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arXiv:2512.24304

In defense of temporal Tsirelson bound

Antoni Wójcik, Jan Wójcik

quant-phSubmitted Dec 30, 2025• Announced Dec 31, 2025• 0 citations• Revised Jan 26, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Dec 30, 2025v2 · Jan 26, 2026
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Abstract

In a recent paper, Chatterjee et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett 135, 220202 (2025)] analyze and experimentally implement a specific unitary evolution of a simple quantum system. The authors refer to this type of dynamics as a "superposition of unitary time evolutions." They claim that such an evolution enables a violation of the temporal Tsirelson bound in the Leggett-Garg scenario, a claim that is supported by their experimental results. In this work, we show that the proposed evolution can be understood within a more conventional framework, without invoking a superposition of evolutions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the apparent violation of the bound arises because the measured quantities are not consistent with the assumptions of the Leggett-Garg scenario.

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In a recent paper, Chatterjee et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett 135, 220202 (2025)] analyze and experimentally implement a specific unitary evolution of a simple quantum system. The authors refer to this type of dynamics as a "superposition of unitary time evolutions." They claim that such an evolution enables a violation of the temporal Tsirelson bound in the Leggett-Garg scenario, a claim that is supported by their experimental results. In this work, we show that the proposed evolution can be understood within a more conventional framework, without invoking a superposition of evolutions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the apparent violation of the bound arises because the measured quantities are not consistent with the assumptions of the Leggett-Garg scenario.
Macrorealistic description governing the classical realm is known to get uprooted in the quantum domain. The Leggett-Garg inequality [A. J. Leggett and A. Garg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 857 (1985)] proposes to probe the macrorealistic limit emerging from the quantum scenario. It places a bound on the linear combinations of temporal correlations of observables measured sequentially at different time intervals. Violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality, up to the so-called temporal Tsirelson bound (TTB), has been realized in the quantum domain. It is important to understand whether quantum theory permits larger violation beyond the TTB and up to the algebraic maximum value of the Leggett-Garg inequality. To this end, it has been shown [C. Budroni and C. Emary, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 050401 (2014)] that a three-term Leggett-Garg inequality can be violated beyond the TTB 3/23/23/2 in the time evolution of N>2N>2N>2 level quantum systems by choosing suitable measurement schemes and state-update rules. Furthermore, it is revealed that the algebraic maximum value 3 can be realized in the limit $N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$. Their measurement scheme rules out violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality beyond the TTB by a qubit. Being genuinely quantum in nature, we ask whether such enhanced violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality could be witnessed in a qubit itself. Here, we show that a qubit undergoing time evolution generated by a non-Hermitian PT\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}PT-symmetric Hamiltonian indeed violates the three-term Leggett-Garg inequality beyond the TTB and up to its algebraic maximum value 3.
Quantum theory contravenes classical macrorealism by allowing a system to be in a superposition of two or more physically distinct states, producing physical consequences radically different from that of classical physics. We show that a system, upon subjecting to transform under superposition of unitary operators, exhibits enhanced non-macrorealistic feature - as quantified by violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality (LGI) beyond the temporal Tsirelson bound. Moreover, this superposition of unitaries also provides robustness against decoherence by allowing the system to violate LGI and thereby retain its non-macrorealistic behavior for a strikingly longer duration. Using an NMR register, we experimentally demonstrate the superposition of unitaries with the help of an ancillary qubit and verify these theoretical predictions.
The violation of Leggett-Garg inequality (LGI) indicates general temporal correlations in quantum systems that cannot be explained classically. Under unitary dynamics and projective measurements, the violation of LGI is restricted up to the temporal Tsirelson's bound (TTB). Here, we consider superposition of unitary time evolutions and find them to produce an enhancement in the violation of LGI beyond the TTB, growing monotonically with increasing superposition. We experimentally realize superposition of unitaries in NMR systems and demonstrate this enhanced violation. In the presence of noise, such superposition of unitaries remarkably extend the time of LGI violation, showcasing improved robustness against decoherence. This opens up possibilities of employing such nontrivial dynamical maps for robust quantum control, along with provoking research on characterizing correlations in general sequential measurement scenarios.
Leggett and Garg defined macrorealism by positing that a macroscopic system will exist in a well-defined state at all times, and that this state can be measured without disturbing it. They also formulated a class of inequalities which hold under macrorealism but can be violated by quantum mechanics. The degree to which quantum systems can violate these inequalities is restricted by the temporal Tsirelson bounds. Recently variants of Leggett-Garg inequalities which can be violated to the algebraic maximum 3 for a sufficient large number of measurement times have been proposed. In this work we report an experimental test of quantum violation of the variants of Leggett-Garg inequalities beyond the temporal Tsirelson bounds, up to $2.248\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.039$ in five-time measurement scenarios for a photonic qubit. Our results clearly show the advantages of the modified measurement scenarios.