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AIP conference proceedings

The Universality of Non-Local Boxes

Manuel Förster, Stefan Wolf, Alexander I. Lvovsky

Published Jan 1, 2009• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

One of the most fascinating consequences of quantum theory is non‐locality, i.e., the fact that the measurement outcomes of (spatially separated) parts of a system can have a correlation unexplainable by shared classical information. Note that at the same time, these correlations are non‐signaling and do not allow for message transmission. Popescu and Rohrlich have defined a non‐local box as a “basic building block of non‐locality” and initiated a systematic study of non‐local correlations and their applications. However, they left open the question of whether any non‐signaling correlation can be simulated by such non‐local boxes. We show that the answer is yes with respect to arbitrarily accurate approximations.

DOI
10.1063/1.3131286

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One of the most fascinating consequences of quantum theory is non‐locality, i.e., the fact that the measurement outcomes of (spatially separated) parts of a system can have a correlation unexplainable by shared classical information. Note that at the same time, these correlations are non‐signaling and do not allow for message transmission. Popescu and Rohrlich have defined a non‐local box as a “basic building block of non‐locality” and initiated a systematic study of non‐local correlations and their applications. However, they left open the question of whether any non‐signaling correlation can be simulated by such non‐local boxes. We show that the answer is yes with respect to arbitrarily accurate approximations.
The study of quantum correlations is important for fundamental reasons as well as for quantum communication and information processing tasks. On the one hand, it is of tremendous interest to derive the correlations produced by measurements on separated composite quantum systems from within the set of all correlations obeying the no-signaling principle of relativity, by means of information-theoretic principles. On the other hand, an important ongoing research program concerns the formulation of device-independent cryptographic protocols based on quantum nonlocal correlations for the generation of secure keys, and the amplification and expansion of random bits against general no-signaling adversaries. In both these research programs, a fundamental question arises: Can any measurements on quantum states realize the correlations present in pure extremal no-signaling boxes? Here, we answer this question in full generality showing that no nontrivial (not local realistic) extremal boxes of general no-signaling theories can be realized in quantum theory. We then explore some important consequences of this fact.
A set of nonlocal correlations that have come to be known as a Popescu-Rohrlich (PR) box suggest themselves as a natural unit of nonlocality, much as a singlet is a natural unit of entanglement. We present two results relevant to this idea. One is that a wide class of multipartite correlations can be simulated using local operations on PR boxes only. We show this with an explicit scheme, which has the interesting feature that the number of PR boxes required is related to the computational resources necessary to represent a function defining the multipartite box. The second result is that there are quantum multipartite correlations, arising from measurements on a cluster state, that cannot be simulated with n PR boxes, for any n.
One of the most intriguing features of quantum physics is the non‐locality of correlations that can be obtained by measuring entangled particles. Recently, it has been noticed that non‐locality can be studied without reference to the Hilbert space formalism. I review here the properties of the basic mathematical tool used for such studies, the so called Popescu‐Rohrlich‐box, in short PR‐box. Among its feats, are the simulation of the correlations of the singlet and of other non‐local probability distributions. Among its features, the “anomaly of non‐locality” and a great power for information‐theoretical tasks. Among its failures, the impossibility of reproducing all multi‐partite distributions and the triviality of the allowed dynamics.
One of the most intriguing features of quantum physics is the non-locality of correlations that can be obtained by measuring entangled particles. Recently, it has been noticed that non-locality can be studied without reference to the Hilbert space formalism. I review here the properties of the basic mathematical tool used for such studies, the so called Popescu-Rohrlich-box, in short PR-box. Among its feats, are the simulation of the correlations of the singlet and of other non-local probability distributions. Among its features, the "anomaly of non-locality" and a great power for information-theoretical tasks. Among its failures, the impossibility of reproducing all multi-partite distributions and the triviality of the allowed dynamics.
Nonlocality is arguably one of the most fundamental and counterintuitive aspects of quantum theory. Nonlocal correlations could, however, be even more nonlocal than quantum theory allows, while still complying with basic physical principles such as no-signaling. So why is quantum mechanics not as nonlocal as it could be? Are there other physical or information-theoretic principles which prohibit this? So far, the proposed answers to this question have been only partially successful, partly because they are lacking genuinely multipartite formulations. In Fritz et al. [Nat. Commun. 4, 2263 (2013)], we introduced the principle of local orthogonality (LO), an intrinsically multipartite principle which is satisfied by quantum mechanics but is violated by nonphysical correlations. Here we further explore the LO principle, presenting additional results and explaining some of its subtleties. In particular, we show that the set of no-signaling boxes satisfying LO is closed under wirings, present a classification of all LO inequalities in certain scenarios, show that all extremal tripartite boxes with two binary measurements per party violate LO, and explain the connection between LO inequalities and unextendible product bases.