quantum correlations

The characterization of the set of quantum correlations is a problem of fundamental importance in quantum information. The question whether every proper (tight) Bell inequality is violated in quantum theory is an intriguing one in this regard. Here we make significant progress in answering this question, by showing that every tight Bell inequality is violated by ``almost-quantum'' correlations, a semidefinite programming relaxation of the set of quantum correlations. As a consequence, we show that many (classes of) Bell inequalities including two-party correlation Bell inequalities and multioutcome nonlocal computation games, which do not admit quantum violations, are not facets of the classical Bell polytope. To do this, we make use of the intriguing connections between Bell correlations and the graph-theoretic Lov\'asz-theta set, discovered by Cabello-Severini-Winter (CSW). We also exploit connections between the cut polytope of graph theory and the classical correlation Bell polytope, to show that correlation Bell inequalities that define facets of the lower dimensional correlation polytope are violated in quantum theory.

Symmetrized persistency of Bell correlations for Dicke states and GHZ-based mixtures

Quantum correlations, in particular those, which enable to violate a Bell inequality, open a way to advantage in certain communication tasks. However, the main difficulty in harnessing quantumness is its fragility to, e.g, noise or loss of particles. We study the persistency of Bell correlations of GHZ based mixtures and Dicke states. For the former, we consider quantum communication complexity reduction (QCCR) scheme, and propose new Bell inequalities (BIs), which can be used in that scheme for higher persistency in the limit of large number of particles N. In case of Dicke states, we show that persistency can reach 0.482N, significantly more than reported in previous studies.

Quantum nondemolition measurement based generation of entangled states in two Bose–Einstein condensates

We theoretically study a scheme for generating entanglement between two Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs). The scheme involves placing two BECs in the path of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer, where the coherent light interacts with the atoms due to a quantum nondemolition Hamiltonian. In contrast to standard approaches where a Holstein–Primakoff approximation is used, we use an exact wavefunction approach where the atoms can be initialized in an arbitrary state and the light–atom interaction times can be arbitrary. In the short time regime, it is possible to construct a very simple approximate theory for the overall effect of the scheme: amplitudes in the superposition between the two BECs with unequal spin eigenvalues are damped. We analyze the types of correlations, entanglement, Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) steering, and Bell correlations that are produced and show that the state is similar to a spin-EPR state. Using a two-pulse sequence the correlations can be dramatically improved, where the state further approaches a spin-EPR state.

Bell Correlations from Local Un-Entangled States of Light and Quantum Electro-Dynamics

The persistence exponent $\theta_o$ for the simple diffusion equation ${\phi}_t({\it x},t) = \triangle \phi (x,t)$ , with random Gaussian initial condition {\color{red},} has been calculated exactly using a method known as selective averaging. The probability that the value of the field $\phi$ at a specified spatial coordinate remains positive throughout for a certain time $t$ behaves as $t^{-\theta_o}$ for asymptotically large time $t$. The value of $\theta_o$, calculated here for any integer dimension $d$, is $\theta_o = \frac{d}{4}$ for $d\leq 4$ and $1$ otherwise. This exact theoretical result is being reported possibly for the first time and is not in agreement with the accepted values $ \theta_o = 0.12, 0.18,0.23$ for $d=1,2,3$ respectively.

Bell correlations between light and vibration at ambient conditions.

Time-resolved Raman spectroscopy techniques offer various ways to study the dynamics of molecular vibrations in liquids or gases and optical phonons in crystals. While these techniques give access to the coherence time of the vibrational modes, they are not able to reveal the fragile quantum correlations that are spontaneously created between light and vibration during the Raman interaction. Here, we present a scheme leveraging universal properties of spontaneous Raman scattering to demonstrate Bell correlations between light and a collective molecular vibration. We measure the decay of these hybrid photon-phonon Bell correlations with sub-picosecond time resolution and find that they survive over several hundred oscillations at ambient conditions. Our method offers a universal approach to generate entanglement between light and molecular vibrations. Moreover, our results pave the way for the study of quantum correlations in more complex solid-state and molecular systems in their natural state.

Bell-Type Correlation at Quantum Phase Transitions in Spin-1 Chain.

For the identification of non-trivial quantum phase, we exploit a Bell-type correlation that is applied to the one-dimensional spin-1 XXZ chain. It is found that our generalization of bipartite Bell correlation can take a decomposed form of transverse spin correlation together with high-order terms. The formulation of the density-matrix renormalisation group is utilized to obtain the ground state of a given Hamiltonian with non-trivial phase. Subsequently Bell-type correlation is evaluated through the analysis of the matrix product state. Diverse classes of quantum phase transitions in the spin-1 model are identified precisely through the evaluation of the first and the second moments of the generalized Bell correlations. The role of high-order terms in the criticality has been identified and their physical implications for the quantum phase have been revealed.

Superdeterministic hidden-variables models I: non-equilibrium and signalling

This is the first of two papers that attempt to comprehensively analyse superdeterministic hidden-variables models of Bell correlations. We first give an overview of superdeterminism and discuss various criticisms of it raised in the literature. We argue that the most common criticism, the violation of ‘free-will’, is incorrect. We take up Bell’s intuitive criticism that these models are ‘conspiratorial’. To develop this further, we introduce non-equilibrium extensions of superdeterministic models. We show that the measurement statistics of these extended models depend on the physical system used to determine the measurement settings. This suggests a fine-tuning in order to eliminate this dependence from experimental observation. We also study the signalling properties of these extended models. We show that although they generally violate the formal no-signalling constraints, this violation cannot be equated to an actual signal. We therefore suggest that the so-called no-signalling constraints be more appropriately named the marginal-independence constraints. We discuss the mechanism by which marginal-independence is violated in superdeterministic models. Lastly, we consider a hypothetical scenario where two experimenters use the apparent-signalling of a superdeterministic model to communicate with each other. This scenario suggests another conspiratorial feature peculiar to superdeterminism. These suggestions are quantitatively developed in the second paper.