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New classes of Kochen-Specker contextual sets

Norman D. Megill, Mladen Pavičić

Published May 1, 2017• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Finding Kochen-Specker contextual sets proves to be essential for quantum information and quantum computation in particular. It is therefore essential to find algorithms and programs which can generate arbitrary Kochen-Specker sets in a nearly-exhaustive manner. In this paper we present such generations for two new classes of Kochen-Specker sets. All sets from one of the classes are completely invisible to standard algorithms and programs from the literature as well as the upper part of sets from the second class. We also describe the methods and programs we used to obtain the sets on supercomputing clusters.

DOI
10.23919/mipro.2017.7973414

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arXiv:1905.01567•Entropy•Dec 5, 2018•19 citations
Finding Kochen-Specker contextual sets proves to be essential for quantum information and quantum computation in particular. It is therefore essential to find algorithms and programs which can generate arbitrary Kochen-Specker sets in a nearly-exhaustive manner. In this paper we present such generations for two new classes of Kochen-Specker sets. All sets from one of the classes are completely invisible to standard algorithms and programs from the literature as well as the upper part of sets from the second class. We also describe the methods and programs we used to obtain the sets on supercomputing clusters.
Quantum contextuality turns out to be a necessary resource for universal quantum computation and also has applications in quantum communication. Thus it becomes important to generate contextual sets of arbitrary structure and complexity to enable a variety of implementations. In recent years, such generation has been done for contextual sets known as Kochen-Specker sets. Up to now, two approaches have been used for massive generation of non-isomorphic Kochen-Specker sets: exhaustive generation up to a given size and downward generation from master sets and their associated coordinatizations. Master sets were obtained earlier from serendipitous or intuitive connections with polytopes or Pauli operators, and more recently from arbitrary vector components using an algorithm that generates orthogonal vector groupings from them. However, both upward and downward generation face an inherent exponential complexity barrier. In contrast, in this paper we present methods and algorithms that we apply to downward generation that can overcome the exponential barrier in many cases of interest. These involve tailoring and manipulating Kochen-Specker master sets obtained from a small number of simple vector components, filtered by the features of the sets we aim to obtain. Some of the classes of Kochen-Specker sets we generate contain all previously known ones, and others are completely novel. We provide examples of both kinds in 4- and 6-dim Hilbert spaces. We also give a brief introduction for a wider audience and a novice reader.
As quantum contextuality proves to be a necessary resource for universal quantum computation, we present a general method for vector generation of Kochen-Specker (KS) contextual sets in the form of hypergraphs. The method supersedes all three previous methods: (i) fortuitous discoveries of smallest KS sets, (ii) exhaustive upward hypergraph-generation of sets, and (iii) random downward generation of sets from fortuitously obtained big master sets. In contrast to previous works, we can generate master sets which contain all possible KS sets starting with nothing but a few simple vector components. From them we can readily generate all KS sets obtained in the last half a century and any specified new KS sets. Herewith we can generate sufficiently large sets as well as sets with definite required features and structures to enable varieties of different implementations in quantum computation and communication.
\nAs quantum contextuality proves to be a necessary resource for universal quantum computation, we present a general method for vector generation of Kochen-Specker (KS) contextual sets in the form of hypergraphs. The method supersedes all three previous methods: (i) fortuitous discoveries of smallest KS sets, (ii) exhaustive upward hypergraph-generation of sets, and (iii) random downward generation of sets from fortuitously obtained big master sets. In contrast to previous works, we can generate master sets which contain all possible KS sets starting with nothing but a few simple vector components. From them we can readily generate all KS sets obtained in the last half a century and any specified new KS sets. Herewith we can generate sufficiently large sets as well as sets with definite required features and structures to enable varieties of different implementations in quantum computation and communication.\n
In Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 190203 (2025) a discovery of the simplest 3D contextual set with 33 vertices, 50 bases, and 14 complete bases is claimed. In this paper, we show that it was previously generated in Quantum 7, 953 (2023) and analyze the meaning, origin, and significance of the simplest contextual sets in any dimension. In particular, we prove that there is no ground to consider the aforementioned set as fundamental since there are many 3D contextual sets with a smaller number of complete bases. We also show that automatic generation of contextual sets from basic vector components automatically yields all known minimal contextual sets of any kind in any dimension and therefore also the aforementioned set in no CPU-time. In the end, we discuss varieties of contextual sets, in particular Kochen-Specker (KS), extended KS, and non-KS sets as well as ambiguities in their definitions.
Quantum contextuality supports quantum computation and communication. One of its main vehicles is hypergraphs. The most elaborated are the Kochen-Specker ones, but there is also another class of contextual sets that are not of this kind. Their representation has been mostly operator-based and limited to special constructs in three- to six-dim spaces, a notable example of which is the Yu-Oh set. Previously, we showed that hypergraphs underlie all of them, and in this paper, we give general methods-whose complexity does not scale up with the dimension-for generating such non-Kochen-Specker hypergraphs in any dimension and give examples in up to 16-dim spaces. Our automated generation is probabilistic and random, but the statistics of accumulated data enable one to filter out sets with the required size and structure.
Recently, quantum contextuality has been proved to be the source of quantum computation's power. That, together with multiple recent contextual experiments, prompts improving the methods of generation of contextual sets and finding their features. The most elaborated contextual sets, which offer blueprints for contextual experiments and computational gates, are the Kochen-Specker (KS) sets. In this paper, we show a method of vector generation that supersedes previous methods. It is implemented by means of algorithms and programs that generate hypergraphs embodying the Kochen-Specker property and that are designed to be carried out on supercomputers. We show that vector component generation of KS hypergraphs exhausts all possible vectors that can be constructed from chosen vector components, in contrast to previous studies that used incomplete lists of vectors and therefore missed a majority of hypergraphs. Consequently, this unified method is far more efficient for generations of KS sets and their implementation in quantum computation and quantum communication. Several new KS classes and their features have been found and are elaborated on in the paper. Greechie diagrams are discussed.