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Wigner negativity and nonlocal correlations

Matthias Freyberger, Michael E. N. Tschaffon

Published Nov 10, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract We investigate whether negative values of Wigner functions purely coming from correlations are sufficient for observing nonlocal correlations. We employ a simple model for superpositions of coherent states and examine how the corresponding Wigner negativity of correlations relates to the violation of a CHSH inequality based on pseudo-spins. We find that a critical amount of this negativity is necessary to violate the inequality, making a nonzero negativity not sufficient for observing nonlocal correlations.

DOI
10.18725/oparu-61132

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Abstract We investigate whether negative values of Wigner functions purely coming from correlations are sufficient for observing nonlocal correlations. We employ a simple model for superpositions of coherent states and examine how the corresponding Wigner negativity of correlations relates to the violation of a CHSH inequality based on pseudo-spins. We find that a critical amount of this negativity is necessary to violate the inequality, making a nonzero negativity not sufficient for observing nonlocal correlations.
Abstract We investigate whether negative values of Wigner functions purely coming from correlations are sufficient for observing nonlocal correlations. We employ a simple model for superpositions of coherent states and examine how the corresponding Wigner negativity of correlations relates to the violation of a CHSH inequality based on pseudo-spins. We find that a critical amount of this negativity is necessary to violate the inequality, making a nonzero negativity not sufficient for observing nonlocal correlations. Graphical Abstract
We introduce an operational criterion to identify Wigner function (WF) negativity for an arbitrary quantum state within the framework of quantum non-demolition measurements. This criterion corresponds to experimentally accessible schemes that enable a direct measurement of the WF, and establishes the coherent-state basis as a privileged basis for determining when the WF exhibits negative regions. We show that the absence (presence) of coherent superpositions in the coherent-state basis provides direct information about the positivity (negativity) of the WF. In particular, the absence of such superpositions constitutes a sufficient condition for WF positivity. Although a general proof of necessity remains elusive, we demonstrate that this condition is also necessary in two relevant cases: Schrödinger-cat states and higher-order cat states on a circle. More precisely, for Schrödinger-cat states we establish a necessary and sufficient condition for the positivity of the WF in full generality, whereas for high-order cat states on a circle we derive an analogous condition in the limit of a large number of densely packed coherent states.
Nonlocality is an essential concept that distinguishes quantum from classical models and has been extensively studied in systems of qubits. For higher-dimensional systems, certain results for their two-level counterpart, like Bell violations with stabilizer states and Clifford operators, do not generalize. On the other hand, similar to continuous variable systems, Wigner negativity is necessary for nonlocality in qudit systems. We propose a new generalization of the CHSH inequality for qudits by inquiring correlations related to the Wigner negativity of stabilizer states under the adjoint action of a generalization of the qubit π / 8 -gate. A specified stabilizer state maximally violates the inequality among all qudit states based on its Wigner negativity. The Bell operator not only serves as a measure for the singlet fraction but also quantifies the volume of Wigner negativity. Additionally, we show how a bipartite entangled qudit state can serve as a witness for contextuality when it exhibits Wigner negativity. Furthermore, we identify rational-phase diagonal unitaries as the key resource that exactly reproduce the CGLMP and SATWAP violation with the maximally entangled state through simple phase-difference alignment.
Negativity of the Wigner function is arguably one of the most striking non-classical features of quantum states. Beyond its fundamental relevance, it is also a necessary resource for quantum speedup with continuous variables. As quantum technologies emerge, the need to identify and characterize the resources which provide an advantage over existing classical technologies becomes more pressing. Here we derive witnesses for Wigner negativity of single mode and multimode quantum states, based on fidelities with Fock states, which can be reliably measured using standard detection setups. They possess a threshold expectation value indicating whether the measured state has a negative Wigner function. Moreover, the amount of violation provides an operational quantification of Wigner negativity. We phrase the problem of finding the threshold values for our witnesses as an infinite-dimensional linear optimisation. By relaxing and restricting the corresponding linear programs, we derive two hierarchies of semidefinite programs, which provide numerical sequences of increasingly tighter upper and lower bounds for the threshold values. We further show that both sequences converge to the threshold value. Moreover, our witnesses form a complete family – each Wigner negative state is detected by at least one witness – thus providing a reliable method for experimentally witnessing Wigner negativity of quantum states from few measurements. From a foundational perspective, our findings provide insights on the set of positive Wigner functions which still lacks a proper characterisation.
We construct logical Bell inequalities whose violations are determined by the Wigner function of a reduced quantum state. For odd-prime qudits, each phase-space point of any nonempty proper subsystem defines an inequality, violated precisely when the corresponding Gross Wigner value is negative. This correspondence allows us to quantify the contextuality that a reduced state guarantees for the composite system. The normalized violation gives a lower bound on the contextual fraction in the complete Weyl measurement scenario, valid for every joint state with that marginal, irrespective of its correlations. We identify a family of product states that saturates this bound. For these states, one marginal Wigner value fixes the contextual fraction of the entire system.
The experimental test of Bell’s inequality is mainly focused on Clauser–Horne–Shimony–Holt (CHSH) form, which provides a quantitative bound, while little attention has been paid to the violation of Wigner inequality (WI). Based on the spin coherent state quantum probability statistics, we in the present paper extend the WI and its violation to arbitrary two-spin entangled states with antiparallel and parallel spin-polarizations. The local part of density operator gives rise to the WI while the violation is a direct result of nonlocal interference between two components of the entangled states. The Wigner measuring outcome correlation denoted by [Formula: see text] is always less than or at most equal to zero for the local realist model ([Formula: see text]) regardless of the specific initial state. On the other hand, the violation of WI is characterized by any positive value of [Formula: see text], which possesses a maximum violation bound [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]. We conclude that the WI is equally convenient for the experimental test of violation by the quantum entanglement.