Non-local correlations are among the most fascinating features of quantum theory from the point of view of information, such correlations, although not allowing for signaling, are unexplainable by pre-shared information. The correlations have applications in cryptography, communication complexity, and sit at the very heart of many attempts of understanding quantum theory-and its limits-in terms of classical information. In this paper, the question is crucial whether such correlations can be amplified or distilled, i.e., whether and how weak correlations can be used for generating (a smaller amount of) stronger. Whereas the question has been studied quite extensively for bipartite correlations (yielding both pessimistic and optimistic results), only little is known in the multi-partite case. We introduce a general framework of reductions between multi-party input-output systems. Within this formalism, we show that a natural n-party generalization of the well-known Popescu-Rohrlich box can be distilled, by an adaptive protocol, to the algebraic maximum. We use this result further to show that a much broader class of correlations, including all purely three-partite correlations, can be distilled from arbitrarily weak to almost maximal strength with partial communication, i.e., using only a subset of the channels required for the creation of the same correlation from scratch. Alternatively, this means that arbitrarily weak non-local correlations can have a “communication value” in the context of the generation of maximal non-locality.
Non-local correlations are among the most fascinating features of quantum theory from the point of view of information, such correlations, although not allowing for signaling, are unexplainable by pre-shared information. The correlations have applications in cryptography, communication complexity, and sit at the very heart of many attempts of understanding quantum theory-and its limits-in terms of classical information. In this paper, the question is crucial whether such correlations can be amplified or distilled, i.e., whether and how weak correlations can be used for generating (a smaller amount of) stronger. Whereas the question has been studied quite extensively for bipartite correlations (yielding both pessimistic and optimistic results), only little is known in the multi-partite case. We introduce a general framework of reductions between multi-party input-output systems. Within this formalism, we show that a natural n-party generalization of the well-known Popescu-Rohrlich box can be distilled, by an adaptive protocol, to the algebraic maximum. We use this result further to show that a much broader class of correlations, including all purely three-partite correlations, can be distilled from arbitrarily weak to almost maximal strength with partial communication, i.e., using only a subset of the channels required for the creation of the same correlation from scratch. Alternatively, this means that arbitrarily weak non-local correlations can have a “communication value” in the context of the generation of maximal non-locality.
Non-local correlations are among the most fascinating features of quantum theory from the point of view of information: Such correlations, although not allowing for signaling, are unexplainable by pre-shared information. The correlations have applications in cryptography, communication complexity, and sit at the very heart of many attempts of understanding quantum theory -- and its limits -- in terms of classical information. In these contexts, the question is crucial whether such correlations can be amplified or distilled, i.e., whether and how weak correlations can be used for generating (a smaller amount of) stronger. Whereas the question has been studied quite extensively for bipartite correlations (yielding both pessimistic and optimistic results), only little is known in the multi-partite case. We introduce a general framework of reductions between multi-party input-output systems. Within this formalism, we show that a natural n-party generalization of the well-known Popescu-Rohrlich box can be distilled, by an adaptive protocol, to the algebraic maximum.We use this result further to show that a much broader class of correlations, including all purely threepartite correlations, can be distilled from arbitrarily weak to almost maximal strength with partial communication, i.e., using only a subset of the channels required for the creation of the same correlation from scratch. Alternatively, this means that arbitrarily weak non-local correlations can have a "communication value" in the context of the generation of maximal non-locality.
Non-local correlations are one of the most fascinating consequences of quantum physics from the point of view of information: Such correlations, although not allowing for signaling, are unexplainable by pre-shared information. The correlations have applications in cryptography, communication complexity, and sit at the very heart of many attempts of understanding quantum theory - and its limits - better in terms of classical information. In these contexts, the question is crucial whether such correlations can be distilled, i.e., whether weak correlations can be used for generating (a smaller amount of) stronger. Whereas the question has been studied quite extensively for bipartite correlations (yielding both pessimistic and optimistic results), only little is known in the multi-partite case. We show that a natural generalization of the well-known Popsecu-Rohrlich box can be distilled, by an adaptive protocol, to the algebraic maximum. We use this result further to show that a much bigger class of correlations, including all purely three-partite correlations, can be distilled from arbitrarily weak to maximal strength with partial communication, i.e., using only a subset of the channels required for the creation of the same correlation from scratch. In other words, we show that arbitrarily weak non-local correlations can have a “communication value” in the context of the generation of maximal non-locality.
