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arXiv:1108.2468 · Physical Review A

Asymptotically optimal data analysis for rejecting local realism

Yanbao Zhang, Scott Glancy, Emanuel H. Knill

Published Dec 22, 2011• 80 citations
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Abstract

Reliable experimental demonstrations of violations of local realism are highly desirable for fundamental tests of quantum mechanics. One can quantify the violation witnessed by an experiment in terms of a statistical $p$ value, which can be defined as the maximum probability according to local realism of a violation at least as high as that witnessed. Thus, high violation corresponds to small $p$ value. We propose a prediction-based-ratio (PBR) analysis protocol whose $p$ values are valid even if the prepared quantum state varies arbitrarily and local realistic models can depend on previous measurement settings and outcomes. It is therefore not subject to the memory loophole [J. Barrett et al., Phys. Rev. A 66, 042111 (2002)]. If the prepared state does not vary in time, the $p$ values are asymptotically optimal. For comparison, we consider protocols derived from the number of standard deviations of violation of a Bell inequality and from martingale theory [R. Gill, e-print arXiv:quant-ph/0110137]. We find that the $p$ values of the former can be too small and are therefore not statistically valid, while those derived from the latter are suboptimal. PBR $p$ values do not require a predetermined Bell inequality and can be used to compare results from different tests of local realism independent of experimental details.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.84.062118

