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arXiv:1903.01349 · Applied Sciences

Knowledge of Quantum Hidden Variables Enables Backwards-In-Time Signaling

Avishy Y. Carmi, Eliahu Cohen, Lorenzo Maccone, Hrvoje Nikolić

Published May 14, 2021• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Bell’s theorem implies that any completion of quantum mechanics which uses hidden variables (that is, preexisting values of all observables) must be nonlocal in the Einstein sense. This customarily indicates that knowledge of the hidden variables would permit superluminal communication. Such superluminal signaling, akin to the existence of a preferred reference frame, is to be expected. However, here we provide a protocol that allows an observer with knowledge of the hidden variables to communicate with her own causal past, without superluminal signaling. That is, such knowledge would contradict causality, irrespectively of the validity of relativity theory. Among the ways we propose for bypassing the paradox there is the possibility of hidden variables that change their values even when the state does not, and that means that signaling backwards in time is prohibited in Bohmian mechanics.

DOI
10.3390/app11104477

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Bell’s theorem implies that any completion of quantum mechanics which uses hidden variables (that is, preexisting values of all observables) must be nonlocal in the Einstein sense. This customarily indicates that knowledge of the hidden variables would permit superluminal communication. Such superluminal signaling, akin to the existence of a preferred reference frame, is to be expected. However, here we provide a protocol that allows an observer with knowledge of the hidden variables to communicate with her own causal past, without superluminal signaling. That is, such knowledge would contradict causality, irrespectively of the validity of relativity theory. Among the ways we propose for bypassing the paradox there is the possibility of hidden variables that change their values even when the state does not, and that means that signaling backwards in time is prohibited in Bohmian mechanics.
Since Bell's theorem, it is known that quantum correlations cannot be described by local variables (LV) alone: if one does not want to abandon classical mechanisms for correlations, a superluminal form of communication among the particles must be postulated. A natural question is whether such a postulate would imply the possibility of superluminal signaling. Here we show that the assumption of finite-speed superluminal communication indeed leads to signaling when no LV are present, and more generally when only LV derivable from quantum statistics are allowed. When the most general LV are allowed, we prove in a specific case that the model can be made again consistent with relativity, but the question remains open in general.
Quantum theory is compatible with special relativity. In particular, though measurements on entangled systems are correlated in a way that cannot be reproduced by local hidden variables, they cannot be used for superluminal signaling. As Czachor, Gisin, and Polchinski pointed out, this is not generally true of general nonlinear modifications of the Schr\"odinger equation. Excluding superluminal signaling has thus been taken to rule out most nonlinear versions of quantum theory. The no-superluminal-signaling constraint has also been used for alternative derivations of the optimal fidelities attainable for imperfect quantum cloning and other operations. These results apply to theories satisfying the rule that their predictions for widely separated and slowly moving entangled systems can be approximated by nonrelativistic equations of motion with respect to a preferred time coordinate. This paper describes a natural way in which this rule might fail to hold. In particular, it is shown that quantum readout devices which display the values of localized pure states need not allow superluminal signaling, provided that the devices display the values of the states of entangled subsystems as defined in a nonstandard, although natural, way. It follows that any locally defined nonlinear evolution of pure states can be made consistent with Minkowski causality.
It is a frequent assumption that—via superluminal information transfers—superluminal signals capable of enabling communication are necessarily exchanged in any quantum theory that posits hidden superluminal influences. However, does the presence of hidden superluminal influences automatically imply superluminal signalling and communication? The non-signalling theorem mediates the apparent conflict between quantum mechanics and the theory of special relativity. However, as a ‘no-go’ theorem there exist two opposing interpretations of the non-signalling constraint: foundational and operational. Concerning Bell’s theorem, we argue that Bell employed both interpretations, and that he finally adopted the operational position which is associated often with ontological quantum theory, e.g., de Broglie–Bohm theory. This position we refer to as “effective non-signalling”. By contrast, associated with orthodox quantum mechanics is the foundational position referred to here as “axiomatic non-signalling”. In search of a decisive communication-theoretic criterion for differentiating between “axiomatic” and “effective” non-signalling, we employ the operational framework offered by Shannon’s mathematical theory of communication, whereby we distinguish between Shannon signals and non-Shannon signals. We find that an effective non-signalling theorem represents two sub-theorems: (1) Non-transfer-control (NTC) theorem, and (2) Non-signification-control (NSC) theorem. Employing NTC and NSC theorems, we report that effective, instead of axiomatic, non-signalling is entirely sufficient for prohibiting nonlocal communication. Effective non-signalling prevents the instantaneous, i.e., superluminal, transfer of message-encoded information through the controlled use—by a sender-receiver pair —of informationally-correlated detection events, e.g., in EPR-type experiments. An effective non-signalling theorem allows for nonlocal quantum information transfer yet—at the same time—effectively denies superluminal signalling and communication.
The EPR–Bell paradox is widely interpreted as evidence that nature itself is nonlocal, suggesting instantaneous physical influence between spacelike separated measurements. This paper proposes an Observer-First Interpretation (OFI), in which quantum states are treated as observer-relative informational constructs constrained by evidence accessibility and causal boundaries. Within this framework, Bell correlations do not imply physical superluminal influence, but arise from conditional informational state updates when observers later compare records. Nonlocality is thus reinterpreted as an informational phenomenon rather than a physical one. The approach preserves relativistic causality, reproduces all standard quantum predictions, and resolves the EPR–Bell paradox without introducing hidden variables or modifying the formalism of quantum mechanics.
It is well known that there is a freedom-of-choice loophole or superdeterminism loophole in Bell's theorem. Since no experiment can completely rule out the possibility of superdeterminism, it seems that a local hidden variable theory consistent with relativity can never be excluded. In this paper, we present a new analysis of local hidden variable theories. The key is to notice that a local hidden variable theory assumes the universality of the Schroedinger equation, and it permits that a measurement can be in principle undone in the sense that the wave function of the composite system after the measurement can be restored to the initial state. We propose a variant of the EPR-Bohm experiment with reset operactions that can undo measurements. We find that according to quantum mechanics, when Alice's measurement is undone after she obtained her result, the correlation between the results of Alice's and Bob's measurements depends on the time order of these measurements, which may be spacelike separated. Since a local hidden variable theory consistent with relativity requires that relativistically non-invariant relations such as the time order of spacelike separated events have no physical significance, this result means that a local hidden variable theory cannot explain the correlation and reproduce all predictions of quantum mechanics even when assuming superdeterminism. This closes the major superdeterminism loophole in Bell's theorem.
The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox demonstrates that entangled particles can interact in such a way that it is possible to measure both their position and momentum instantaneously. The position or momentum of one particle can be determined by measuring another identical particle that exists in another space. This instantaneous action is actually called nonlocality. The nonlocality has been proved by Bell’s theorem that states that all quantum theories must be nonlocal. The Bell’s theorem gives a strong support to the hidden variable theory, i.e. Bohmian mechanics. Using nonlocality, we present that the velocity field of one particle can be obtained by measuring the velocity of other particles. The trajectory of these particles is perhaps surrealistic trajectory due to the nonlocality.