Physics and Metaphysics of Wigner's Friends: Even Performed Premeasurements Have No Results.

"The unambiguous account of proper quantum phenomena must, in principle, include a description of all relevant features of experimental arrangement" (Bohr). The measurement process is composed of premeasurement (quantum correlation of the system with the pointer variable) and an irreversible decoherence via interaction with an environment. The system ends up in a probabilistic mixture of the eigenstates of the measured observable. For the premeasurement stage, any attempt to introduce an "outcome" leads, as we show, to a logical contradiction, 1=i. This nullifies claims that a modified concept of Wigner's friend, who just premeasures, can lead to valid results concerning quantum theory.

Two copies of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen state of light lead to refutation of EPR ideas.

Bell's theorem applies to the normalizable approximations of original Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) state. The constructions of the proof require measurements difficult to perform, and dichotomic observables. By noticing the fact that the four mode squeezed vacuum state produced in type II down-conversion can be seen both as two copies of approximate EPR states, and also as a kind of polarization supersinglet, we show a straightforward way to test violations of the EPR concepts with direct use of their state. The observables involved are simply photon numbers at outputs of polarizing beam splitters. Suitable chained Bell inequalities are based on the geometric concept of distance. For a few settings they are potentially a new tool for quantum information applications, involving observables of a nondichotomic nature, and thus of higher informational capacity. In the limit of infinitely many settings we get a Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-type contradiction: EPR reasoning points to a correlation, while quantum prediction is an anticorrelation. Violations of the inequalities are fully resistant to multipair emissions in Bell experiments using parametric down-conversion sources.

Information causality as a physical principle.

Quantum physics has remarkable distinguishing characteristics. For example, it gives only probabilistic predictions (non-determinism) and does not allow copying of unknown states (no-cloning). Quantum correlations may be stronger than any classical ones, but information cannot be transmitted faster than light (no-signalling). However, these features do not uniquely define quantum physics. A broad class of theories exist that share such traits and allow even stronger (than quantum) correlations. Here we introduce the principle of 'information causality' and show that it is respected by classical and quantum physics but violated by all no-signalling theories with stronger than (the strongest) quantum correlations. The principle relates to the amount of information that an observer (Bob) can gain about a data set belonging to another observer (Alice), the contents of which are completely unknown to him. Using all his local resources (which may be correlated with her resources) and allowing classical communication from her, the amount of information that Bob can recover is bounded by the information volume (m) of the communication. Namely, if Alice communicates m bits to Bob, the total information obtainable by Bob cannot be greater than m. For m = 0, information causality reduces to the standard no-signalling principle. However, no-signalling theories with maximally strong correlations would allow Bob access to all the data in any m-bit subset of the whole data set held by Alice. If only one bit is sent by Alice (m = 1), this is tantamount to Bob's being able to access the value of any single bit of Alice's data (but not all of them). Information causality may therefore help to distinguish physical theories from non-physical ones. We suggest that information causality-a generalization of the no-signalling condition-might be one of the foundational properties of nature.

Experimental tests of classical and quantum dimensionality.

We report on an experimental test of classical and quantum dimension. We have used a dimension witness that can distinguish between quantum and classical systems of dimensions two, three, and four and performed the experiment for all five cases. The witness we have chosen is a base of semi-device-independent cryptographic and randomness expansion protocols. Therefore, the part of the experiment in which qubits were used is a realization of these protocols. In our work we also present an analytic method for finding the maximum quantum value of the witness along with corresponding measurements and preparations. This method is quite general and can be applied to any linear dimension witness.

An experimental test of non-local realism.

Most working scientists hold fast to the concept of 'realism'--a viewpoint according to which an external reality exists independent of observation. But quantum physics has shattered some of our cornerstone beliefs. According to Bell's theorem, any theory that is based on the joint assumption of realism and locality (meaning that local events cannot be affected by actions in space-like separated regions) is at variance with certain quantum predictions. Experiments with entangled pairs of particles have amply confirmed these quantum predictions, thus rendering local realistic theories untenable. Maintaining realism as a fundamental concept would therefore necessitate the introduction of 'spooky' actions that defy locality. Here we show by both theory and experiment that a broad and rather reasonable class of such non-local realistic theories is incompatible with experimentally observable quantum correlations. In the experiment, we measure previously untested correlations between two entangled photons, and show that these correlations violate an inequality proposed by Leggett for non-local realistic theories. Our result suggests that giving up the concept of locality is not sufficient to be consistent with quantum experiments, unless certain intuitive features of realism are abandoned.

