Abstract One of the most striking features of quantum theory is that it allows spatially separated observers to share correlations that resist local-causal (classical) explanations, a phenomenon referred to as Bell nonlocality[1, 2]. Besides their foundational relevance, the nonlocal correlations enable distant observers to accomplish classically inconceivable information processing and cryptographic feats such as unconditionally secure device-independent key distribution schemes[3-5]. However, the distances over which nonlocal correlations can be realized in state-of-the-art Bell experiments remain severely limited owing to the high threshold efficiencies of the detectors and the fragility of the nonlocal correlations to experimental noise[6, 7]. Instead of looking for quantum strategies with marginally lower threshold requirements, we exploit the properties of loophole-free nonlocal correlations, which are experimentally attainable today, albeit at short distances, to extend them over arbitrarily large distances. Specifically, we consider Bell experiments wherein the spatially separated parties randomly choose the location of their measurement devices in addition to their measurement settings. We demonstrate that when devices close to the entanglement source are perfect and witness extremal loophole-free nonlocal correlations, such correlations can be extended to devices placed arbitrarily far from the source, with almost zero detection efficiency and visibility. To accommodate imperfections close to the source, we demonstrate a specific analytical tradeoff: the higher the loophole-free nonlocality close to the source, the lower the threshold requirements away from the source. We utilize this analytical tradeoff paired with optimal quantum strategies to estimate the critical requirements of a measurement device placed away from the source in the simplest non-trivial scenario and formulate a versatile numerical method applicable to generic network scenarios. Our results demonstrate that the properties of already feasible short-distance loophole-free nonlocal correlations can be exploited to extend them to longer distances, enabling device-independent information processing and cryptography fuelled by long-distance loophole-free nonlocal correlations to become near-term commonplace technologies.
Abstract One of the most striking features of quantum theory is that it allows spatially separated observers to share correlations that resist local-causal (classical) explanations, a phenomenon referred to as Bell nonlocality[1, 2]. Besides their foundational relevance, the nonlocal correlations enable distant observers to accomplish classically inconceivable information processing and cryptographic feats such as unconditionally secure device-independent key distribution schemes[3-5]. However, the distances over which nonlocal correlations can be realized in state-of-the-art Bell experiments remain severely limited owing to the high threshold efficiencies of the detectors and the fragility of the nonlocal correlations to experimental noise[6, 7]. Instead of looking for quantum strategies with marginally lower threshold requirements, we exploit the properties of loophole-free nonlocal correlations, which are experimentally attainable today, albeit at short distances, to extend them over arbitrarily large distances. Specifically, we consider Bell experiments wherein the spatially separated parties randomly choose the location of their measurement devices in addition to their measurement settings. We demonstrate that when devices close to the entanglement source are perfect and witness extremal loophole-free nonlocal correlations, such correlations can be extended to devices placed arbitrarily far from the source, with almost zero detection efficiency and visibility. To accommodate imperfections close to the source, we demonstrate a specific analytical tradeoff: the higher the loophole-free nonlocality close to the source, the lower the threshold requirements away from the source. We utilize this analytical tradeoff paired with optimal quantum strategies to estimate the critical requirements of a measurement device placed away from the source in the simplest non-trivial scenario and formulate a versatile numerical method applicable to generic network scenarios. Our results demonstrate that the properties of already feasible short-distance loophole-free nonlocal correlations can be exploited to extend them to longer distances, enabling device-independent information processing and cryptography fuelled by long-distance loophole-free nonlocal correlations to become near-term commonplace technologies.
Quantum theory admits correlations between distant parties that are stronger than those permitted by classical physics. Such correlations, which are termed nonlocal, have been studied extensively since their discovery by John Bell in 1964. This thesis makes progress on various aspects of quantum nonlocality both from a foundational and practical perspective. We begin by studying a foundational question on the relationship between nonlocality and quantum entanglement. We show that the strongest form of nonlocality, also called pseudo-telepathy or full nonlocality, can be demonstrated by non-maximally entangled states and prove that all pure entangled states can demonstrate full nonlocality in the many-copy scenario. We also provide non-trivial examples of fully nonlocal mixed states. We then turn to the study of another phenomenon in quantum theory which is essential in almost all demonstrations of non-classicality—measurement incompatibility. We generalise the notion of measurement incompatibility and show that our notion has strong operational relevance: it captures the randomness in the outcomes of an untrusted measurement device against a classical adversary. We use our formalism to derive new bounds on the experimental losses and noise that can be tolerated in quantum communication protocols before they become insecure. We then begin a systematic study of routed Bell experiments, a variant of standard Bell experiments that was introduced to demonstrate nonlocality over long distances in the presence of losses and noise. We formalize the notion of genuine long-range quantum correlations in routed Bell experiments and develop numerical and analytical tools to characterize them. We show that routed Bell experiments allow for the demonstration of long-range quantum correlations at arbitrarily large distances using only entangled qubit states. We then prove the security of fully device-independent (DI) quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols based on routed Bell tests and quantify the resulting improvement in key rate and distance compared to standard DI QKD protocols.
