Bell nonlocality is an intriguing property of quantum mechanics with far reaching consequences for information processing, philosophy and our fundamental understanding of nature. However, nonlocality is a statement about static correlations only. It does not take into account dynamics, i.e. time evolution of those correlations. Consider a dynamic situation where the correlations remain local for all times. Then at each moment in time there exists a local hidden-variable (LHV) model reproducing the momentary correlations. Can the time evolution of the correlations then be captured by evolving the hidden variables? In this light, we define dynamical LHV models and motivate and discuss potential additional physical and mathematical assumptions. Based on a simple counter example we conjecture that such LHV dynamics does not always exist. This is further substantiated by a rigorous no-go theorem. Our results suggest a new type of nonlocality that can be deduced from the observed time evolution of measurement statistics and which generically occurs in interacting quantum systems.
Bell nonlocality is an intriguing property of quantum mechanics with far reaching consequences for information processing, philosophy and our fundamental understanding of nature. However, nonlocality is a statement about static correlations only. It does not take into account dynamics, i.e. time evolution of those correlations. Consider a dynamic situation where the correlations remain local for all times. Then at each moment in time there exists a local hidden-variable (LHV) model reproducing the momentary correlations. Can the time evolution of the correlations then be captured by evolving the hidden variables? In this light, we define dynamical LHV models and motivate and discuss potential additional physical and mathematical assumptions. Based on a simple counter example we conjecture that such LHV dynamics does not always exist. This is further substantiated by a rigorous no-go theorem. Our results suggest a new type of nonlocality that can be deduced from the observed time evolution of measurement statistics and which generically occurs in interacting quantum systems.
A central aspect of quantum information is that correlations between spacelike separated observers sharing entangled states cannot be reproduced by local hidden variable (LHV) models, a phenomenon known as Bell nonlocality. If one wishes to explain such correlations by classical means, a natural possibility is to allow communication between the parties. In particular, LHV models augmented with two bits of classical communication can explain the correlations of any two-qubit state. Would this still hold if communication is restricted to measurement outcomes? While in certain scenarios with a finite number of inputs the answer is yes, we prove that if a model must reproduce all projective measurements, then for any qubit-qudit state the answer is no. In fact, a qubit-qudit under projective measurements admits an LHV model with outcome communication if and only if it already admits an LHV model without communication. On the other hand, we also show that when restricted sets of measurements are considered (for instance, when the qubit measurements are in the upper hemisphere of the Bloch ball), outcome communication does offer an advantage. This exemplifies that trivial properties in standard LHV scenarios, such as deterministic measurements and outcome-relabelling, play a crucial role in the outcome communication scenario.
Measurement correlations in quantum systems can exhibit nonlocal behavior, a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics with applications such as device-independent quantum information processing. However, it is in general not known which states are local and which ones are not. In particular, it remains an outstanding challenge to explicitly construct local hidden-variable (LHV) models for arbitrary multipartite entangled states. To address this, we use gradient-descent algorithms from machine learning to find LHV models that reproduce the statistics of arbitrary measurements for quantum many-body states. In contrast to previous approaches, our method employs a general ansatz, enabling it to discover LHV models for all local states. Therefore, it for example provides actual estimates for the critical noise levels at which two-qubit Werner states and three-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger and W states become local. Furthermore, we find evidence suggesting that two-spin subsystems in the ground states of translationally invariant Hamiltonians are genuinely local, while bigger subsystems are in general not. Our method now offers a quantitative tool for determining the regimes of nonlocality in any given physical context, such as nonequilibrium, decoherence, or disorder.
Bell nonlocality and Kochen-Specker contextuality are among the main topics in the foundations of quantum theory. Both of them are related to stronger-than-classical correlations, with the former usually referring to spatially separated systems, while the latter considers a single system. In recent works, a unified framework for these phenomena was presented. This article reviews, expands, and obtains new results regarding this framework. Contextual and disturbing features inside the local models are explored, which allows for the definition of different local sets with a non-trivial relation among them. The relations between the set of quantum correlations and these local sets are also considered, and post-quantum local behaviours are found. Moreover, examples of correlations that are both local and non-contextual but such that these two classical features cannot be expressed by the same hidden variable model are shown. Extensions of the Fine-Abramsky-Brandenburger theorem are also discussed.
Bell’s theorem presents a fundamental limit on the correlations achievable by any local hidden variable theory, seemingly precluding such models from reproducing quantum mechanical predictions. In this paper, we introduce a local hidden variable model based on phenomenological velocity and curvature operator techniques. By constructing a mathematical framework that maintains locality and realism, we demonstrate that it is possible to reproduce the quantum mechanical correlation functions that violate Bell’s inequalities. This challenges the conventional understanding imposed by Bell’s theorem and suggests the need for a re-examination of the foundational assumptions in quantum mechanics.
In a recent note, Hance and Hossenfelder (arXiv:2211.01331) recall that "locally causal completions of quantum mechanics are possible, if they violate the assumption [called statistical independence or measurement independence] that the hidden variables do not in any way depend on measurement settings" and that, consequently, the experimental violations of Bell inequalities "show that maintaining local causality requires violating statistical independence". However, Hance and Hossenfelder also argue that "we should (...) look for independent experimental evidence that can distinguish the two different options: non-locality and statistical independence, or locality and violations of statistical independence" and that "the unwillingness to consider theories without statistical independence may be the reason we do not yet have a locally causal theory for the foundations of physics that is consistent with general relativity". Here, we recall that there is a third option, namely, rejecting that measurement outcomes are governed in any way by hidden variables. Moreover, we argue that some recent results in the search for principles singling out the sets of quantum correlations for Bell and Kochen-Specker contextuality scenarios point out that this third option is scientifically more plausible and answers the question of why and how nature produces quantum nonlocality.
Abstract We propose a novel class of local deterministic models to explain the correlations observed in entangled singlet quantum states. In these models, hidden variables influence both the entangled pair preparation and the measurement settings, thereby relaxing the measurement independence assumption used in Bell’s theorem. Our model accurately reproduces the expected quantum results and demonstrates that freely chosen measurement settings do not necessarily preclude the possibility of hidden variables inducing correlations between the settings and outcomes. This approach reveals an intricate relationship between local determinism and quantum mechanics, showing that local hidden variable theories can be consistent with the predictions of quantum theory. This result calls into question the conventional interpretation, based on Bell’s inequalities, that local theories are fundamentally incompatible with quantum mechanics.