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arXiv:2607.09047

Classically Realizable Incompatibility

Songyi Liu, Yongjun Wang, Baoshan Wang, Yunyi Jia, Chang He

quant-phSubmitted Jul 10, 2026• Announced Jul 13, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Incompatibility constitutes a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics. However, not every quantum observable non-classical property arises from incompatibility, nor can all quantum scenarios be fully captured by incompatibility alone. Within the framework of partial Boolean algebra (pBA), we research the structural properties of incompatibility scenarios. We introduce a unified method to realize any incompatibility scenario via a classical game, and the construction is extendable to any scenario embeddable into a Boolean algebra. The exclusivity graph offers a precise characterization of incompatibility scenarios. We prove that every exclusivity graph is the atom graph of an exclusive pBA, which is embedded into a Boolean algebra. These results provide a necessary condition for exclusivity graphs and a sufficient condition for atom graphs.

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Incompatibility constitutes a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics. However, not every quantum observable non-classical property arises from incompatibility, nor can all quantum scenarios be fully captured by incompatibility alone. Within the framework of partial Boolean algebra (pBA), we research the structural properties of incompatibility scenarios. We introduce a unified method to realize any incompatibility scenario via a classical game, and the construction is extendable to any scenario embeddable into a Boolean algebra. The exclusivity graph offers a precise characterization of incompatibility scenarios. We prove that every exclusivity graph is the atom graph of an exclusive pBA, which is embedded into a Boolean algebra. These results provide a necessary condition for exclusivity graphs and a sufficient condition for atom graphs.
Abstract Quantum contextuality represents a fundamental form of nonclassicality in quantum mechanics. To provide a more complete characterization of nonclassical properties in quantum systems, we adopt a logical perspective and propose a mathematical framework based on exclusive partial Boolean algebras. This framework enables a unified description of contextuality and nonclassicality across finite general, quantum, and classical systems. We establish a unified and minimal classical counterpart for any finite general system. Within this framework, we formalize major categories of quantum contextuality, demonstrating that: 12 projectors suffice to generate Kochen–Specker scenarios; 10 projectors suffice to witness state-independent contextuality; and 3 observables suffice to witness quantum contextuality. Finally, we prove that contextuality is a sufficient but not necessary condition for nonclassicality.
Partial Boolean algebras (PBAs) were introduced by Kochen and Specker as an algebraic model reflecting the mutual relationships among quantum-physical yes–no tests. The fact that not all pairs of tests are compatible was taken into special account. In this paper, we review PBAs from two sides. First, we generalise the concept, taking into account also those yes–no tests which are based on unsharp measurements. Namely, we introduce partial MV-algebras, and we define a corresponding logic. Second, we turn to the representation theory of PBAs. In analogy to the case of orthomodular lattices, we give conditions for a PBA to be isomorphic to the PBA of closed subspaces of a complex Hilbert space. Hereby, we do not restrict ourselves to purely algebraic statements; we rather give preference to conditions involving automorphisms of a PBA. We conclude by outlining a critical view on the logico-algebraic approach to the foundational problem of quantum physics.
The quantum mechanics is proved to admit no hidden-variable in 1960s, which means the quantum systems are contextual. Revealing the mathematical structure of quantum mechanics is a significant task. We develop the approach of partial Boolean algebra to characterize the contextuality theory with local consistency and exclusivity, and then prove that the finite dimensional quantum systems are determined by atoms using two graph structure theorems. We also generalize our work to infinite dimensional cases. Our conclusions indicate that the quantum mechanics is a graph-structured combination of multiple hidden-variable theories, and provide a precise mathematical framework for quantum contextuality.
Measurement incompatibility is the most basic resource that distinguishes quantum from classical physics. Contextuality is the critical resource behind the power of some models of quantum computation and is also a necessary ingredient for many applications in quantum information. A fundamental problem is thus identifying when incompatibility produces contextuality. Here, we show that, given a structure of incompatibility characterized by a graph in which nonadjacent vertices represent incompatible ideal measurements, the necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a quantum realization producing contextuality is that this graph contains induced cycles of size larger than three.
Contextuality is a key signature of quantum non-classicality, which has been shown to play a central role in enabling quantum advantage for a wide range of information-processing and computational tasks. We study the logic of contextuality from a structural point of view, in the setting of partial Boolean algebras introduced by Kochen and Specker in their seminal work. These contrast with traditional quantum logic à la Birkhoff and von Neumann in that operations such as conjunction and disjunction are partial, only being defined in the domain where they are physically meaningful. We study how this setting relates to current work on contextuality such as the sheaf-theoretic and graph-theoretic approaches. We introduce a general free construction extending the commeasurability relation on a partial Boolean algebra, i.e. the domain of definition of the binary logical operations. This construction has a surprisingly broad range of uses. We apply it in the study of a number of issues, including: - establishing the connection between the abstract measurement scenarios studied in the contextuality literature and the setting of partial Boolean algebras; - formulating various contextuality properties in this setting, including probabilistic contextuality as well as the strong, state-independent notion of contextuality given by Kochen-Specker paradoxes, which are logically contradictory statements validated by partial Boolean algebras, specifically those arising from quantum mechanics; - investigating a Logical Exclusivity Principle, and its relation to the Probabilistic Exclusivity Principle widely studied in recent work on contextuality as a step towards closing in on the set of quantum-realisable correlations; - developing some work towards a logical presentation of the Hilbert space tensor product, using logical exclusivity to capture some of its salient quantum features.
Analyzing the geometry of correlation sets constrained by general causal structures is of paramount importance for foundational and quantum technology research. Addressing this task is generally challenging, prompting the development of diverse theoretical techniques for distinct scenarios. Recently, novel hybrid scenarios combining different causal assumptions within different parts of the causal structure have emerged. In this work, we extend a graph theoretical technique to explore classical, quantum, and no-signaling distributions in hybrid scenarios, where classical causal constraints and weaker no-signaling ones are used for different nodes of the causal structure. By mapping such causal relationships into an undirected graph we are able to characterize the associated sets of compatible distributions and analyze their relationships. In particular we show how with our method we can construct minimal Bell-like inequalities capable of simultaneously distinguishing classical, quantum, and no-signaling behaviors, and efficiently estimate the corresponding bounds. The demonstrated method will represent a powerful tool to study quantum networks and for applications in quantum information tasks.