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arXiv:1808.06416

Uncertainty-Complementarity Balance as a General Constraint on Non-locality

Liang-Liang Sun, Sixia Yu, Zeng‐Bing Chen

Published Aug 20, 2018• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We propose an uncertainty-complementarity balance relation and build quantitative connections among non-locality, complementarity, and uncertainty. Our balance relation, which is formulated in a theory-independent manner, states that for two measurements performed sequentially, the complementarity demonstrated in the first measurement in terms of disturbance is no greater than the uncertainty of the first measurement. Quantum theory respects our balance relation, from which the Tsirelson bound can be derived, up to an inessential assumption. In the simplest Bell scenario, we show that the bound of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality for a general non-local theory can be expressed as a function of the balance strength, a constance for the given theory. As an application, we derive the balance strength as well as the nonlocal bound of Popescu-Rohrlich box. Our results shed light on quantitative connections among three fundamental concepts, i.e., uncertainty, complementarity and non-locality.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1808.06416

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We propose an uncertainty-complementarity balance relation and build quantitative connections among non-locality, complementarity, and uncertainty. Our balance relation, which is formulated in a theory-independent manner, states that for two measurements performed sequentially, the complementarity demonstrated in the first measurement in terms of disturbance is no greater than the uncertainty of the first measurement. Quantum theory respects our balance relation, from which the Tsirelson bound can be derived, up to an inessential assumption. In the simplest Bell scenario, we show that the bound of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality for a general non-local theory can be expressed as a function of the balance strength, a constance for the given theory. As an application, we derive the balance strength as well as the nonlocal bound of Popescu-Rohrlich box. Our results shed light on quantitative connections among three fundamental concepts, i.e., uncertainty, complementarity and non-locality.
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We exploit the interplay between uncertainty, disturbance, nonlocality, and self-duality within the framework of generalized probabilistic theories (GPTs). We first introduce an operational uncertainty-disturbance relation that reveals the discrepancies of GPTs in uncertainty and disturbance exhibited by one single measurement. We then apply the relation to Bell's scenarios and derive upper bounds for the basic spatial Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt and the temporal Leggett-Garg inequalities with and without the assumption of strong self-duality, respectively. It turns out that self-duality, though being thought of as one pillar of the axiomatization of quantum theory and implying additional constraints, is insufficient to explain the quantum violations. These insights may serve as a seed for a universal understanding of these basic properties in GPTs.
In quantum mechanics, nonlocality (a violation of a Bell inequality) is intimately linked to complementarity, by which we mean that consistently assigning values to different observables at the same time is not possible. Nonlocality can only occur when some of the relevant observables do not commute, and this noncommutativity makes the observables complementary. Beyond quantum mechanics, the concept of complementarity can be formalized in several distinct ways. Here we describe some of these possible formalizations and ask how they relate to nonlocality. We partially answer this question by describing two toy theories which display nonlocality and obey the no-signaling principle, although each of them does not display a certain kind of complementarity. The first toy theory has the property that it maximally violates the Clauser, Horn, Shimony, and Holt (CHSH) inequality, although the corresponding local observables are pairwise jointly measurable. The second toy theory also maximally violates the CHSH inequality, although its state space is classical and all measurements are mutually nondisturbing: if a measurement sequence contains some measurement twice with any number of other measurements in between, then these two measurements give the same outcome with certainty.
Two of the most intriguing features of quantum physics are the uncertainty principle and the occurrence of non-local correlations. The uncertainty principle states that there exist pairs of non-compatible measurements on quantum systems such that their outcomes cannot be simultaneously predicted by any observer. Non-local correlations of measurement outcomes at different locations cannot be explained by classical physics, but appear in quantum mechanics in the presence of entanglement. Here, we show that these two essential properties of quantum mechanics are quantitatively related. Namely, we provide an entropic uncertainty relation that gives a lower bound on the uncertainty of the binary outcomes of two measurements in terms of the maximum Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt value that can be achieved using the same measurements. We discuss an application of this uncertainty relation to certify a quantum source using untrusted devices.
Finding physical principles lying behind quantum mechanics is essential to understand various quantum features, e.g., the quantum correlations, in a theory-independent manner. Here we propose such a principle, namely, no disturbance without uncertainty, stating that the disturbance caused by a measurement to a subsequent incompatible measurement is no larger than the uncertainty of the first measurement, equipped with suitable theory-independent measures for disturbance and uncertainty. When applied to local systems in a multipartite scenario, our principle imposes such a strong constraint on non-signaling correlations that quantum correlations can be recovered in many cases: i. it accounts for the Tsirelsons bound; ii. it provides the so far tightest boundary for a family of the noisy super-nonlocal box with 3 parameters, and iii. it rules out an almost quantum correlation from quantum correlations by which all the previous principles fail, as well as the celebrated quantum criterion due to Navascues, Pironio, and Acin. Our results pave the way to understand nonlocality exhibited in quantum correlations from local principles.
Two of the most intriguing features of quantum physics are the uncertainty principle and the occurrence of nonlocal correlations. The uncertainty principle states that there exist pairs of incompatible measurements on quantum systems such that their outcomes cannot both be predicted. On the other hand, nonlocal correlations of measurement outcomes at different locations cannot be explained by classical physics, but appear in the presence of entanglement. Here, we show that these two fundamental quantum effects are quantitatively related. Namely, we provide an entropic uncertainty relation for the outcomes of two binary measurements, where the lower bound on the uncertainty is quantified in terms of the maximum Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt value that can be achieved with these measurements. We discuss applications of this uncertainty relation in quantum cryptography, in particular, to certify quantum sources using untrusted devices.