We theoretically introduce and experimentally demonstrate the realization of a nonclassicality test that allows for arbitrarily low detection efficiency without invoking an extra assumption of independence of the devices. Our test and its implementation is set in a prepare-and-measure scenario with an upper limit on the classical communication capacity of the channel through which the systems are communicated. The essence for our test is the use of two preparation and two measurement devices, which are randomly paired in each round. Our work opens the possibility for experimental realizations of nonclassicality tests with off-the-shelf technology.
We theoretically introduce and experimentally demonstrate the realization of a nonclassicality test that allows for arbitrarily low detection efficiency without invoking an extra assumption of independence of the devices. Our test and its implementation is set in a prepare-and-measure scenario with an upper limit on the classical communication capacity of the channel through which the systems are communicated. The essence for our test is the use of two preparation and two measurement devices, which are randomly paired in each round. Our work opens the possibility for experimental realizations of nonclassicality tests with off-the-shelf technology.
In this work, we experimentally investigate the classical-light emulation of different notions of nonclassicality in the simplest scenario. We implement this prepare-and-measure scenario involving four preparations and two binary-outcome measurements using two distinct experimental setups that exploit different degrees of freedom of light: polarization and first-order Hermite-Gaussian transverse modes. We additionally model experimental noise through an all-optical setup that reproduces the operational effect of a depolarizing channel. Our experimental results are consistent with the findings of Khoshbin et al. [Phys. Rev. A 109, 032212 (2024)]: under the assumption that the two measurements performed form a tomographically complete set, the observed statistics violate their noise-robust inequalities, indicating inconsistencies with preparation noncontextuality and bounded ontological distinctness for preparations. Although our implementation uses classical light, it reproduces the statistics predicted for the simplest scenario. Since the states and measurements of this scenario underpin computational advantages in tasks such as two-bit quantum random access codes -- among the simplest communication primitives enabling semi-device-independent certification of nonclassicality -- our implementation is directly relevant for such applications.
Quantum correlations and nonprojective measurements underlie a plethora of information-theoretic tasks, otherwise impossible in the classical world. Existing schemes to certify such nonclassical resources in a device-independent manner require seed randomness-which is often costly and vulnerable to loopholes-for choosing the local measurements performed on different parts of a multipartite quantum system. In this Letter, we propose and experimentally implement a semi-device-independent certification technique for both quantum correlations and nonprojective measurements without seed randomness. Our test is semi-device independent in the sense that it requires only prior knowledge of the dimension of the parts. We experimentally show a novel quantum advantage in correlated coin tossing by producing specific correlated coins from pairs of photons entangled in their transverse spatial modes. We establish the advantage by showing that the correlated coin obtained from the entangled photons cannot be obtained from two two-level classical correlated coins. The quantum advantage requires performing qubit trine positive operator-valued measures (POVMs) on each part of the entangled pair, thus also certifying such POVMs in a semi-device-independent manner. This proof of concept firmly establishes a new cost-effective certification technique for both generating nonclassical shared randomness and implementing nonclassical measurements, which will be important for future multiparty quantum communications.
A key aspect in quantum information is to understand the advantage offered by quantum systems over classical ones in communication tasks. In recent years, a fundamental approach to this problem has been developed, focusing on quantum correlations in prepare-and-measure scenarios. Inspired by the developments in Bell nonlocality and device-independent information processing, this line of research aims to characterize the possibilities and limits of quantum systems for communication, in particular to precisely capture the advantage they offer over classical systems. In addition to fundamental insights, these ideas also underpin the concept of semi-device-independent quantum information processing. Exploring trade-offs between security, performance and ease-of-implementation, this approach opens promising directions for novel quantum information processing technologies and devices. A number of protocols and proof-of-principle demonstrations have been reported in recent years, in particular for quantum randomness certification and key distribution. Here, we provide a comprehensive introduction to quantum prepare-and-measure correlations and semi-device independent applications.
We consider networks featuring preparation, transformation, and measurement devices, in which devices exchange communication via mediating physical systems. We investigate the problem of testing the dimension of the mediating systems in the device-independent scenario, that is, based on observable data alone. A general framework for tackling this problem is presented, considering both classical and quantum systems. These methods can then also be used to certify the nonclassicality of the mediating systems, given an upper bound on their dimension. Several case studies are reported, which illustrate the relevance of the framework. These examples also show that, for fixed dimension, quantum systems largely outperform classical ones. Moreover, the use of a transformation device considerably improves noise tolerance when compared to simple prepare-and-measure networks. These results suggest that the classical simulation of quantum systems becomes costly in terms of dimension, even for simple networks.
Preparing and measuring physical systems are the operational building blocks of any physical experiment, and to describe them is the first purpose of any physical theory.Remarkably, even when only uncharacterized preparation and measurement devices are present, it is sometimes possible to distinguish between the behaviors of quantum and classical systems from only observational data.Certifying the physical origin of measurement statistics in the prepare and measure scenario is of primal importance for developing quantum networks, distributing quantum keys, and certifying randomness, to mention a few applications, but, surprisingly, no general methods to do so are known.We progress on this problem by crafting a general, sufficient condition to certify that a given set of preparations can only generate classical statistics, for any number of generalized measurements.As an application, we employ the method to demonstrate nonclassicality activation in the prepare and measure scenario, also considering its application in random access codes.Following that, we adapt our method to certify, again through a sufficient condition, whether a given set of measurements can never give rise to nonclassical behaviors, irrespective of what preparations they may act upon.This, in turn, allows us to find a large set of incompatible measurements that cannot be used to demonstrate nonclassicality, thus showing incompatibility is not sufficient for nonclassicality in the prepare and measure scenario.
Abstract The prepare-and-measure theory is a new type of quantum paradox that reveals the incompatibility between classical theory and quantum mechanics in terms of the dimensionality of physical systems. Just as the Horodecki criterion can determine whether given quantum states are capable of exhibiting Bell nonclassicality, a similar criterion is needed for the prepare-and-measure theory to determine whether given quantum states can exhibit the prepare-and-measure nonclassicality. Recently, Poderini et al [Phys. Rev. Research 2, 043 106 (2020)] presented such a criterion for the prepare-and-measure nonclassicality. In this work, we experimentally validate this criterion—52 different sets of quantum states are prepared and tested one by one using this criterion to determine whether they can exhibit the prepare-and-measure nonclassicality, and the experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical expectations. The criterion experimentally verified here has the potential to be widely used in future research on the prepare-and-measure nonclassicality.