Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1108.4823

Communication loophole in a Bell-EPR-Bohm experiment: standard no-signaling may not always be enough to exclude local realism

David Rodríguez

Published Aug 24, 2011• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Assuming perfect detection efficiency, we present an (indeterministic) model for an EPR-Bohm experiment which reproduces the singlet correlations, without contradicting Bell's original locality condition. In this model we allow the probability distribution $ρ_λ$ of the state $λ$ at the source to depend parametrically on the orientation $ξ$ of one of the measuring devices: $ρ_λ(λ,ξ)$. In a Bell experiment, no-signaling between the source and each one of the devices would seem clearly sufficient to rule such an influence; however, not even schemes where the choice of observables takes place during the on-flight time of the particles can prevent, in some situations, a model of this type from violating the local bounds. In particular, a random shift $ρ_λ(λ,ξ_1) \rightarrow ρ_λ(λ,ξ_2) \rightarrow...\rightarrow ρ_λ(λ,ξ_n)$ allows the model to perform a "subensemble selection" for each of the terms involved in the inequality (analogous to what goes on with the efficiency loophole), whenever some correlation of those $ρ_λ$-shifts with the sequence of measurement choices is allowed. That correlation does not necessarily imply signaling during the photon on-flight time.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1108.4823

Related papers

The EPR-B Paradox Resolution. Bell inequalities revisited.

Jaykov Foukzon, Менькова Елена Романовна, Alexander A Potapov

Abstract One of the Bell’s assumptions in the original derivation of his inequalities was the hypothesis of locality, i.e., the absence of the influence of two remote measuring instruments on one another. That is why violations of these inequalities observed in experiments are often interpreted as a manifestation of the nonlocal nature of quantum mechanics, or a refutation of a local realism. It is well known that the Bell’s inequality was derived in its traditional form, without resorting to the hypothesis of locality and without the introduction of hidden variables, the only assumption being that the probability distributions are nonnegative. This can therefore be regarded as a rigorous proof that the hypothesis of locality and the hypothesis of existence of the hidden variables not relevant to violations of Bell’s inequalities. The physical meaning of the obtained results is examined. Physical nature of the violation of the Bell inequalities is explained under new EPR-B nonlocality postulate. We show that the correlations of the observables involved in the Bohm–Bell type experiments can be expressed as correlations of classical random variables. The revisited Bell type inequality in canonical notatons reads 〈AB〉 + 〈A’B〉 + 〈AB’〉 − 〈A’B’〉 ⩽ 6.

Journal of Physics Conference Series•Nov 1, 2019•0 citations

Invalidity of the Standard Locality Condition for Hidden-Variable Models of EPR-Bohm Experiments

James L. Beck

John Bell and others used a locality condition to establish inequalities that they believe must be satisfied by any local hidden-variable model for the spin probability distribution for two entangled particles in a Bohm-EPR experiment. We show that this condition is invalid because it contradicts the product rule of probability theory for any model that exhibits the expected property of perfect correlation. This breaks the connection between Bell inequalities and the existence of any local hidden-variable model of interest. As already known, these inequalities give necessary conditions for the existence of third/fourth-order joint probability distributions for the spin outcomes from three/four separate Bohm-EPR experimental set-ups that are consistent with the second-order joint spin distributions for each experiment after marginalization. If a Bell inequality is violated, as quantum mechanics theory predicts and experiments show can happen, then at least one third-order joint probability is negative. However, this does not imply anything about the existence of local hidden-variable models for the second-order joint probability distributions for the spin outcomes of a single experiment. The locality condition does seem reasonable under the widely-applied frequentist interpretation of the spin probability distributions that views them as real properties of a random process that are manifested through their relative frequency of occurrence, which gives conditioning in the probabilities for the spin outcomes a causal role. In contrast, under the Bayesian interpretation of probability, probabilistic conditioning on one particle's spin outcome in the product rule is viewed as information to make probabilistic predictions of the other particle's spin outcome. There is nothing causal and so no reason to develop a locality condition.