Feasible optical weak measurements of complementary observables via a single Hamiltonian.

A general formalism for joint weak measurements of a pair of complementary observables is given. The standard process of optical three-wave mixing in a nonlinear crystal (such as in parametric down-conversion) is suitable for such tasks. To obtain the weak value of a variable A one performs weak measurements twice, with different initial states of the meter field. This seems to be a drawback, but as a compensation we get for free the weak value of a complementary variable B. The scheme is tunable and versatile: one has access to a continuous set of possible weak measurements of a pair of observables. The scheme increases signal-to-noise ratio with respect to the case without postselection.

Simplified quantum optical Stokes observables and Bell's theorem.

We discuss a simplified form of Stokes operators for quantum optical fields that involve the known concept of binning. Behind polarization analyzer photon numbers (more generally intensities) are measured. We have two outputs, say, for horizontal and vertical polarization. If the value obtained in horizontal output is greater than in vertical one we put 1. Otherwise, we put - 1. For equal photon numbers, we put 0. Such observables do not have all properties of the Stokes operators, but can be employed in Bell type measurements, involving polarization analyzers. They are especially handy for states of undefined number of photons, e.g. squeezed vacuum and their realisation is intuitive. We show that our observables can lead to quite robust violations of associated Bell inequalities. We formulate a strongly supported numerically conjecture that one can observe with this approach violations of local realism for the four mode squeezed vacuum for all pumping powers (i.e. gain values).

Experimental test of fidelity limits in six-photon interferometry and of rotational invariance properties of the photonic six-qubit entanglement singlet state.

Quantum multiphoton interferometry has now reached the six-photon stage. Thus far, the observed fidelities of entangled states never reached 2/3. We report a high fidelity (estimated at 88%) experiment in which six-qubit singlet correlations were observed. With such a high fidelity we are able to demonstrate the central property of these "singlet" correlations, their "rotational invariance," by performing a full set of measurements in three complementary polarization bases. The patterns are almost indistinguishable. The data reveal genuine six-photon entanglement. We also study several five-photon states, which result upon detection of one of the photons. Multiphoton singlet states survive some types of depolarization and are thus important in quantum communication schemes.

Quantum clock synchronization with a single qudit.

Clock synchronization for nonfaulty processes in multiprocess networks is indispensable for a variety of technologies. A reliable system must be able to resynchronize the nonfaulty processes upon some components failing causing the distribution of incorrect or conflicting information in the network. The task of synchronizing such networks is related to Byzantine agreement (BA), which can classically be solved using recursive algorithms if and only if less than one-third of the processes are faulty. Here we introduce a nonrecursive quantum algorithm, based on a quantum solution of the detectable BA, which achieves clock synchronization in the presence of arbitrary many faulty processes by using only a single quantum system.

Beyond Gisin's Theorem and its Applications: Violation of Local Realism by Two-Party Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Steering.

We demonstrate here that for a given mixed multi-qubit state if there are at least two observers for whom mutual Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering is possible, i.e. each observer is able to steer the other qubits into two different pure states by spontaneous collapses due to von Neumann type measurements on his/her qubit, then nonexistence of local realistic models is fully equivalent to quantum entanglement (this is not so without this condition). This result leads to an enhanced version of Gisin's theorem (originally: all pure entangled states violate local realism). Local realism is violated by all mixed states with the above steering property. The new class of states allows one e.g. to perform three party secret sharing with just pairs of entangled qubits, instead of three qubit entanglements (which are currently available with low fidelity). This significantly increases the feasibility of having high performance versions of such protocols. Finally, we discuss some possible applications.