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Reliable experimental demonstrations of violations of local realism are highly desirable for fundamental tests of quantum mechanics. One can quantify the violation witnessed by an experiment in terms of a statistical ppp value, which can be defined as the maximum probability according to local realism of a violation at least as high as that witnessed. Thus, high violation corresponds to small ppp value. We propose a prediction-based-ratio (PBR) analysis protocol whose ppp values are valid even if the prepared quantum state varies arbitrarily and local realistic models can depend on previous measurement settings and outcomes. It is therefore not subject to the memory loophole [J. Barrett et al., Phys. Rev. A 66, 042111 (2002)]. If the prepared state does not vary in time, the ppp values are asymptotically optimal. For comparison, we consider protocols derived from the number of standard deviations of violation of a Bell inequality and from martingale theory [R. Gill, e-print arXiv:quant-ph/0110137]. We find that the ppp values of the former can be too small and are therefore not statistically valid, while those derived from the latter are suboptimal. PBR ppp values do not require a predetermined Bell inequality and can be used to compare results from different tests of local realism independent of experimental details.
Reliable and loophole-free demonstrations of the violation of local realism (LR) are highly desirable not only for understanding the foundation of quantum mechanics but also for facilitating quantum information processing, such as quantum key distribution and randomness expansion. To date, LR has been experimentally violated, but with loopholes, by testing predetermined Bell inequalities. This thesis presents a framework for verifying and quantifying the violation of LR without relying on a particular Bell inequality.\nFirst, the experimental resources, such as the quantum state, measurement settings, detection effciency, and visibility required for a violation of LR, are studied via a measure called the statistical strength. The higher the statistical strength, the more confidence in a violation of LR one has after a suffciently large number of experimental data. Particularly, we study the minimum detection effciency required to achieve any given statistical strength level in tests of LR with entangled states created from two independent polarized photons passing through a polarizing beam splitter. It is shown that, compared with photon detectors, photon counters make violations of LR easier to detect for any nonzero probability of multiple photons in an output beam of the polarizing beam splitter.\nSecond, to quantify the statistical evidence against LR obtained from a finite number of experimental data, one can choose a test statistic, such as a Bell-inequality violation, to measure the amount of violation of LR. It is desirable to bound the probability, according to LR, of obtaining a test statistic at least as extreme as that observed. This probability is known as a p-value for the hypothesis test of LR. We propose a protocol to bound such a p-value. The bound provided is asymptotically tight, if the prepared quantum state and measurement settings are stable during an experiment. Therefore, the proposed protocol is asymptotically optimal, and the bound provided is a standardized measure of success for experimental tests of LR. One can quantitatively compare different experimental tests based on this bound. Moreover, the bound provided is valid even if the quantum state varies arbitrarily and local realistic models depend on previous measurement settings and outcomes. Hence, this bound facilitates device-independent and nonlocality-based quantum information processing. For comparison, bounds of p-values derived from Bell-inequality violations using the number of standard deviations of violation of a Bell inequality or using martingale theory are studied. It is found that putative bounds derived from the number of standard deviations of violation are not valid and bounds from martingale theory are not tight.\nFinally, a simplified and effcient data analysis protocol using a set of Bell inequalities is proposed and compared with the above optimal and martingale-based protocols. The simplified protocol provides as good as and typically tighter p-value bounds than the martingale-based protocol, and the bounds provided can even be asymptotically tight. Moreover, the simplified protocol can be applied to any test with linear witnesses, such as tests for verifying entanglement, system dimensionality, or steering.
Tests of local realism and their applications aim for very high confidence in their results even in the presence of potentially adversarial effects. For this purpose, one can measure a quantity that reflects the amount of violation of local realism and determine a bound on the probability, according to local realism, of obtaining a violation at least that observed. In general, it is difficult to obtain sufficiently robust and small bounds. Here we describe an efficient protocol for computing such bounds from any set of Bell inequalities for any number of parties, measurement settings, or outcomes. The protocol can be applied to tests of other properties (such as entanglement or dimensionality) that are witnessed by linear inequalities.
Because of the fundamental importance of Bell's theorem, a loophole-free demonstration of a violation of local realism (LR) is highly desirable. Here, we study violations of LR involving photon pairs. We quantify the experimental evidence against LR by using measures of statistical strength related to the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence, as suggested by van Dam et al. [W. van Dam, R. D. Gill, and P. D. Grunwald, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory. 51, 2812 (2005)]. Specifically, we analyze a test of LR with entangled states created from two independent polarized photons passing through a polarizing beam splitter. We numerically study the detection efficiency required to achieve a specified statistical strength for the rejection of LR depending on whether photon counters or detectors are used. Based on our results, we find that a test of LR free of the detection loophole requires photon counters with efficiencies of at least 89.7189.71%89.71, or photon detectors with efficiencies of at least 91.1191.11%91.11. For comparison, we also perform this analysis with ideal unbalanced Bell states, which are known to allow rejection of LR with detector efficiencies above 2/32/32/3.
Local realism is the worldview in which physical properties of objects exist independently of measurement and where physical influences cannot travel faster than the speed of light. Bell's theorem states that this worldview is incompatible with the predictions of quantum mechanics, as is expressed in Bell's inequalities. Previous experiments convincingly supported the quantum predictions. Yet, every experiment requires assumptions that provide loopholes for a local realist explanation. Here, we report a Bell test that closes the most significant of these loopholes simultaneously. Using a well-optimized source of entangled photons, rapid setting generation, and highly efficient superconducting detectors, we observe a violation of a Bell inequality with high statistical significance. The purely statistical probability of our results to occur under local realism does not exceed 3.74×10^{-31}, corresponding to an 11.5 standard deviation effect.
Abstract A key objective in conducting a Bell test is to quantify the statistical evidence against a local-hidden variable model (LHVM) given that we can collect only a finite number of trials in any experiment. The notion of statistical evidence is thereby formulated in the framework of hypothesis testing, where the null hypothesis is that the experiment can be described by an LHVM. The statistical confidence with which the null hypothesis of an LHVM is rejected is quantified by the so-called P value, where a smaller P value implies higher confidence. Establishing good statistical evidence is especially challenging if the number of trials is small, or the Bell violation very low. Here, we derive the optimal P value for a large class of Bell inequalities. What is more, we obtain very sharp upper bounds on the P value for all Bell inequalities. These values are easily computed from the experimental data, and are valid even if we allow arbitrary memory in the devices. Our analysis is able to deal with imperfect random number generators, and event-ready schemes, even if such a scheme can create different kinds of entangled states. Finally, we review requirements for sound data collection, and a method for combining P values of independent experiments. The methods discussed here are not specific to Bell inequalities. For instance, they can also be applied to the study of certified randomness or to tests of noncontextuality.
We investigate the violation factor of the original Bell-Mermin inequality. Until now, we have used an assumption that the results of measurement are . In this case, the maximum violation factor is as follows: and . The quantum predictions by n-partite Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state violate the Bell-Mermin inequality by an amount that grows exponentially with n. Recently, a new measurement theory is proposed [K. Nagata and T. Nakamura, International Journal of Theoretical Physics, 49, 162 (2010)]. The values of measurement outcome are . Here we use the new measurement theory. We consider a multipartite GHZ state. We use the original Bell-Mermin inequality. It turns out that the original Bell-Mermin inequality is satisfied irrespective of the number of particles. In this case, the maximum violation factor is as follows: and . Thus the original Bell-Mermin inequality is satisfied by the new measurement theory. We propose the following conjecture: All the two-orthogonal-settings experimental correlation functions admit local realistic theories irrespective of a state if we use the new measurement theory.