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Physical Review A

Bell’s inequality, trichotomic observables, and supplementary assumptions

Liberato De, Augusto Garuccio

Published Jul 1, 1996• 25 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A general approach to Bell-type inequalities for trichotomic observables is presented. With this formalism, which explicitly includes no-counts events, we show that the limits of all Bell-type inequalities are functions of the supplementary assumptions. This approach enables us to include in the causal and local theory the same assumptions used in the quantum-mechanical analysis of an experiment, and to deduce the inequality that must be satisfied by any local realistic model incorporating these assumptions. We prove that, using the quantum-mechanical assumption of ``random nondetection'' in the causal and local approach, a generalized Bell-type inequality is deduced whose upper limit can be violated by the quantum-mechanical predictions for symmetrical experimental setups involving detectors with quantum efficiency greater than 0.811. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.54.174

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A general approach to Bell-type inequalities for trichotomic observables is presented. With this formalism, which explicitly includes no-counts events, we show that the limits of all Bell-type inequalities are functions of the supplementary assumptions. This approach enables us to include in the causal and local theory the same assumptions used in the quantum-mechanical analysis of an experiment, and to deduce the inequality that must be satisfied by any local realistic model incorporating these assumptions. We prove that, using the quantum-mechanical assumption of ``random nondetection'' in the causal and local approach, a generalized Bell-type inequality is deduced whose upper limit can be violated by the quantum-mechanical predictions for symmetrical experimental setups involving detectors with quantum efficiency greater than 0.811. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
In this paper we derive a general approach using correlation functions for interpreting the results of measurements on two-particle entangled states. In our analysis we explicitly take into account the detector efficiency. We show that all Bell-type inequalities have bounds depending on both the losses in the apparatus and the supplementary assumptions about the statistical distribution of the losses themselves. Moreover, our approach enables us to include in the causal and local theory the same assumptions as used in the quantum mechanical analysis of an experiment, and to deduce the inequality which has to be satisfied by any local realistic model incorporating these assumptions. We show that, although the most recent experiments on Bell's inequality can be considered to be a remarkable step in the direction of testing quantum mechanics predictions, the loophole of the low quantum efficiency of the detector is not yet solved. In fact, using the quantum mechanical assumption of random nondetection in the causal and local approach, we deduce a generalized Bell-type inequality which includes no-count events and whose upper bound can be violated by the quantum mechanical predictions only if the detector quantum efficiency is >0.811.
Bell's theorem of 1965 is a proof that all realistic interpretations of quantum mechanics must be non-local. Bell's theorem consists of two parts: first a correlation inequality is derived that must be satisfied by all local realistic theories; second it is demonstrated that quantum mechanical probabilities violate this inequality in certain cases. In the case of ideal experiments, Bell's theorem has been proven. However, in the case of real experiments where polarizers and detectors are non-ideal, the theorem has not yet been proven since the proof always requires some arbitrary and {\em ad hoc} supplementary assumptions. In this paper, we state a new and rather weak supplementary assumption for the ensemble of photons that emerge from the polarizers, and we show that the conjunction of Einstein's locality with this assumption leads to validity of an inequality that is violated by a factor as large as 1.5 in the case of real experiments. Moreover, the present supplementary assumption is considerably weaker and more general than Clauser, Horne, Shimony, Holt supplementary assumption.
The Bell inequality constrains the outcomes of measurements on pairs of distant entangled particles. The Bell contradiction states that the Bell inequality is inconsistent with the calculated outcomes of these quantum experiments. This contradiction led many to question the underlying assumptions, viz. so-called realism and locality. The probability model underlying the Bell inequality is generally left implicit. We propose an explicit probability model for the CHSH version of the Bell experiment. This model has only two simultaneously observable detector settings per measurement, and therefore does not assume realism. The quantum expectation now becomes a conditional expectation, given the two detector settings. This probability model is in full agreement with both quantum mechanics and experiments. As a result, the model satisfies the Bell inequality; there are no so-called violations. We extend this model to include a hidden variable. This extended model is not Bell-separable. This non-separability implies that the model is non-deterministic or non-local (or both).
Bell's paradoxes, due to the fundamental properties of light and the nature of the photon, are discussed within a single framework with a view to checking the hypothesis that a stationary, non-negative, joint probability distribution function exists. This hypothesis, related to the local theory of hidden parameters as a possible interpretation of quantum theory, enables experimentally verifiable Bell's inequalities to be formulated. The dependence of these inequalities on the number of observers V is considered. Quantum theory predicts the breakdown of Bell's inequalities in optical experiments. It is shown that as V increases, the requirements on the quantum effectiveness of the detector, η, are reduced from η > 2/3 at V = 2 to η > 1/2 for V → ∞. Examples of joint probability distribution functions are given for illustrative purposes, and a way to resolve the Greenberg–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) paradox is suggested.
Among the various "no-go theorems" in the foundations of quantum mechanics, Bell inequalities are among the few, which do not implicitly rely on the mathematical structure of quantum mechanics. Instead, Bell inequalities are commonly understood to rest on Kolmogorov's theory of probability and a "locality" assumption. Physical evidence supporting their violation is hence taken as evidence against at least one of these two assumptions. This work provides a comprehensive analysis of the physical debate on Bell inequalities from the point of view of Kolmogorov's theory of probability, focusing on the Bell-Clauser-Horn-Shimony-Holt inequality (BCHSH inequality). The central contribution is the motivation and mathematical study of the notion of contextuality in Bell experiments: in so-called contextual Bell models the detectors themselves behave randomly and the distribution of the random detector parameters depends on the chosen detector settings. It is shown how even "classical" Bell experiments motivate such a description. The need to account for contextuality was pointed out before by de la Peña, Cetto, Brody, Lochak, Bohm, Hiley and others. A broad class of contextual models is proven to satisfy the BCHSH inequality, thereby generalizing a previous result by Gill and Lambare. Nonetheless, even under strong locality requirements, contextual Bell models may violate the BCHSH inequality: based on work by Popescu and Rohrlich, we consider a "proof of concept" example exhibiting the maximum possible violation. Contrary to the much debated "loopholes" in empirical tests of Bell inequalities, contextuality thus reveals a conceptual misunderstanding in the physical conclusions commonly drawn from Bell inequality violations.