•Oct 1, 2019•1 citation

Violation of local realism with freedom of choice

Thomas Scheidl, Rupert Ursin, Johannes Kofler +8 more

Bell's theorem shows that local realistic theories place strong restrictions on observable correlations between different systems, giving rise to Bell's inequality which can be violated in experiments using entangled quantum states. Bell's theorem is based on the assumptions of realism, locality, and the freedom to choose between measurement settings. In experimental tests, "loopholes" arise which allow observed violations to still be explained by local realistic theories. Violating Bell's inequality while simultaneously closing all such loopholes is one of the most significant still open challenges in fundamental physics today. In this paper, we present an experiment that violates Bell's inequality while simultaneously closing the locality loophole and addressing the freedom-of-choice loophole, also closing the latter within a reasonable set of assumptions. We also explain that the locality and freedom-of-choice loopholes can be closed only within nondeterminism, i.e., in the context of stochastic local realism.

arXiv:0811.3129•Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences•Nov 1, 2010•330 citations

Loophole-free Bell inequality violation experiments verifying the realism and locality principles

Stéphane Le Corre

The aim of this study is to produce a simulation of EPR experiments violating the CHSH-Bell inequalities using physically interpretable objects (properties defined before measurement) and interactions (no supraliminal communication), without influence from any theory. It turns out that the proposed model systematically violates the CHSH-Bell inequalities reaching all the values ( 2 ≤ S ≤ 4 ) . Our simulation reproduces experimental entanglements with greater efficiency. This approach has at least two consequences. First, it demonstrates that violations of the CHSH-Bell inequalities are possible while still verifying the principles of realism and locality, but in a different sense from that of Bell’s theorem. Therefore, Bell’s theorem itself is not called into question, nor are the results of the EPR experiments. However, it is the deduction that leads to the current interpretation (often described as strange because it does not follow one of the principles of realism and locality as defined by Bell’s theorem) that is challenged. Second, it challenges real-world EPR experiments to exceed the efficiency rates of our simulation. Our idealization demonstrates that, between the efficiency rates required to confirm the violation of Bell’s inequalities and the efficiency rates of our idealization, the interpretation of experiments remains possible within a framework of “classical” physical principles (properties defined before measurement and no supraliminal communication). Confirming the strangeness of quantum mechanics would therefore require obtaining efficiency rates higher than those of Bell’s theorem.

Frontiers in Physics•Mar 18, 2026•0 citations

A loophole-free Bell's inequality experiment

Paul G. Kwiat, Aephraim M. Steinberg, R. Y. Chiao +1 more

The proof of Nature's nonlocality through Bell-type experiments is a topic of longstanding interest. Nevertheless, no experiments performed thus far have avoided the so-called 'detection loophole,' arising from low detector efficiencies and angular-correlation difficulties. In fact, most, if not all, of the systems employed to date can never close this loophole, even with perfect detectors. In addition, another loophole involving the non-rapid, non-random switching of various parameter settings exists in all past experiments. We discuss a proposal for a potentially loophole-free Bell's inequality experiment. The source of the EPR-correlated pairs consists of two simultaneously-pumped type-2 phase-matched nonlinear crystals and a polarizing beam splitter. The feasibility of such a scheme with current detector technology seems high, and will be discussed. We also present a single-crystal version, motivated by other work presented at this conference. In a separate experiment, we have measured the absolute detection efficiency and time response of four single-photon detectors. The highest observed efficiencies were 70.7 plus or minus 1.9 percent (at 633 nm, with a device from Rockwell International) and 76.4 plus or minus 2.3 percent (at 702 nm, with an EG&G counting module). Possible efficiencies as high as 90 percent were implied. The EG&G devices displayed sub-nanosecond time resolution.

•May 1, 1994•1 citation

How Much Measurement Independence Is Needed to Demonstrate Nonlocality?

