This work explores the implications of the exclusivity principle (EP) in the context of quantum and postquantum correlations. We first establish a key technical result demonstrating that given the set of correlations for a complementary experiment, the EP restricts the maximum set of correlations for the original experiment to the antiblocking set. Based on it, we can prove our central result: if all quantum behaviors are accessible in Nature, the EP guarantees that no postquantum behaviors can be realized. This can be seen as a generalization of the result of B. Amaral et al. [Phys. Rev. A 89, 030101(R) (2014)], to a wider range of scenarios. It also provides novel insights into the structure of quantum correlations and their limitations.
This work explores the implications of the exclusivity principle (EP) in the context of quantum and postquantum correlations. We first establish a key technical result demonstrating that given the set of correlations for a complementary experiment, the EP restricts the maximum set of correlations for the original experiment to the antiblocking set. Based on it, we can prove our central result: if all quantum behaviors are accessible in Nature, the EP guarantees that no postquantum behaviors can be realized. This can be seen as a generalization of the result of B. Amaral et al. [Phys. Rev. A 89, 030101(R) (2014)], to a wider range of scenarios. It also provides novel insights into the structure of quantum correlations and their limitations.
It is a fundamental problem in physics of what principle limits the correlations as predicted by our current description of nature, based on quantum mechanics. One possible explanation is the "global exclusivity" principle recently discussed in Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 060402 (2013). In this work we show that this principle actually has a much stronger restriction on the probability distribution. We provide a tight constraint inequality imposed by this principle and prove that this principle singles out quantum correlations in scenarios represented by any graph. Our result implies that the exclusivity principle might be one of the fundamental principles of nature.
We show that the exclusivity (E) principle singles out the set of quantum correlations associated with any exclusivity graph assuming the set of quantum correlations for the complementary graph. Moreover, we prove that, for self-complementary graphs, the E principle, by itself (i.e., without further assumptions), excludes any set of correlations strictly larger than the quantum set. Finally, we prove that, for vertex-transitive graphs, the E principle singles out the maximum value for the quantum correlations assuming only the quantum maximum for the complementary graph. This opens the door for testing the impossibility of higher-than-quantum correlations in experiments.
Why do correlations between the results of measurements performed on physical systems violate Bell and non-contextuality inequalities up to some specific limits? The answer may follow from the observation that in quantum theory, unlike in other theories, whenever there is an experiment to measure A simultaneously with B, another to measure B with C, and another to measure A with C, there is always an experiment to measure all of them simultaneously. This property implies that quantum theory satisfies a seemingly irrelevant restriction called the exclusivity (E) principle which, surprisingly, explains the set of quantum correlations in some fundamental scenarios. An open problem is whether the E principle explains the maximum quantum violation of the Bell-CHSH inequality. Here we show experimentally that the E principle imposes an upper bound to the violation of the Bell-CHSH inequality that matches the maximum predicted by quantum theory. For that, we use the result of an independent experiment testing a specific non-contextuality inequality. We perform both experiments: the Bell-CHSH inequality experiment on polarization entangled states of pairs of photons in Stockholm and, to demonstrate independence, the non-contextuality inequality experiment on single photons' orbital angular momentum states in Rome. The observed results provide the first experimental evidence that the E principle determines the limits of quantum correlations and prove that hypothetical super-quantum violations for either experiment would violate the E principle. This supports the conclusion that the E principle captures a fundamental limitation of nature. If this is true, much of quantum theory trivially follow from merely taking the E principle to be a fundamental truth, and various information-theoretic postulates are also simplified and/or strengthened.
Adopting the graph-theoretic approach to the correlation experiments, we analyze the origin of monogamy and prove that it can be recognized as a consequence of the exclusivity principle(EP). We provide an operational criterion for monogamy: if the fractional packing number of the graph corresponding to the union of event sets of several physical experiments does not exceed the sum of independence numbers of each individual experiment graph, then these experiments are monogamous. As applications of this observation, several examples are provided, including the monogamy for experiments of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) type, Klyachko-Can-Binicioğlu-Shumovsky (KCBS) type, and for the first time, we give some monogamy relations of Svetlichny's genuine nonlocality. We also give the necessary and sufficient conditions for several experiments to be monogamous: several experiments are monogamous if and only if the Lovász number of the union exclusive graph is less than or equal to the sum of independence numbers of each exclusive graph.
The study of stronger-than-quantum phenomena (i.e., postquantum) has enabled a deeper understanding of the scope of quantum theory. Much is known about the case of correlations in Bell scenarios, where the device-independent framework allowed us to explore its possibilities independently of the formalism of quantum theory. However, less is known about the phenomenon of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering. Here, the `characterised parties' are assumed to describe their systems locally through the quantum formalism, which inconveniences a theory-independent description. In addition, a theorem by Gisin and Hughston, Josza and Wootters further hindered the discovery of the phenomenon. The study of postquantum steering, initiated about a decade ago, has been quite fruitful, including: the development of mathematical formalisms that frame the effect, resource theories that quantify it as a resource, and activation protocols that relate it to Bell correlations. However, all these results have a limitation in common: they apply to scenarios with only one quantum party.
Here we articulate the concept of postquantum steering for scenarios with multiple quantum parties, bringing in the missing piece to the puzzle. We provide an algorithm to certify postquantumness, which in some cases also certifies quantumness. We also define a hierarchy of semidefinite programs that bounds the set of quantum assemblages from the outside. Moreover, we show that the study of postquantum steering is fundamentally relevant since it is not just a mere mathematical curiosity allowed by the no-signalling principle, but it may arise within compositional theories beyond quantum theory. Our work further discovers a peculiarity of steering: its theory-independent description fundamentally prevents a direct connection with Bell nonlocality -- e.g., nonclassical Bell correlations do not imply nonclassical steering.
To identify which principles characterize quantum correlations, it is essential to understand in which sense this set of correlations differs from that of almost-quantum correlations. We solve this problem by invoking the so-called no-restriction hypothesis, an explicit and natural axiom in many reconstructions of quantum theory stating that the set of possible measurements is the dual of the set of states. We prove that, contrary to quantum correlations, no generalized probabilistic theory satisfying the no-restriction hypothesis is able to reproduce the set of almost-quantum correlations. Therefore, any theory whose correlations are exactly, or very close to, the almost-quantum correlations necessarily requires a rule limiting the possible measurements. Our results suggest that the no-restriction hypothesis may play a fundamental role in singling out the set of quantum correlations among other nonsignaling ones.