Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution with Arbitrarily Small Nonlocality.

Device-independent quantum key distribution allows two users to set up shared cryptographic key without the need to trust the quantum devices used. Doing so requires nonlocal correlations between the users. However, in Farkas et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 050503 (2021)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.127.050503] it was shown that for known protocols nonlocality is not always sufficient, leading to the question of whether there is a fundamental lower bound on the minimum amount of nonlocality needed for any device-independent quantum key distribution implementation. Here, we show that no such bound exists, giving schemes that achieve key with correlations arbitrarily close to the local set. Furthermore, some of our constructions achieve the maximum of 1 bit of key per pair of entangled qubits. We achieve this by studying a family of Bell inequalities that constitute all self-tests of the maximally entangled state with a single linear Bell expression. Within this family there exist nonlocal correlations with the property that one pair of inputs yield outputs arbitrarily close to perfect key. Such correlations exist for a range of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt values, including those arbitrarily close to the classical bound. Finally, we show the existence of quantum correlations that can generate both perfect key and perfect randomness simultaneously, while also displaying arbitrarily small Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt violation. This opens up the possibility of a new class of cryptographic protocol.

Advantages of Multicopy Nonlocality Distillation and Its Application to Minimizing Communication Complexity.

Nonlocal correlations are a central feature of quantum theory, and understanding why quantum theory has a limited amount of nonlocality is a fundamental problem. Since nonlocality also has technological applications, e.g., for device-independent cryptography, it is useful to understand it as a resource and, in particular, whether and how different types of nonlocality can be interconverted. Here we focus on nonlocality distillation which involves using several copies of a nonlocal resource to generate one with more nonlocality. We introduce several distillation schemes which distill an extended part of the set of nonlocal correlations including quantum correlations. Our schemes are based on a natural set of operational procedures known as wirings that can be applied regardless of the underlying theory. Some are sequential algorithms that repeatedly use a two-copy protocol, while others are genuine three-copy distillation protocols. In some regions we prove that genuine three-copy protocols are strictly better than two-copy protocols. By applying our new protocols we also increase the region in which nonlocal correlations are known to give rise to trivial communication complexity. This brings us closer to an understanding of the sets of nonlocal correlations that can be recovered from information-theoretic principles, which, in turn, enhances our understanding of what is special about quantum theory.

Impossibility of Superluminal Signaling in Minkowski Spacetime Does Not Rule Out Causal Loops.

Causality is fundamental to science, but it appears in several different forms. One is relativistic causality, which is tied to a spacetime structure and forbids signaling outside the future. A second is an operational notion of causation that considers the flow of information between physical systems and interventions on them. In [V. Vilasini and R. Colbeck, General framework for cyclic and fine-tuned causal models and their compatibility with space-time, Phys. Rev. A 106, 032204 (2022).PLRAAN2469-992610.1103/PhysRevA.106.032204], we propose a framework for characterizing when a causal model can coexist with relativistic principles such as no superluminal signaling, while allowing for cyclic and nonclassical causal influences and the possibility of causation without signaling. In a theory without superluminal causation, both superluminal signaling and causal loops are not possible in Minkowski spacetime. Here we demonstrate that if we only forbid superluminal signaling, superluminal causation remains possible and show the mathematical possibility of causal loops that can be embedded in a Minkowski spacetime without leading to superluminal signaling. The existence of such loops in the given spacetime could in principle be operationally verified using interventions. This establishes that the physical principle of no superluminal signaling is not by itself sufficient to rule out causal loops between Minkowski spacetime events. Interestingly, the conditions required to rule out causal loops in a spacetime depend on the dimension. Whether such loops are possible in three spatial dimensions remains an important open question.

Tight Analytic Bound on the Trade-Off between Device-Independent Randomness and Nonlocality.

