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arXiv:2506.21223

Strict hierarchy between $n$-wise measurement simulability, compatibility structures, and multi-copy compatibility

Lucas Tendick, Costantino Budroni, Marco Túlio Quintino

Published Jun 26, 2025• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The incompatibility of quantum measurements, i.e. the fact that certain observable quantities cannot be measured jointly is widely regarded as a distinctive quantum feature with important implications for the foundations and the applications of quantum information theory. While the standard incompatibility of multiple measurements has been the focus of attention since the inception of quantum theory, its generalizations, such as measurement simulability, $n$-wise incompatibility, and mulit-copy incompatibility have only been proposed recently. Here, we point out that all these generalizations are differing notions of the question of how many measurements are genuinely contained in a measurement device. We then show, that all notions do differ not only in their operational meaning but also mathematically in the set of measurement assemblages they describe. We then fully resolve the relations between these different generalizations, by showing a strict hierarchy between these notions. Hence, we provide a general framework for generalized measurement incompatibility. Finally, we consider the implications our results have for recent works using these different notions.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2506.21223

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Strict hierarchy between nnn-wise measurement simulability, compatibility structures, and multi-copy compatibility
The incompatibility of quantum measurements, i.e. the fact that certain observable quantities cannot be measured jointly is widely regarded as a distinctive quantum feature with important implications for the foundations and the applications of quantum information theory. While the standard incompatibility of multiple measurements has been the focus of attention since the inception of quantum theory, its generalizations, such as measurement simulability, nnn-wise incompatibility, and mulit-copy incompatibility have only been proposed recently. Here, we point out that all these generalizations are differing notions of the question of how many measurements are genuinely contained in a measurement device. We then show, that all notions do differ not only in their operational meaning but also mathematically in the set of measurement assemblages they describe. We then fully resolve the relations between these different generalizations, by showing a strict hierarchy between these notions. Hence, we provide a general framework for generalized measurement incompatibility. Finally, we consider the implications our results have for recent works using these different notions.
We study the compatibility (or joint measurability) of quantum observables in a setting where the experimenter has access to multiple copies of a given quantum system, rather than performing the experiments on each individual copy separately. We introduce the index of incompatibility as a quantifier of incompatibility in this multi-copy setting, as well as the notion of the compatibility stack representing various compatibility relations present in a given set of observables. We then prove a general structure theorem for multi-copy joint observables and use it to prove that all abstract compatibility stacks with three vertices have realizations in terms of quantum observables.
We study the compatibility (or joint measurability) of quantum observables in a setting where the experimenter has access to multiple copies of a given quantum system, rather than performing the experiments on each individual copy separately. We introduce the index of incompatibility as a quantifier of incompatibility in this multi-copy setting, as well as the notion of the compatibility stack representing various compatibility relations present in a given set of observables. We then prove a general structure theorem for multi-copy joint observables and use it to prove that all abstract compatibility stacks with three vertices have realizations in terms of quantum observables.
Measurement compatibility asks whether a family of quantum measurements can be simulated by one parent measurement followed by classical post-processing. We extend this measurement compatibility to the notion of \emph{ddd-compatibility} for measurements, channels, and instruments whose parent passes a ddd-dimensional quantum system and unlimited classical information to the post-processing. We formulate ddd-compatibility as a common linear factorization of operator spaces and operator systems and show that ddd-compatible families form a closed set, even with infinitely many settings and a separable infinite-dimensional input. To certify ddd-incompatibility, we define the compatibility functional as the smallest product of completely bounded norms over common factorizations through a ddd-dimensional register. Using factorization theory of operator spaces, we show that measure-and-prepare channels defined in terms of mutually unbiased bases and pinching channels defined in terms of Heisenberg-Weyl operators are ddd-incompatible in certain regimes of ddd. We also link ddd-compatibility of multi-instruments to the preparability of Choi assemblages using channel-state duality, and use this connection to show that for bipartite states the (in)compatibility of instruments can be used to certify Schmidt numbers and the implementability of the instrument using one-way LOCC protocols. Finally, our compatibility functional also bounds the generalized robustness of compatibility, which we interpret through a memory-bounded nontransient preparation game.
We consider the question of characterizing the incompatibility of sets of high-dimensional quantum measurements. We introduce the concept of measurement incompatibility in subspaces. That is, starting from a set of measurements that is incompatible, one considers the set of measurements obtained by projection onto any strict subspace of fixed dimension. We identify three possible forms of incompatibility in subspaces: (i) incompressible incompatibility---measurements that become compatible in every subspace, (ii) fully compressible incompatibility---measurements that remain incompatible in every subspace, and (iii) partly compressible incompatibility---measurements that are compatible in some subspace and incompatible in another. For each class, we discuss explicit examples. Finally, we present some applications of these ideas. First, we show that joint measurability and coexistence are two inequivalent notions of incompatibility in the simplest case of qubit systems. Second, we highlight the implications of our results for tests of quantum steering.
The quantum measurement incompatibility is a distinctive feature of quantum mechanics. We investigate the incompatibility of a set of general measurements and classify the incompatibility by the hierarchy of compatibilities of its subsets. By using the approach of adding noises to measurement operators, we present a complete classification of the incompatibility of a given measurement assemblage with n members. Detailed examples are given for the incompatibility of unbiased qubit measurements based on a semidefinite program.
Incompatibility of quantum devices is one of the cornerstones of quantum theory, and the incompatibility of quantum measurements and channels has been linked to quantum advantage in certain information-theoretic tasks. In this work, we focus on the less well explored question of the incompatibility of quantum instruments, that is, devices that describe the measurement process in its entirety, accounting for both the classical measurement outcome and the quantum postmeasurement state. In particular, we focus on the recently introduced notion of parallel compatibility of instruments, which has been argued to be a natural notion of instrument compatibility. We introduce, in a manner similar to the case of measurements and channels, the incompatibility robustness of quantum instruments and derive universal bounds on it. We then prove that postprocessing of quantum instruments is a free operation for parallel compatibility. Last, we provide families of instruments for which our bounds are tight and families of compatible indecomposable instruments.