Quantum theory puts forward phenomena beyond the explanatory power of classical physics-or information, for that matter. A prominent example is non-locality. Non-local correlations cannot explained, in classical terms, by shared information but only by communication. On the other hand, the phenomenon does not allow for (potentially faster-than-light) message transmission. The fact that some non-local and non-signaling correlations are predicted by quantum theory, whereas others fail to be, asks for a criterion, as simple as possible, that characterizes which joint input-output behaviors are “quantum” and which are not. In the context of the derivation of such criteria, it is of central importance to understand when non-local correlations can be amplified by a non-interactive protocol, i.e., whether some types of weak non-locality can be distilled into stronger by local operations. Since it has been recognized that the searched-for criteria must inherently be multi-partite, the question of distillation, extensively studied and understood two-party scenarios, should be adressed in the multi-user setting, where much less is known. Considering the space of intrinsically n-partite correlations, we show the possibility of distilling weak non-local boxes to the algebraically maximal ones without any communication. Our protocols improve on previously known methods which still required partial communication. The price we have to pay for dropping the need for communication entirely is the assumption of permutation invariance: Any correlation that can be realized between some set of players is possible between any such set. This assumption is natural since the laws of physics are invariant under spacial translation.
Quantum theory puts forward phenomena unexplainable by classical physics - or information, for that matter. A prominent example is non-locality. Non-local correlations cannot be explained, in classical terms, by shared information but only by communication. On the other hand, the phenomenon does not allow for (potentially faster-than-light) message transmission. The fact that some non-local and non-signaling correlations are predicted by quantum theory, whereas others fail to be, asks for a criterion, as simple as possible, that characterizes which joint input-output behaviors are ``quantum'' and which are not. In the context of the derivation of such criteria, it is of central importance to understand when non-local correlations can be amplified by a non-interactive protocol, i.e., whether some types of weak non-locality can be distilled into stronger by local operations. Since it has been recognized that the searched-for criteria must inherently be multi-partite, the question of distillation, extensively studied and understood two-party scenarios, should be adressed in the multi-user setting, where much less is known. Considering the space of intrinsically n-partite correlations, we show the possibility of distilling weak non-local boxes to the algebraically maximal ones without any communication. Our protocols improve on previously known methods which still required partial communication. The price we have to pay for dropping the need for communication entirely is the assumption of permutation invariance: Any correlation that can be realized between some set of players is possible between any such set. This assumption is very natural since the laws of physics are invariant under spacial translation.
Non-local correlations are not only a fascinating feature of quantum theory, but an interesting resource for information processing, for instance in communication-complexity theory or cryptography. An important question in this context is whether the resource can be distilled: Given a large amount of weak non-local correlations, is there a method to obtain strong non-locality using local operations and shared randomness? We partly answer this question by no: CHSH-type non-locality, the only possible non-locality of binary systems, which is not super-strong, but achievable by measurements on certain quantum states, has at best very limited distillability by any non-interactive classical method. This strongly extends and generalizes what was previously known, namely that there are two limits that cannot be overstepped: The Bell and Tsirelson bounds. Moreover, our results imply that there must be an infinite number of such bounds. A noticeable feature of our proof of this purely classical statement is that it is quantum mechanical in the sense that (both novel and known) facts from quantum theory are used in a crucial way to obtain the claimed results. One of these results, of independent interest, is that certain mixed entangled states cannot be distilled without communication. Weaker statements, namely limited distillability, have been known for Werner states.
One of the most fascinating consequences of quantum theory is non‐locality, i.e., the fact that the measurement outcomes of (spatially separated) parts of a system can have a correlation unexplainable by shared classical information. Note that at the same time, these correlations are non‐signaling and do not allow for message transmission. Popescu and Rohrlich have defined a non‐local box as a “basic building block of non‐locality” and initiated a systematic study of non‐local correlations and their applications. However, they left open the question of whether any non‐signaling correlation can be simulated by such non‐local boxes. We show that the answer is yes with respect to arbitrarily accurate approximations.