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arXiv:1610.09905 · Physical Review A

Test of a hypothesis of realism in quantum theory using a Bayesian approach

N. Nikitin, K. S. Toms

Published May 5, 2017• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In this paper we propose a time-independent equality and time-dependent inequality, suitable for an experimental test of the hypothesis of realism. The derivation of these relations is based on the concept of conditional probability and on Bayes' theorem in the framework of Kolmogorov's axiomatics of probability theory. The equality obtained is intrinsically different from the well-known Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) equality and its variants, because violation of the proposed equality might be tested in experiments with only two microsystems in a maximally entangled Bell state $|{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Psi}}}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rangle}$, while a test of the GHZ equality requires at least three quantum systems in a special state $|{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Psi}}}^{\mathrm{GHZ}}\ensuremath{\rangle}$. The obtained inequality differs from Bell's, Wigner's, and Leggett-Garg inequalities, because it deals with spin $s=1/2$ projections onto only two nonparallel directions at two different moments of time, while a test of the Bell and Wigner inequalities requires at least three nonparallel directions, and a test of the Leggett-Garg inequalities requires at least three distinct moments of time. Hence, the proposed inequality seems to open an additional experimental possibility to avoid the ``contextuality loophole.'' Violation of the proposed equality and inequality is illustrated with the behavior of a pair of anticorrelated spins in an external magnetic field and also with the oscillations of flavor-entangled pairs of neutral pseudoscalar mesons.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.95.052103

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In this paper we propose a time-independent equality and time-dependent inequality, suitable for an experimental test of the hypothesis of realism. The derivation of these relations is based on the concept of conditional probability and on Bayes' theorem in the framework of Kolmogorov's axiomatics of probability theory. The equality obtained is intrinsically different from the well-known Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) equality and its variants, because violation of the proposed equality might be tested in experiments with only two microsystems in a maximally entangled Bell state ∣\ensuremathΨ\ensuremath−\ensuremath⟩|{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Psi}}}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rangle}∣\ensuremathΨ\ensuremath−\ensuremath⟩, while a test of the GHZ equality requires at least three quantum systems in a special state ∣\ensuremathΨGHZ\ensuremath⟩|{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Psi}}}^{\mathrm{GHZ}}\ensuremath{\rangle}∣\ensuremathΨGHZ\ensuremath⟩. The obtained inequality differs from Bell's, Wigner's, and Leggett-Garg inequalities, because it deals with spin s=1/2s=1/2s=1/2 projections onto only two nonparallel directions at two different moments of time, while a test of the Bell and Wigner inequalities requires at least three nonparallel directions, and a test of the Leggett-Garg inequalities requires at least three distinct moments of time. Hence, the proposed inequality seems to open an additional experimental possibility to avoid the ``contextuality loophole.'' Violation of the proposed equality and inequality is illustrated with the behavior of a pair of anticorrelated spins in an external magnetic field and also with the oscillations of flavor-entangled pairs of neutral pseudoscalar mesons.
We propose a Wigner-like inequality suitable for testing the hypothesis of realism. We show that this inequality is identical neither to the well-known Wigner inequality nor to the Leggett-Garg inequality in Wigner form. The obtained inequality is suitable for testing realism not only in quantum mechanical systems, but also in quantum field systems. Also we propose a mathematically consistent derivation of the Leggett-Garg inequality in Wigner form, which was recently presented in the literature, for three and nnn distinct moments of time. Contrary to these works, our rigor derivation uses Kolmogorov axiomatics of probability theory. We pay special attention to the construction and studies of the spaces of elementary outcomes. Based on the Leggett-Garg inequality in Wigner form for nnn distinct moments of time we prove that any unitary evolution of a quantum system contradicts the concept of macroscopic realism. We show that application of the concept of macroscopic realism to any quantum system leads to ``freezing'' of the system in the initial state. It is shown that for a particle with an infinite number of observables the probability to find a pair of the observables in some defined state is zero, even if the operators of these observables commute. This fact might serve as an additional logical argument for the contradiction between quantum theory and classical realism.
A radically new class of Bell inequalities in Wigner’s form was obtained on the basis of Kolmorov’s axiomatization of probability theory and the hypothesis of locality. These inequalities take explicitly into account the dependence on time (time-dependent Bell inequalities in Wigner’s form). By using these inequalities, one can propose a means for experimentally testing Bohr’ complementarity principle in the relativistic region. The inequalities in question open broad possibilities for studying correlations of nonrelativistic and relativistic quantum systems in external fields. The violation of the time-dependent inequalities in quantum mechanics was studied by considering the behavior of a pair of anticorrelated spins in a constant external magnetic field and oscillations of neutral pseudoscalar mesons. The decay of a pseudoscalar particle to a fermion–antifermion pair is considered within quantum field theory. In order to test experimentally the inequalities proposed in the present study, it is not necessary to perform dedicated noninvasive measurements required in the Leggett–Garg approach, for example.
Introduction Since its inception, fifty years ago, Bell's theorem has had a long history not only of experimental tests but also of theoretical developments. Studying pairs of correlated quantummechanical particles separated in space, in a composite “entangled” state, Bell [1] showed that the joint ascription of hidden variables and locality to the system led to an inequality that is violated by the predictions of quantum mechanics. Fifteen years later, experiments confirmed the predictions of quantum mechanics, ruling out a large class of local realist theories. One of the most meaningful theoretical developments that followed Bell's work was the Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) theorem, also known as Bell's theorem without inequalities. In 1989, the American physicists Daniel Greenberger and Michael Horne, who had been working on Bell's theorem since the late 1960s, together with the Austrian physicist Anton Zeilinger, introduced a novelty into the testing of entanglement, extending Bell's theorem in a different and interesting direction. According to Franck Laloë [2], For many years, everyone thought that Bell had basically exhausted the subject by considering all really interesting situations, and that two-spin systems provided the most spectacular quantum violations of local realism. It therefore came as a surprise to many when in 1989 Greenberger, Horne, and Zeilinger (GHZ) showed that systems containing more than two correlated particles may actually exhibit even more dramatic violations of local realism. The trio analyzed the Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen 1935 argument once again and were able to write what are now called Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) entangled states, involving three or four correlated spin-1/2 particles, leading to conflicts between local realist theories and quantum mechanics. However, unlike Bell's theorem, the conflict now was not of a statistical nature, as was the case with Bell's theorem, insofar as measurements on a single GHZ state could lead to conflicting predictions with local realistic models [3–5]. In this paper we present the history of the creation of this theorem and analyze its scope.
We propose time-dependent Bell inequalities in a Wigner form, which expand the possibilities of experimental verification of Bohr’s principle of complementarity in the relativistic domain and for nonstationary quantum-mechanical systems. Derivation of the proposed inequalities is based entirely on the Kolmogorov axiomatics of probability theory and the locality hypothesis. Violation of the obtained inequalities is considered in the framework of quantum theory based on the example of oscillations of neutral B mesons.