Two parties sharing entangled quantum systems can generate correlations that cannot be produced using only shared classical resources. These nonlocal correlations are a fundamental feature of quantum theory but also have practical applications. For instance, they can be used for device-independent random number generation, whose security is certified independently of the operations performed inside the devices. The amount of certifiable randomness that can be generated from some given nonlocal correlations is a key quantity of interest. Here, we derive tight analytic bounds on the maximum certifiable randomness as a function of the nonlocality as expressed using the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) value. We show that for every CHSH value greater than the local value (2) and up to 3sqrt[3]/2≈2.598 there exist quantum correlations with that CHSH value that certify a maximal two bits of global randomness. Beyond this CHSH value the maximum certifiable randomness drops. We give a second family of Bell inequalities for CHSH values above 3sqrt[3]/2, and show that they certify the maximum possible randomness for the given CHSH value. Our work hence provides an achievable upper bound on the amount of randomness that can be certified for any CHSH value. We illustrate the robustness of our results, and how they could be used to improve randomness generation rates in practice, using a Werner state noise model.

Self-Testing of Physical Theories, or, Is Quantum Theory Optimal with Respect to Some Information-Processing Task?

Self-testing usually refers to the task of taking a given set of observed correlations that are assumed to arise via a process that is accurately described by quantum theory, and trying to infer the quantum state and measurements. In other words it is concerned with the question of whether we can tell what quantum black-box devices are doing by looking only at their input-output behavior and is known to be possible in several cases. Here we introduce a more general question: is it possible to self-test a theory, and, in particular, quantum theory? More precisely, we ask whether within a particular causal structure there are tasks that can only be performed in theories that have the same correlations as quantum mechanics in any scenario. We present a candidate task for such a correlation self-test and analyze it in a range of generalized probabilistic theories (GPTs), showing that none of these perform better than quantum theory. A generalization of our results showing that all nonquantum GPTs are strictly inferior to quantum mechanics for this task would point to a new way to axiomatize quantum theory, and enable an experimental test that simultaneously rules out such GPTs.

Arbitrarily Many Independent Observers Can Share the Nonlocality of a Single Maximally Entangled Qubit Pair.

Alice and Bob each have half of a pair of entangled qubits. Bob measures his half and then passes his qubit to a second Bob who measures again and so on. The goal is to maximize the number of Bobs that can have an expected violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) Bell inequality with the single Alice. This scenario was introduced in [R. Silva et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 250401 (2015)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.114.250401] where the authors mentioned evidence that when the Bobs act independently and with unbiased inputs then at most two of them can expect to violate the CHSH inequality with Alice. Here we show that, contrary to this evidence, arbitrarily many independent Bobs can have an expected CHSH violation with the single Alice. Our proof is constructive and our measurement strategies can be generalized to work with a larger class of two-qubit states that includes all pure entangled two-qubit states. Since violation of a Bell inequality is necessary for device-independent tasks, our work represents a step towards an eventual understanding of the limitations on how much device-independent randomness can be robustly generated from a single pair of qubits.

Memory attacks on device-independent quantum cryptography.

Device-independent quantum cryptographic schemes aim to guarantee security to users based only on the output statistics of any components used, and without the need to verify their internal functionality. Since this would protect users against untrustworthy or incompetent manufacturers, sabotage, or device degradation, this idea has excited much interest, and many device-independent schemes have been proposed. Here we identify a critical weakness of device-independent protocols that rely on public communication between secure laboratories. Untrusted devices may record their inputs and outputs and reveal information about them via publicly discussed outputs during later runs. Reusing devices thus compromises the security of a protocol and risks leaking secret data. Possible defenses include securely destroying or isolating used devices. However, these are costly and often impractical. We propose other more practical partial defenses as well as a new protocol structure for device-independent quantum key distribution that aims to achieve composable security in the case of two parties using a small number of devices to repeatedly share keys with each other (and no other party).

Is a system's wave function in one-to-one correspondence with its elements of reality?

Although quantum mechanics is one of our most successful physical theories, there has been a long-standing debate about the interpretation of the wave function--the central object of the theory. Two prominent views are that (i) it corresponds to an element of reality, i.e., an objective attribute that exists before measurement, and (ii) it is a subjective state of knowledge about some underlying reality. A recent result [M. F. Pusey, J. Barrett, and T. Rudolph, arXiv:1111.3328] has placed the subjective interpretation into doubt, showing that it would contradict certain physically plausible assumptions, in particular, that multiple systems can be prepared such that their elements of reality are uncorrelated. Here we show, based only on the assumption that measurement settings can be chosen freely, that a system's wave function is in one-to-one correspondence with its elements of reality. This also eliminates the possibility that it can be interpreted subjectively.

Uncertainty relations from simple entropic properties.

