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Kochen-Specker Theorem in Almost All the Two-Dimensional States

Koji Nagata, Tadao Nakamura

Published Jun 1, 2016• 0 citations
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Abstract

We present the Kochen-Specker (KS) theorem in almost all the two-dimensional states. We consider whether we can simulate the double-slit experiment in a state by a realistic theory of the KS type. It turns out that we cannot simulate the double-slit experiment in almost all the states by a realistic theory of the KS type. An exception is an eigenvector of a measured Pauli observable.

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The Kochen-Specker theorem states that exclusive and complete deterministic outcome assignments are impossible for certain sets of measurements, called Kochen-Specker (KS) sets. A straightforward consequence is that KS sets do not have joint probability distributions because no set of joint outcomes over such a distribution can be constructed. However, we show it is possible to construct a joint quasiprobability distribution over any KS set by relaxing the completeness assumption. Interestingly, completeness is still observable at the level of measurable marginal probability distributions. This suggests the observable completeness might not be a fundamental feature, but a secondary property.

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We present the Kochen-Specker (KS) theorem in almost all the two-dimensional states. We consider whether we can simulate the double-slit experiment in a state by a realistic theory of the KS type. It turns out that we cannot simulate the double-slit experiment in almost all the states by a realistic theory of the KS type. An exception is an eigenvector of a measured Pauli observable.
The Kochen-Specker theorem (KS) states that Ilonconrextual hidden variable theories are incompatible with quantum mechanics. Since the first proof of the theorem, von Neumann projection measurement has been used and the quantum system considered has dimensionality of at least three. However, recently generalized measurements represented by positive-operator-va!ued measures (POVM) have been applied to extend the proof to two dimensional quantum systems. This note gives numerical calculations on the first KS proof for a single qubit.
We consider the two quantum measurement theories for measuring a single Pauli observable. We assume also the existence of a classical probability space for the two measurement theories. We cannot avoid the Kochen-Specker (KS) contradiction when we measure the Pauli observable by using the projective measurement theory if we introduce a classical probability space. The results of measurement are either +1+1+1 or −1-1−1 (in ℏ/2\hbar/2ℏ/2 unit) when we consider a spin-1/2 system. The projective measurement theory does not accept a classical probability space when we measure the Pauli observable. We propose a new measurement theory based on the truth values, i.e., the truth T (1) for true and the falsity F (0) for false. The results of measurement are either +1+1+1 or 0 (in ℏ/2\hbar/2ℏ/2 unit). We avoid the KS contradiction when we measure the Pauli observable by using the new measurement theory if we introduce a classical probability space. The new measurement theory accepts a classical probability space when we measure the Pauli observable.
We derive new type of no-hidden-variables theorem based on the assumptions proposed by Kochen and Specker. We consider NNN spin-1/2 systems. The hidden results of measurement are either +1+1+1 or −1-1−1 (in ℏ/2\hbar/2ℏ/2 unit). We derive some proposition concerning a quantum expected value under an assumption about the existence of the Bloch sphere in NNN spin-1/2 systems. However, the hidden variables theory violates the proposition with a magnitude that grows exponentially with the number of particles. Therefore, we have to give up either the existence of the Bloch sphere or the hidden variables theory. Also we discuss two-dimensional no-hidden-variables theorem of the KS type. Especially, we systematically describe our assertion based on more mathematical analysis using raw data in a thoughtful experiment.
We present a number of observables-based proofs of the Kochen-Specker (KS) theorem based on the NNN-qubit Pauli group for $N\ensuremath{\ge}4$, thus adding to the proofs that have been presented earlier for the 2- and 3-qubit groups. These proofs have the attractive feature that they can be presented in the form of diagrams from which they are obvious by inspection. They are also irreducible in the sense that they cannot be reduced to smaller proofs by ignoring some subset of qubits and/or observables in them. A simple algorithm is given for transforming any observables-based KS proof into a large number of projectors-based KS proofs; if the observables-based proof has OOO observables, with each observable occurring in exactly two commuting sets and any two commuting sets having at most one observable in common, the number of associated projectors-based parity proofs is 2O{}^{O}O. We introduce symbols for the observables- and projectors-based KS proofs that capture their important features and also convey a feeling for the enormous variety of both these types of proofs within the NNN-qubit Pauli group. We discuss an infinite family of observables-based proofs, whose members include all numbers of qubits from 2 up, and show how it can be used to generate projectors-based KS proofs involving only 9 bases (or experimental contexts) in any dimension of the form 2N{2}^{N}2N for $N\ensuremath{\ge}2$. Some implications of our results are discussed.
One of the main theorems on the impossibility of hidden variables in quantum mechanics is Kochen-Specker theorem (KS). This theorem says that any hidden variable theory that satisfies quantum mechanics must be contextual. More specifically, it asserts that, in Hilbert space of dimension ≥ 3, it is impossible to associate definite numerical values, 1 or 0, with every projection operator Pm, in such a way that, if a set of commuting Pm satisfies 1=ΣmP, the corresponding values will also satisfy . Since the first proof of Kochen and Specker using 117 vectors in R3, there were many attempts to reduce the number of vector either via conceiving ingenious models or extending the system being considered to higher dimension. By considering eight dimensional three qubits system, we found a state dependent proof that requires only five vectors. The state that we assign value of 1 is the ray that arises from intersection of two planes. The recent advancements show that the KS theorem proof can be extended to two dimensional quantum system through generalized measurement represented by positive operator-valued measured (POVM). In POVMs the number of available outcomes of a measurement may be higher than the dimensionality of the Hilbert space and N-outcome generalized measurement is represented by N-element POVM which consists of N positive semidefinite operators {}dE that sum to identity. Each pair of elements is not mutually orthogonal if the number of outcome of measurements is bigger than the dimensionality. In terms of POVM, Kochen-Specker theorem asserts that and could not be satisfied for . We developed a general model that enables us to generate different sizes of the POVM for the proof of the Kochen-Specker theorem. We show that the current simplest Nakamura model is in fact a special case of our model. W also provide another model which is as simple as the Nakamura’s but consists of different sets of POVM.
The Kochen-Specker theorem states that exclusive and complete deterministic outcome assignments are impossible for certain sets of measurements, called Kochen-Specker (KS) sets. A straightforward consequence is that KS sets do not have joint probability distributions because no set of joint outcomes over such a distribution can be constructed. However, we show it is possible to construct a joint quasiprobability distribution over any KS set by relaxing the completeness assumption. Interestingly, completeness is still observable at the level of measurable marginal probability distributions. This suggests the observable completeness might not be a fundamental feature, but a secondary property.