Jonathan Barrett, Nicolas Gisin

If nonlocality is to be inferred from a violation of Bell's inequality, an important assumption is that the measurement settings are freely chosen by the observers, or alternatively, that they are random and uncorrelated with the hypothetical local variables. We demonstrate a connection between models that weaken this assumption, allowing partial correlation, and (i) models that allow classical communication between the distant parties, (ii) models that exploit the detection loophole. Even if Bob's choices are completely independent, all correlations from projective measurements on a singlet can be reproduced, with mutual information between Alice's choice and local variables less than or equal to one bit.

arXiv:1008.3612•Physical Review Letters•Mar 10, 2011•174 citations
Assuming perfect detection efficiency, we present an (indeterministic) model for an EPR-Bohm experiment which reproduces the singlet correlations, without contradicting Bell's original locality condition. In this model we allow the probability distribution ρλρ_λρλ​ of the state λλλ at the source to depend parametrically on the orientation ξξξ of one of the measuring devices: ρλ(λ,ξ)ρ_λ(λ,ξ)ρλ​(λ,ξ). In a Bell experiment, no-signaling between the source and each one of the devices would seem clearly sufficient to rule such an influence; however, not even schemes where the choice of observables takes place during the on-flight time of the particles can prevent, in some situations, a model of this type from violating the local bounds. In particular, a random shift ρλ(λ,ξ1)→ρλ(λ,ξ2)→...→ρλ(λ,ξn)ρ_λ(λ,ξ_1) \rightarrow ρ_λ(λ,ξ_2) \rightarrow...\rightarrow ρ_λ(λ,ξ_n)ρλ​(λ,ξ1​)→ρλ​(λ,ξ2​)→...→ρλ​(λ,ξn​) allows the model to perform a "subensemble selection" for each of the terms involved in the inequality (analogous to what goes on with the efficiency loophole), whenever some correlation of those ρλρ_λρλ​-shifts with the sequence of measurement choices is allowed. That correlation does not necessarily imply signaling during the photon on-flight time.
Abstract One of the Bell’s assumptions in the original derivation of his inequalities was the hypothesis of locality, i.e., the absence of the influence of two remote measuring instruments on one another. That is why violations of these inequalities observed in experiments are often interpreted as a manifestation of the nonlocal nature of quantum mechanics, or a refutation of a local realism. It is well known that the Bell’s inequality was derived in its traditional form, without resorting to the hypothesis of locality and without the introduction of hidden variables, the only assumption being that the probability distributions are nonnegative. This can therefore be regarded as a rigorous proof that the hypothesis of locality and the hypothesis of existence of the hidden variables not relevant to violations of Bell’s inequalities. The physical meaning of the obtained results is examined. Physical nature of the violation of the Bell inequalities is explained under new EPR-B nonlocality postulate. We show that the correlations of the observables involved in the Bohm–Bell type experiments can be expressed as correlations of classical random variables. The revisited Bell type inequality in canonical notatons reads 〈AB〉 + 〈A’B〉 + 〈AB’〉 − 〈A’B’〉 ⩽ 6.
John Bell and others used a locality condition to establish inequalities that they believe must be satisfied by any local hidden-variable model for the spin probability distribution for two entangled particles in a Bohm-EPR experiment. We show that this condition is invalid because it contradicts the product rule of probability theory for any model that exhibits the expected property of perfect correlation. This breaks the connection between Bell inequalities and the existence of any local hidden-variable model of interest. As already known, these inequalities give necessary conditions for the existence of third/fourth-order joint probability distributions for the spin outcomes from three/four separate Bohm-EPR experimental set-ups that are consistent with the second-order joint spin distributions for each experiment after marginalization. If a Bell inequality is violated, as quantum mechanics theory predicts and experiments show can happen, then at least one third-order joint probability is negative. However, this does not imply anything about the existence of local hidden-variable models for the second-order joint probability distributions for the spin outcomes of a single experiment. The locality condition does seem reasonable under the widely-applied frequentist interpretation of the spin probability distributions that views them as real properties of a random process that are manifested through their relative frequency of occurrence, which gives conditioning in the probabilities for the spin outcomes a causal role. In contrast, under the Bayesian interpretation of probability, probabilistic conditioning on one particle's spin outcome in the product rule is viewed as information to make probabilistic predictions of the other particle's spin outcome. There is nothing causal and so no reason to develop a locality condition.