Uncertainty relations provide constraints on how well the outcomes of incompatible measurements can be predicted, and as well as being fundamental to our understanding of quantum theory, they have practical applications such as for cryptography and witnessing entanglement. Here we shed new light on the entropic form of these relations, showing that they follow from a few simple properties, including the data-processing inequality. We prove these relations without relying on the exact expression for the entropy, and hence show that a single technique applies to several entropic quantities, including the von Neumann entropy, min- and max-entropies, and the Rényi entropies.

Experimental bound on the maximum predictive power of physical theories.

The question of whether the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanical predictions can be alleviated by supplementing the wave function with additional information has received a lot of attention during the past century. A few specific models have been suggested and subsequently falsified. Here we give a more general answer to this question: We provide experimental data that, as well as falsifying these models, cannot be explained within any alternative theory that could predict the outcomes of measurements on maximally entangled particles with significantly higher probability than quantum theory. Our conclusion is based on the assumptions that all measurement settings have been chosen freely (within a causal structure compatible with relativity theory), and that the presence of the detection loophole did not affect the measurement outcomes.

All reversible dynamics in maximally nonlocal theories are trivial.

A remarkable feature of quantum theory is nonlocality (Bell inequality violations). However, quantum correlations are not maximally nonlocal, and it is natural to ask whether there are compelling reasons for rejecting theories in which stronger violations are possible. To shed light on this question, we consider post-quantum theories in which maximally nonlocal states (nonlocal boxes) occur. We show that reversible transformations in such theories are trivial: they consist solely of local operations and permutations of systems. In particular, no correlations can be created; nonlocal boxes cannot be prepared from product states and classical computers can efficiently simulate all such processes.

Keyring models: an approach to steerability.

If a measurement is made on one half of a bipartite system, then, conditioned on the outcome, the other half has a new reduced state. If these reduced states defy classical explanation-that is, if shared randomness cannot produce these reduced states for all possible measurements-the bipartite state is said to be steerable. Determining which states are steerable is a challenging problem even for low dimensions. In the case of two-qubit systems a criterion is known for T-states (that is, those with maximally mixed marginals) under projective measurements. In the current work we introduce the concept of keyring models-a special class of local hidden state models. When the measurements made correspond to real projectors, these allow us to study steerability beyond T-states. Using keyring models, we completely solve the steering problem for real projective measurements when the state arises from mixing a pure two-qubit state with uniform noise. We also give a partial solution in the case when the uniform noise is replaced by independent depolarizing channels.

Analysing causal structures with entropy.

A central question for causal inference is to decide whether a set of correlations fits a given causal structure. In general, this decision problem is computationally infeasible and hence several approaches have emerged that look for certificates of compatibility. Here, we review several such approaches based on entropy. We bring together the key aspects of these entropic techniques with unified terminology, filling several gaps and establishing new connections, all illustrated with examples. We consider cases where unobserved causes are classical, quantum and post-quantum, and discuss what entropic analyses tell us about the difference. This difference has applications to quantum cryptography, where it can be crucial to eliminate the possibility of classical causes. We discuss the achievements and limitations of the entropic approach in comparison to other techniques and point out the main open problems.

No extension of quantum theory can have improved predictive power.

According to quantum theory, measurements generate random outcomes, in stark contrast with classical mechanics. This raises the question of whether there could exist an extension of the theory that removes this indeterminism, as suspected by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen. Although this has been shown to be impossible, existing results do not imply that the current theory is maximally informative. Here we ask the more general question of whether any improved predictions can be achieved by any extension of quantum theory. Under the assumption that measurements can be chosen freely, we answer this question in the negative: no extension of quantum theory can give more information about the outcomes of future measurements than quantum theory itself. Our result has significance for the foundations of quantum mechanics, as well as applications to tasks that exploit the inherent randomness in quantum theory, such as quantum cryptography.

Hidden variable models for quantum theory cannot have any local part.

It was shown by Bell that no local hidden variable model is compatible with quantum mechanics. If, instead, one permits the hidden variables to be entirely nonlocal, then any quantum mechanical predictions can be recovered. In this Letter, we consider general hidden variable models which can have both local and nonlocal parts. We show the existence of (experimentally verifiable) quantum correlations that are incompatible with any hidden variable model having a nontrivial local part, such as the model proposed by Leggett.