Contrary to classical physics, the predictions of quantum theory for measurement outcomes are of a probabilistic nature. Questions about the completeness of such predictions lie at the core of quantum physics and can be traced back to the foundations of the field. Recently, the completeness of quantum probabilistic predictions could be established based on the assumption of freedom of choice. Here we ask when can events be established to be as unpredictable as we observe them to be relying only on minimal assumptions, ie. distrusting even the free choice assumption but assuming the existence of an arbitrarily weak (but non-zero) source of randomness. We answer the latter by identifying a sufficient condition weaker than the monogamy of correlations which allow us to provide a family of finite scenarios based on GHZ paradoxes where quantum probabilistic predictions are as accurate as they can possibly be. Our results can be used for a protocol of full randomness amplification, without the need of privacy amplification, in which the final bit approaches a perfect random bit exponentially fast on the number of parties.
Contrary to classical physics, the predictions of quantum theory for measurement outcomes are of a probabilistic nature. Questions about the completeness of such predictions lie at the core of quantum physics and can be traced back to the foundations of the field. Recently, the completeness of quantum probabilistic predictions could be established based on the assumption of freedom of choice. Here we ask when can events be established to be as unpredictable as we observe them to be relying only on minimal assumptions, ie. distrusting even the free choice assumption but assuming the existence of an arbitrarily weak (but non-zero) source of randomness. We answer the latter by identifying a sufficient condition weaker than the monogamy of correlations which allow us to provide a family of finite scenarios based on GHZ paradoxes where quantum probabilistic predictions are as accurate as they can possibly be. Our results can be used for a protocol of full randomness amplification, without the need of privacy amplification, in which the final bit approaches a perfect random bit exponentially fast on the number of parties.
In general, any observed random process includes two qualitatively different forms of randomness: apparent randomness, which results both from ignorance or lack of control of degrees of freedom in the system, and intrinsic randomness, which is not ascribable to any such cause. While classical systems only possess the first kind of randomness, quantum systems may exhibit some intrinsic randomness. In this Letter, we provide quantum processes in which all the observed randomness is fully intrinsic. These results are derived under minimal assumptions: the validity of the no-signaling principle and an arbitrary (but not absolute) lack of freedom of choice. Our results prove that quantum predictions cannot be completed already in simple finite scenarios, for instance of three parties performing two dichotomic measurements. Moreover, the observed randomness tends to a perfect random bit when increasing the number of parties, thus, defining an explicit process attaining full randomness amplification.
According to quantum theory, measurements generate random outcomes, in stark contrast with classical mechanics. This raises the question of whether there could exist an extension of the theory that removes this indeterminism, as suspected by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen. Although this has been shown to be impossible, existing results do not imply that the current theory is maximally informative. Here we ask the more general question of whether any improved predictions can be achieved by any extension of quantum theory. Under the assumption that measurements can be chosen freely, we answer this question in the negative: no extension of quantum theory can give more information about the outcomes of future measurements than quantum theory itself. Our result has significance for the foundations of quantum mechanics, as well as applications to tasks that exploit the inherent randomness in quantum theory, such as quantum cryptography. Quantum-mechanical predictions are generally probabilistic. Here, assuming freely chosen measurements, it is shown that enhanced predictions are not possible and, thus, randomness is inherent in quantum theory: a result that has applications in fields such as quantum cryptography.
The unpredictability of quantum physics gives rise to intrinsic randomness. In an adversarial scenario, any additional degrees of freedom must be attributed to an eavesdropper with correlations to the measurement set-up. The true randomness is then quantified by the probability that she correctly guesses the measurement outcomes, optimised over all possible strategies. Extremal measurements are appealing here, since they do not allow information to leak to such an eavesdropper. Beyond projective measurements, however, a simple question remains open: how much intrinsic randomness can be generated by a given extremal measurement? In a step towards solving it, we characterise the randomness generated by any unbiased extremal rank-one measurement acting on any state, solving the problem explicitly in dimension two. Four-outcome qubit measurements of this type are tomographic, so these results hold for fully source-device-dependent randomness too. The tetrahedral symmetric informationally complete (SIC) measurement, we find, has the least intrinsic randomness within this class. We also present the skewed SIC family of measurements, and use them to partially solve an open problem: we prove that 2logd bits of randomness, the maximal amount, can be generated device-dependently (or source-device-independently) in any dimension in which there exists a SIC measurement.
How to generate provably true randomness with minimal assumptions? This question is important not only for the efficiency and the security of information processing, but also for understanding how extremely unpredictable events are possible in Nature. All current solutions require special structures in the initial source of randomness, or a certain independence relation among two or more sources. Both types of assumptions are impossible to test and difficult to guarantee in practice. Here we show how this fundamental limit can be circumvented by extractors that base security on the validity of physical laws and extract randomness from untrusted quantum devices. In conjunction with the recent work of Miller and Shi (arXiv:1402:0489), our physical randomness extractor uses just a single and general weak source, produces an arbitrarily long and near-uniform output, with a close-to-optimal error, secure against all-powerful quantum adversaries, and tolerating a constant level of implementation imprecision. The source necessarily needs to be unpredictable to the devices, but otherwise can even be known to the adversary. Our central technical contribution, the Equivalence Lemma, provides a general principle for proving composition security of untrusted-device protocols. It implies that unbounded randomness expansion can be achieved simply by cross-feeding any two expansion protocols. In particular, such an unbounded expansion can be made robust, which is known for the first time. Another significant implication is, it enables the secure randomness generation and key distribution using public randomness, such as that broadcast by NIST's Randomness Beacon. Our protocol also provides a method for refuting local hidden variable theories under a weak assumption on the available randomness for choosing the measurement settings.
It is well known that the effect of quantum nonlocality, as witnessed by violation of a Bell inequality, can be observed even when relaxing the assumption of measurement independence, i.e., allowing for the source to be partially correlated with the choices of measurement settings; however, what is the minimal amount of measurement independence needed to observe quantum nonlocality? Here we explore this question and consider models with strong measurement-dependent locality, where measurement choices can be perfectly determined in almost all rounds of the Bell test. Nevertheless, we show that quantum nonlocality can still be observed in this scenario, which we conjecture is minimal within the framework we use. We also discuss potential applications in randomness amplification.
Abstract From dice to modern electronic circuits, there have been many attempts to build better devices to generate random numbers. Randomness is fundamental to security and cryptographic systems and to safeguarding privacy. A key challenge with random-number generators is that it is hard to ensure that their outputs are unpredictable1–3. For a random-number generator based on a physical process, such as a noisy classical system or an elementary quantum measurement, a detailed model that describes the underlying physics is necessary to assert unpredictability. Imperfections in the model compromise the integrity of the device. However, it is possible to exploit the phenomenon of quantum non-locality with a loophole-free Bell test to build a random-number generator that can produce output that is unpredictable to any adversary that is limited only by general physical principles, such as special relativity1–11. With recent technological developments, it is now possible to carry out such a loophole-free Bell test12–14, 22. Here we present certified randomness obtained from a photonic Bell experiment and extract 1, 024 random bits that are uniformly distributed to within 10−12. These random bits could not have been predicted according to any physical theory that prohibits faster-than-light (superluminal) signalling and that allows independent measurement choices. To certify and quantify the randomness, we describe a protocol that is optimized for devices that are characterized by a low per-trial violation of Bell inequalities. Future random-number generators based on loophole-free Bell tests may have a role in increasing the security and trust of our cryptographic systems and infrastructure.