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arXiv:2111.05033

Comment on "Vindication of entanglement-based witnesses of non-classicality in hybrid systems"

Michael J. W. Hall, Marcel Reginatto

Published Nov 9, 2021• 0 citations
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Abstract

Models of quantum-classical interactions fall into two classes: those which allow the generation of quantum entanglement via a classical mediator (such as gravity), and those which do not. Marconato and Marletto have recently sought to distinguish between these classes by claiming that known members of the first class (based on the configuration-ensemble formalism introduced by us) fail to model the mediator as a 'classical' system, and are nonlocal. We explicitly show that this claim is incorrect, and expose a large number of errors and misconceptions in their reasoning. We also point to a very simple and transparent example of the generation of entanglement between two qubits via a classical bit. It follows that there are models permitting the generation of entanglement via quantum-classical interactions that lie outside the remit of the theorem cited by Marconato and Marletto. We clarify the reasons for the limited applicability of various no-go theorems for entanglement generation.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2111.05033

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Models of quantum-classical interactions fall into two classes: those which allow the generation of quantum entanglement via a classical mediator (such as gravity), and those which do not. Marconato and Marletto have recently sought to distinguish between these classes by claiming that known members of the first class (based on the configuration-ensemble formalism introduced by us) fail to model the mediator as a 'classical' system, and are nonlocal. We explicitly show that this claim is incorrect, and expose a large number of errors and misconceptions in their reasoning. We also point to a very simple and transparent example of the generation of entanglement between two qubits via a classical bit. It follows that there are models permitting the generation of entanglement via quantum-classical interactions that lie outside the remit of the theorem cited by Marconato and Marletto. We clarify the reasons for the limited applicability of various no-go theorems for entanglement generation.
In a recent paper, we vindicated a general entanglement-based witness of non-classicality in hybrid quantum systems. Our vindication refutes a counterexample to the witness, proposed by Hall and Reginatto. These authors recently commented further, claiming to expose "a huge number of errors and misconceptions" in it. However, their comment contains no refutation of our arguments, nor does it expose any error or misconception in them. But it does include a number of misconceptions about the witness of non-classicality. Here we respond to those.
A recent paper by Aziz and Howl (Nature 2025) argues that, once quantum matter is described at the level of quantum field theory and coupled to a classical gravitational field, higher order processes can generate entanglement between two spatially separated masses. A contemporaneous critical note (Marletto, Oppenheim, Vedral, Wilson, arXiv:2511.07348v1) shows that, in the actual nonrelativistic limit employed there, the interaction becomes ultra local, the total unitary factorizes, and no entanglement is generated from a product input. In this comment we (i) restate the core point of that critique, (ii) give a channel theoretic reformulation that makes the conclusion model independent, and (iii) clarify the distinction between activation of entanglement in already quantum matter and genuine mediation of entanglement by a classical field. Once these clarifications are in place, the standard BMV inference that observation of gravity mediated entanglement strongly indicates nonclassical gravitational degrees of freedom remains intact.
Recently, Vedral and one of us proposed an entanglement-based witness of non-classicality in systems that need not obey quantum theory, based on information-theoretic ideas [ 1 , 3 ], which offers a robust foundation for newly proposed table-top tests of non-classicality in gravity, [ 2 , 3 ]. The witness asserts that if a mediator can entangle locally two quantum systems, then it has to be non-classical. Hall and Reginatto [ 4 , 7 ] claimed that there are classical systems that can entangle two quantum systems, thus violating our proposed witness. Here we refute that claim, explaining that the counterexample proposed by Hall and Reginatto in fact validates the witness, vindicating the witness of non-classicality in its full generality.
It is a matter of ongoing discussion whether quantum states can become entangled while only interacting via a classical mediator. This lively debate is deeply interwoven with the question of whether entanglement studies can prove the quantum nature of gravity. However, the answer to this fundamental question depends crucially on which hybrid quantum-classical theory is used. In this Letter, we demonstrate that entanglement by a classical mediator is possible within the framework of hybrid van Hove theory, showing that existing no-go theorems on that matter do not universally apply to hybrid theories in general. After briefly recapitulating the key features of the hybrid van Hove theory, we show this using the example of two quantum spins coupled by a classical harmonic oscillator. By deriving the spin density matrix for this scenario and comparing it to its equivalent for a pure quantum system, we show that entanglement between the two spins is generated in both cases. Conclusively, this is illustrated by presenting the purity and concurrence of the spin-spin system as a decisive measure for entanglement. Our results further imply that quantum entanglement studies cannot rule out consistent quantum theories featuring classical gravity.
Abstract Two very similar proposals have been made recently for witnessing nonclassical features of gravity, by Bose et al and by Marletto and Vedral. However, while these proposals are asserted to be very general, they are in fact based on a very strong claim: that quantum systems cannot become entangled via a classical intermediary. We point out that the support provided for this claim is only applicable to a very limited class of quantum-classical interaction models, corresponding to Koopman-type dynamics. We show that the claim is also valid for mean-field models, but that it is contradicted by explicit counterexamples based on the configuration-ensemble model. Thus, neither proposal provides a definitive test of nonclassical gravity.