Quantum information theory, the formalism for representing information contained in quantum systems, is based on complex Hilbert spaces. It was recently shown that in quantum networks involving three parties with nontrivial locality constraints, this formalism predicts correlations that cannot be explained by real quantum theory, a variant of quantum mechanics based on real Hilbert spaces. In this work, we study a scenario withparties sharing quantum systems in a star network. We then construct a multipartite Bell inequality that exhibits a gap between quantum theory and its variant based on real numbers, which grows linearly with, and is thus arbitrarily large in the asymptotic limit. This implies, that, as the number of parties grows, Hilbert space formalism based on real numbers becomes exceedingly worse at describing complex networks of quantum systems. We also compute the tolerance of this gap to experimental errors.
Quantum information theory, the formalism for representing information contained in quantum systems, is based on complex Hilbert spaces. It was recently shown that in quantum networks involving three parties with nontrivial locality constraints, this formalism predicts correlations that cannot be explained by real quantum theory, a variant of quantum mechanics based on real Hilbert spaces. In this work, we study a scenario withparties sharing quantum systems in a star network. We then construct a multipartite Bell inequality that exhibits a gap between quantum theory and its variant based on real numbers, which grows linearly with, and is thus arbitrarily large in the asymptotic limit. This implies, that, as the number of parties grows, Hilbert space formalism based on real numbers becomes exceedingly worse at describing complex networks of quantum systems. We also compute the tolerance of this gap to experimental errors.
Quantum theory is commonly formulated in complex Hilbert spaces. However, the question of whether complex numbers need to be given a fundamental role in the theory has been debated since its pioneering days. Recently it has been shown that tests in the spirit of a Bell inequality can reveal quantum predictions in entanglement swapping scenarios that cannot be modeled by the natural real-number analog of standard quantum theory. Here, we tailor such tests for implementation in state-of-the-art photonic systems. We experimentally demonstrate quantum correlations in a network of three parties and two independent EPR sources that violate the constraints of real quantum theory by over 4.5 standard deviations, hence disproving real quantum theory as a universal physical theory.
Abstract Although complex numbers are essential in mathematics, they are not needed to describe physical experiments, as those are expressed in terms of probabilities, hence real numbers. Physics, however, aims to explain, rather than describe, experiments through theories. Although most theories of physics are based on real numbers, quantum theory was the first to be formulated in terms of operators acting on complex Hilbert spaces 1,2 . This has puzzled countless physicists, including the fathers of the theory, for whom a real version of quantum theory, in terms of real operators, seemed much more natural 3 . In fact, previous studies have shown that such a ‘real quantum theory’ can reproduce the outcomes of any multipartite experiment, as long as the parts share arbitrary real quantum states 4 . Here we investigate whether complex numbers are actually needed in the quantum formalism. We show this to be case by proving that real and complex Hilbert-space formulations of quantum theory make different predictions in network scenarios comprising independent states and measurements. This allows us to devise a Bell-like experiment, the successful realization of which would disprove real quantum theory, in the same way as standard Bell experiments disproved local physics.
Complex numbers, i.e., numbers with a and an imaginary part, are essential for mathematical analysis, while their role in other subjects, such as electromagnetism or special relativity, is far less fundamental. Quantum is the only physical theory where these numbers seem to play an indispensible role, as the theory is explicitly formulated in terms of operators acting on complex Hilbert spaces. The occurrence of complex numbers within the quantum formalism has nonetheless puzzled countless physicists, including the fathers of the theory, for whom a version of quantum physics, where states and observables are represented by operators, seemed much more natural. In fact, previous works showed that such real quantum physics can reproduce the outcomes of any multipartite experiment, as long as the parts share arbitrary quantum states. Thus, are complex numbers really needed for a quantum description of nature? Here, we show this to be case by proving that and complex quantum make different predictions in network scenarios comprising independent quantum state sources. This allows us to devise a Bell-type quantum experiment whose input-output correlations cannot be approximated by any quantum model. The successful realization of such an experiment would disprove quantum physics, in the same way as standard Bell experiments disproved local physics.
The role of complex quantities in quantum theory has been puzzling physicists since the beginnings. It is, thus, natural to ask whether, in order to describe our experiments, the mathematical structure of the complex Hilbert spaces it is built on is really necessary. Recently, it was shown that this structure is inevitable in network scenarios with independent sources. More precisely, Real Quantum Theory cannot explain the predictions of (Complex) Quantum Theory [Renou et al., Nature (London) 600, 625 (2021).NATUAS0028-083610.1038/s41586-021-04160-4]. Here, we revisit the independence assumption underlying this work. We show that assuming partial independence is sufficient for showing the inadequacy of Real Quantum Theory. We derive a tradeoff between source independence and the Bell value achievable in Real Quantum Theory, which also lower bounds the source correlations required to explain previous experiments by means of real quantum systems. We further show that 1 bit of entanglement is necessary and sufficient for recovering the complex quantum correlations by means of Real Quantum Theory in the scenario from [Renou et al., Nature (London) 600, 625 (2021).NATUAS0028-083610.1038/s41586-021-04160-4]. Finally, building on [McKague et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 2009PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.102.020505], we provide a construction to simulate any complex quantum setup with m independent sources by means of Real Quantum Theory by allowing the sources to share an m real-qubit entangled state in the first round of the experiment.
Bell's theorem was a cornerstone for our understanding of quantum theory and the establishment of Bell non-locality played a crucial role in the development of quantum information. Recently, its extension to complex networks has been attracting growing attention, but a deep characterization of quantum behavior is still missing for this novel context. In this work we analyze quantum correlations arising in the bilocality scenario, that is a tripartite quantum network where the correlations between the parties are mediated by two independent sources of states. First, we prove that non-bilocal correlations witnessed through a Bell-state measurement in the central node of the network form a subset of those obtainable by means of a local projective measurement. This leads us to derive the maximal violation of the bilocality inequality that can be achieved by arbitrary two-qubit quantum states and arbitrary local projective measurements. We then analyze in details the relation between the violation of the bilocality inequality and the CHSH inequality. Finally, we show how our method can be extended to the n -locality scenario consisting of n two-qubit quantum states distributed among n + 1 nodes of a star-shaped network.
The multipartite quantum networks feature multiple independent sources, in contrast to the conventional multipartite Bell experiment involving a single source. Despite the initial independence of resources, the multiple observers in the network can suitably choose measurements on their local subsystems and generate a form of quantum nonlocality across the network. So far, network nonlocality has been explored when each source produces a two-qubit entangled state. In this work we demonstrate the network nonlocality when each party performs a black-box measurement, and the dimension of the system remains unspecified. In an interesting work, by considering each source produces two-qubit entangled states in the conventional bilocal scenario, Gisin et al. [Phys. Rev. A 96, 020304 (2017)] demonstrated a correspondence between the violations of bipartite Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Halt inequality and the bilocality inequality. We introduce a variant of the sum-of-squares approach to reproduce their results without assuming the dimension of the system. We then generalize the argument for network nonlocality in star-network topology. Furthermore, we propose a set of n-locality inequalities in a star-network configuration where each of the n parties performs an arbitrary number of dichotomic measurements and demonstrates the above correspondence between the quantum violations of the n-locality inequalities and the chained Bell inequalities. A similar correspondence is demonstrated based on a recently formulated family of n-locality inequalities whose optimal quantum violation cannot be obtained when each source emits a two-qubit entangled state and requires multiple copies of two-qubit entangled states. Throughout this paper, each party in the network performs black-box measurements, and the dimension of the system remains unspecified.