Given the recent interest in perspectival quantum reference frames (QRFs), we ask how quantum properties in the perspectival picture relate to their global (non-perspectival) counterparts. Such a connection could allow established quantum information to be understood from the perspective of QRFs. Specifically, we find sufficient conditions under which global entanglement decomposes into a combination of perspectival entanglement and coherence -- a phenomenon that we call entanglement transference. We apply this result to non-inertial QRFs, revisiting the problem of acceleration-induced entanglement degradation. We find that entanglement degradation in the perspectival picture can be offset by an increase in coherence resources. This novel insight into (relativistic) quantum resource transformations suggests that QRFs may play a useful role in understanding more general quantum resource and quantum information phenomena.
Comments
10+7 pages, 6 figures; corrected typos; reformatted for submission to Quantum
Given the recent interest in perspectival quantum reference frames (QRFs), we ask how quantum properties in the perspectival picture relate to their global (non-perspectival) counterparts. Such a connection could allow established quantum information to be understood from the perspective of QRFs. Specifically, we find sufficient conditions under which global entanglement decomposes into a combination of perspectival entanglement and coherence -- a phenomenon that we call entanglement transference. We apply this result to non-inertial QRFs, revisiting the problem of acceleration-induced entanglement degradation. We find that entanglement degradation in the perspectival picture can be offset by an increase in coherence resources. This novel insight into (relativistic) quantum resource transformations suggests that QRFs may play a useful role in understanding more general quantum resource and quantum information phenomena.
Abstract Quantum coherence is a fundamental resource underlying interference, entanglement-assisted processes, quantum information transfer, and the operational distinction between classical and quantum states. In laboratory-scale systems, coherence is commonly analysed relative to approximately inertial observers and weak gravitational environments. A more complete description becomes necessary when quantum systems are considered in accelerated reference frames, strong gravitational fields, or curved spacetime geometries. Under such conditions, the definition of particles, field modes, temporal evolution, and observable quantum correlations can depend on the observer and on the spacetime structure used to describe the system. This article examines the conceptual and physical behaviour of relativistic quantum coherence in non-inertial frames and curved spacetime environments without relying on a formulation based on explicit mathematical expressions. Particular attention is given to accelerated observers, horizon-related mode restrictions, observer-dependent vacuum descriptions, gravitational frequency shifts, field localization, and the transformation of accessible quantum information. Coherence is treated not merely as an intrinsic property of an isolated microscopic object but as a relational quantity affected by the physical decomposition of a quantum field into operationally accessible degrees of freedom. The analysis distinguishes coherence degradation from fundamental destruction of quantum information and emphasizes the role of inaccessible field sectors, measurement limitations, and observer-dependent subsystem definitions. Curved spacetime is further considered as a structured environment capable of modifying mode propagation, phase relationships, and correlations without behaving as a conventional material reservoir. The discussion establishes a conceptual framework relevant to relativistic quantum information, quantum field theory in non-inertial settings, gravitational quantum sensing, and future experiments involving quantum systems operating across different gravitational potentials or accelerated trajectories. The resulting perspective indicates that quantum coherence remains meaningful in relativistic physics only when the observer, field decomposition, measurement procedure, and spacetime geometry are specified consistently.
When reference frames are treated quantum mechanically, the subsystem structure of quantum systems is no longer absolute, but depends on the choice of the quantum reference frame (QRF). This raises a basic question: which dynamical properties are preserved across QRFs, and which depend on the physical reference used to define the system? We study this question in the general setting of open quantum systems. At the operational level, after a QRF transformation, the old reference frame and environmental degrees of freedom may be inaccessible and must therefore be traced out. This motivates the definition of reduced quantum-reference-frame channels: maps that connect the joint description in one frame to the accessible subsystem in another. We characterize their symmetry-constrained structure and define a regime in which a reduced entropy-coherence conservation law holds. We also identify when the induced reduced action on the open system admits a classical interpretation as random frame misalignment, and when it instead reflects quantum reduced-frame effects. We then apply the framework to pure-dephasing dynamics and derive a necessary and sufficient compatibility condition for population preservation. When the frame symmetry commutes with the open system's free Hamiltonian, coherences acquire a multiplicative frame factor, so that locally inferred decoherence rates split into environmental and reference-induced contributions. Ramsey interferometry gives this split a direct operational meaning. Finally, a gravity-motivated dephasing model illustrates how degradation of a phase reference can mimic signatures usually attributed to intrinsic decoherence mechanisms.