Experimentally friendly geometrical criteria for entanglement.

A simple geometrical criterion gives experimentally friendly sufficient conditions for entanglement. Its generalization gives a necessary and sufficient condition. It is linked with a family of entanglement identifiers, which is strictly richer than the family of entanglement witnesses.

Discriminating multipartite entangled states.

The variety of multipartite entangled states enables numerous applications in novel quantum information tasks. In order to compare the suitability of different states from a theoretical point of view, classifications have been introduced. Accordingly, here we derive criteria and demonstrate how to experimentally discriminate an observed state against the ones of certain other classes of multipartite entangled states. Our method, originating in Bell inequalities, adds an important tool for the characterization of multiparty entanglement.

Experimental test of nonlocal realistic theories without the rotational symmetry assumption.

We analyze the class of nonlocal realistic theories that was originally considered by Leggett [Found. Phys. 33, 1469 (2003)10.1023/A:1026096313729] and tested by us in a recent experiment [Nature (London) 446, 871 (2007)10.1038/nature05677]. We derive an incompatibility theorem that works for finite numbers of polarizer settings and that does not require the previously assumed rotational symmetry of the two-particle correlation functions. The experimentally measured case involves seven different measurement settings. Using polarization-entangled photon pairs, we exclude this broader class of nonlocal realistic models by experimentally violating a new Leggett-type inequality by 80 standard deviations.

Experimental interference of independent photons.

Interference of photons emerging from independent sources is essential for modern quantum-information processing schemes, above all quantum repeaters and linear-optics quantum computers. We report an observation of nonclassical interference of two single photons originating from two independent, separated sources, which were actively synchronized with a rms timing jitter of 260 fs. The resulting (two-photon) interference visibility was (83+/-4)%.

Experimental single qubit quantum secret sharing.

We present a simple and practical protocol for the solution of a secure multiparty communication task, the secret sharing, and its proof-of-principle experimental realization. In this protocol, a secret is split among several parties in a way that its reconstruction requires the collaboration of the participating parties. In our scheme the parties solve the problem by sequential transformations on a single qubit. In contrast with recently proposed schemes involving multiparticle Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, the approach demonstrated here is much easier to realize and scalable in practical applications.

All-versus-nothing violation of local realism by two-photon, four-dimensional entanglement.

We develop and exploit a source of two-photon, four-dimensional entanglement to report the first two-particle all-versus-nothing test of local realism with a linear optics setup, but without resorting to a noncontextuality assumption. Our experimental results are in good agreement with quantum mechanics while in extreme contradiction to local realism. Potential applications of our experiment are briefly discussed.

Bell's theorem for general N-qubit states.

We derive a single general Bell inequality which is a sufficient and necessary condition for the correlation function for N particles to be describable in a local and realistic picture, for the case in which measurements on each particle can be chosen between two arbitrary dichotomic observables. We also derive a necessary and sufficient condition for an arbitrary N-qubit mixed state to violate this inequality. This condition is a generalization and reformulation of the Horodecki family condition for two qubits.

Quantum communication complexity protocol with two entangled qutrits.

We formulate a two-party communication complexity problem and present its quantum solution that exploits the entanglement between two qutrits. We prove that for a broad class of protocols the entangled state can enhance the efficiency of solving the problem in the quantum protocol over any classical one if and only if the state violates Bell's inequality for two qutrits.

Tight multipartite Bell's inequalities involving many measurement settings.

We derive tight Bell's inequalities for N>2 observers involving more than two alternative measurement settings. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a general quantum state to violate the new inequalities. The inequalities are violated by some classes of states, for which all standard Bell's inequalities with two measurement settings per observer are satisfied.

Rotational invariance as an additional constraint on local realism.

Rotational invariance of physical laws is a generally accepted principle. We show that it leads to an additional external constraint on local realistic models of physical phenomena involving measurements of multiparticle spin 1/2 correlations. This new constraint rules out such models even in some situations in which standard Bell inequalities allow for explicit construction of such models. The whole analysis is performed without any additional assumptions on the form of local realistic models.