Bell's theorem shows that local realistic theories place strong restrictions on observable correlations between different systems, giving rise to Bell's inequality which can be violated in experiments using entangled quantum states. Bell's theorem is based on the assumptions of realism, locality, and the freedom to choose between measurement settings. In experimental tests, "loopholes" arise which allow observed violations to still be explained by local realistic theories. Violating Bell's inequality while simultaneously closing all such loopholes is one of the most significant still open challenges in fundamental physics today. In this paper, we present an experiment that violates Bell's inequality while simultaneously closing the locality loophole and addressing the freedom-of-choice loophole, also closing the latter within a reasonable set of assumptions. We also explain that the locality and freedom-of-choice loopholes can be closed only within nondeterminism, i.e., in the context of stochastic local realism.
The aim of this study is to produce a simulation of EPR experiments violating the CHSH-Bell inequalities using physically interpretable objects (properties defined before measurement) and interactions (no supraliminal communication), without influence from any theory. It turns out that the proposed model systematically violates the CHSH-Bell inequalities reaching all the values ( 2 ≤ S ≤ 4 ) . Our simulation reproduces experimental entanglements with greater efficiency. This approach has at least two consequences. First, it demonstrates that violations of the CHSH-Bell inequalities are possible while still verifying the principles of realism and locality, but in a different sense from that of Bell’s theorem. Therefore, Bell’s theorem itself is not called into question, nor are the results of the EPR experiments. However, it is the deduction that leads to the current interpretation (often described as strange because it does not follow one of the principles of realism and locality as defined by Bell’s theorem) that is challenged. Second, it challenges real-world EPR experiments to exceed the efficiency rates of our simulation. Our idealization demonstrates that, between the efficiency rates required to confirm the violation of Bell’s inequalities and the efficiency rates of our idealization, the interpretation of experiments remains possible within a framework of “classical” physical principles (properties defined before measurement and no supraliminal communication). Confirming the strangeness of quantum mechanics would therefore require obtaining efficiency rates higher than those of Bell’s theorem.
The proof of Nature's nonlocality through Bell-type experiments is a topic of longstanding interest. Nevertheless, no experiments performed thus far have avoided the so-called 'detection loophole,' arising from low detector efficiencies and angular-correlation difficulties. In fact, most, if not all, of the systems employed to date can never close this loophole, even with perfect detectors. In addition, another loophole involving the non-rapid, non-random switching of various parameter settings exists in all past experiments. We discuss a proposal for a potentially loophole-free Bell's inequality experiment. The source of the EPR-correlated pairs consists of two simultaneously-pumped type-2 phase-matched nonlinear crystals and a polarizing beam splitter. The feasibility of such a scheme with current detector technology seems high, and will be discussed. We also present a single-crystal version, motivated by other work presented at this conference. In a separate experiment, we have measured the absolute detection efficiency and time response of four single-photon detectors. The highest observed efficiencies were 70.7 plus or minus 1.9 percent (at 633 nm, with a device from Rockwell International) and 76.4 plus or minus 2.3 percent (at 702 nm, with an EG&G counting module). Possible efficiencies as high as 90 percent were implied. The EG&G devices displayed sub-nanosecond time resolution.
If nonlocality is to be inferred from a violation of Bell's inequality, an important assumption is that the measurement settings are freely chosen by the observers, or alternatively, that they are random and uncorrelated with the hypothetical local variables. We demonstrate a connection between models that weaken this assumption, allowing partial correlation, and (i) models that allow classical communication between the distant parties, (ii) models that exploit the detection loophole. Even if Bob's choices are completely independent, all correlations from projective measurements on a singlet can be reproduced, with mutual information between Alice's choice and local variables less than or equal to one bit.