Losses in the transmission channel, which increase with distance, pose a major obstacle to photonics demonstrations of quantum nonlocality and its applications. Recently, Chaturvedi, Viola, and Pawlowski (CVP) [arXiv:2211.14231] introduced a variation of standard Bell experiments with the goal of extending the range over which quantum nonlocality can be demonstrated. These experiments, which we call `routed Bell experiments', involve two distant parties, Alice and Bob, and allow Bob to route his quantum particle along two possible paths and measure it at two distinct locations – one near and another far from the source. The premise is that a high-quality Bell violation in the short-path should constrain the possible strategies underlying the experiment, thereby weakening the conditions required to detect nonlocal correlations in the long-path. Building on this idea, CVP showed that there are certain quantum correlations in routed Bell experiments such that the outcomes of the remote measurement device cannot be classically predetermined, even when its detection efficiency is arbitrarily low. In this paper, we show that the correlations considered by CVP, though they cannot be classically predetermined, do not require the transmission of quantum systems to the remote measurement device. This leads us to define and formalize the concept of `short-range' and `long-range' quantum correlations in routed Bell experiments. We show that these correlations can be characterized through standard semidefinite-programming hierarchies for non-commutative polynomial optimization. We then explore the conditions under which short-range quantum correlations can be ruled out and long-range quantum nonlocality can be certified in routed Bell experiments. We point out that there exist fundamental lower-bounds on the critical detection efficiency of the distant measurement device, implying that routed Bell experiments cannot demonstrate long-range quantum nonlocality at arbitrarily large distances. However, we do find that routed Bell experiments allow for reducing the detection efficiency threshold necessary to certify long-range quantum correlations. The improvements, though, are significantly smaller than those suggested by CVP's analysis.
Bell nonlocality is the experimentally testable incompatibility between quantum correlations and explanations based on local hidden variables. Its significance now extends beyond the foundations of quantum mechanics: a Bell-inequality violation can certify entanglement, randomness, measurement incompatibility, and cryptographic security without requiring a detailed model of the devices producing the observed data. This article develops the mathematical structure of Bell experiments and explains its role in device-independent quantum information. Conditional probability distributions are classified into local, quantum, and no-signalling sets; the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality is derived, and its classical, quantum, and algebraic limits are distinguished. Tsirelson’s bound is obtained from the CHSH operator, while Popescu-Rohrlich correlations demonstrate that no-signalling alone does not identify the quantum set. The relation between entanglement and nonlocality is examined through local entangled states, hidden nonlocality, and activation. Nonlocal games, semidefinite relaxations, self-testing, certified randomness, and device-independent quantum key distribution are treated as operational consequences of Bell violation. Particular attention is given to entropy accumulation, finite-data security, loophole-free experiments, and the limitations of device independence. Bell nonlocality emerges as both a foundational separation between classical and quantum causal models and a quantitative resource for cryptographic and informational tasks.
Device-independent quantum key distribution allows two users to set up shared cryptographic key without the need to trust the quantum devices used. Doing so requires nonlocal correlations between the users. However, in Farkas et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 050503 (2021)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.127.050503] it was shown that for known protocols nonlocality is not always sufficient, leading to the question of whether there is a fundamental lower bound on the minimum amount of nonlocality needed for any device-independent quantum key distribution implementation. Here, we show that no such bound exists, giving schemes that achieve key with correlations arbitrarily close to the local set. Furthermore, some of our constructions achieve the maximum of 1 bit of key per pair of entangled qubits. We achieve this by studying a family of Bell inequalities that constitute all self-tests of the maximally entangled state with a single linear Bell expression. Within this family there exist nonlocal correlations with the property that one pair of inputs yield outputs arbitrarily close to perfect key. Such correlations exist for a range of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt values, including those arbitrarily close to the classical bound. Finally, we show the existence of quantum correlations that can generate both perfect key and perfect randomness simultaneously, while also displaying arbitrarily small Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt violation. This opens up the possibility of a new class of cryptographic protocol.
One of the main challenges in device-independent quantum key distribution (DIQKD) is achieving the required Bell violation over long distances, as the channel losses result in low overall detection efficiencies. Recent works have explored the concept of certifying nonlocal correlations over extended distances through the use of a local Bell test. Here, an additional quantum device is placed in close proximity to one party, using short-distance correlations to verify nonlocal behavior at long distances. However, existing works have either not resolved the question of DIQKD security against active attackers in this setup, or used methods that do not yield tight bounds on the key rates. In this work, we introduce a general formulation of the key rate computation task in this setup that can be combined with recently developed methods for analyzing standard DIQKD. Using this method, we show that if the short-distance devices exhibit sufficiently high detection efficiencies, positive key rates can be achieved in the long-distance branch with lower detection efficiencies as compared to standard DIQKD setups. This highlights the potential for improved performance of DIQKD over extended distances in scenarios where short-distance correlations are leveraged to validate quantum correlations.
There are bipartite quantum nonlocal correlations requiring very low detection efficiency to reach the loophole-free regime but that need too many measurement settings to be practical for actual experiments. This leads to the general problem of what can be concluded about loophole-free Bell nonlocality if only a random subset of these settings is tested. Here we develop a method to address this problem. We show that, in some cases, it is possible to detect loophole-free Bell nonlocality by testing only a small random fraction of the settings. The consequence is a higher detection efficiency. The method allows for the design of loophole-free Bell tests in which, given a quantum correlation that violates a Bell inequality, one can calculate the minimum fraction of contexts needed to reach the detection-loophole-free regime. The results also enforce a different way of thinking about how local realistic models or classical communication can be used to simulate quantum nonlocal correlations, as it shows that the amount of resources that are needed can be made arbitrarily large simply by considering more contexts.