Recent work on quantum reference frames (QRFs) has demonstrated that superposition and entanglement are properties that change under QRF transformations. Given their utility in quantum information processing, it is important to understand how a mere change of perspective can produce or reduce these resources. Here we prove the existence of a QRF invariant which can be decomposed such that it captures the trade-off between entanglement and subsystem coherence: we demonstrate the invariance of the sum of entanglement and subsystem coherence for two pairs of resource quantifiers. Moreover, we find a weaker trade-off that holds for any possible pair of measures. Finally, we discuss the implications of this interplay for violations of Bell's inequalities, clarifying that for any choice of QRF, there is a quantum resource responsible for the violation. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the quantum information theoretic aspects of QRFs, offering a foundation for future exploration in both quantum theory and quantum gravity.
It was recently noted that different internal quantum reference frames (QRFs) partition a system in different ways into subsystems, much like different inertial observers in special relativity decompose spacetime in different ways into space and time. Here we expand on this QRF relativity of subsystems and elucidate that it is the source of all novel QRF dependent effects, just like the relativity of simultaneity is the origin of all characteristic special relativistic phenomena. We show that subsystem relativity, in fact, also arises in special relativity with internal frames and, by implying the relativity of simultaneity, constitutes a generalisation of it. Physical consequences of the QRF relativity of subsystems, which we explore here systematically, and the relativity of simultaneity may thus be seen in similar light. We focus on investigating when and how subsystem correlations and entropies, interactions and types of dynamics (open vs. closed), as well as quantum thermodynamical processes change under QRF transformations. We show that thermal equilibrium is generically QRF relative and find that, remarkably, QRF transformations not only can change a subsystem temperature, but even map positive into negative temperature states. We further examine how non-equilibrium notions of heat and work exchange, as well as entropy production and flow depend on the QRF. Along the way, we develop the first study of how reduced subsystem states transform under QRF changes. Focusing on physical insights, we restrict to ideal QRFs associated with finite abelian groups. Besides being conducive to rigour, the ensuing finite-dimensional setting is where quantum information-theoretic quantities and quantum thermodynamics are best developed. We anticipate, however, that our results extend qualitatively to more general groups and frames, and even to subsystems in gauge theory and gravity. [abridged]
We define the perspective of any quantum reference frame (QRF) and construct reversible transformations between different perspectives. Our construction is based on two principles motivated operationally by the change from relative to absolute coordinates and leads to an incoherent group averaging approach with general symmetry group. Thereby, it extends the framework of [arXiv:2110.13199] from ideal QRFs, which generally require infinite resources like energy or angular momentum, to non-ideal QRFs, with only finite resources. We find that the perspective of a non-ideal QRF deviates significantly from that of an ideal QRF: Firstly, systems described relative to a non-ideal QRF appear superselected. Secondly, the structure of the perspective of a non-ideal QRF attests that successive relational operations on a system lead to back-reaction on this QRF.
A fundamental question in the field of quantum reference frames concerns what global properties of a system can be determined by observers operating entirely from within that system. We investigate this question by extending both the perspectival and perspective-neutral approaches beyond the commonly studied zero total momentum case to arbitrary fixed charge sectors. When the entire system, including the reference frames, moves at a fixed total momentum P relative to an external frame, this global charge becomes encoded in the quantum states and transformations between reference frames. Our extension leads to modified relative states and observables with QRF transformations that induce an additional P-dependent phase, treating all charge sectors as equally fundamental. By granting the internal observers successively more access and resources, we identify under which conditions they can infer the total momentum. These results clarify the relationship between major QRF approaches -- perspectival, perspective-neutral, operational, and extra-particle -- showing how their differing conclusions stem from different assumptions about which observables are deemed accessible from within. Our findings cast light on the relation between local and global perspectives and raise fundamental questions about scenarios where no global perspective exists, contributing to a deeper understanding of relationality and the role of perspectives in quantum theory.