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arXiv:quant-ph/0509158

Comprehensive proof of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger Theorem for the four-qubit system

Tang Li, Zhong, Jie, Ren, Yaofeng, Mingsheng Zhan, Zeqian Chen

Published Sep 22, 2005• 0 citations
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Abstract

Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) theorem asserts that there is a set of mutually commuting nonlocal observables with a common eigenstate on which those observables assume values that refute the attempt to assign values only required to have them by the local realism of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR). It is known that for a three-qubit system there is only one form of the GHZ-Mermin-like argument with equivalence up to a local unitary transformation, which is exactly Mermin's version of the GHZ theorem. In this paper, however, for a four-qubit system which was originally studied by GHZ, we show that there are nine distinct forms of the GHZ-Mermin-like argument. The proof is obtained by using some geometric invariants to characterize the sets of mutually commuting nonlocal spin observables on the four-qubit system. It is proved that there are at most nine elements (except for a different sign) in a set of mutually commuting nonlocal spin observables in the four-qubit system, and each GHZ-Mermin-like argument involves a set of at least five mutually commuting four-qubit nonlocal spin observables with a GHZ state as a common eigenstate in GHZ's theorem. Therefore, we present a complete construction of the GHZ theorem for the four-qubit system.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0509158

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It is proved that all states of three spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ particles exhibiting an ``all versus nothing'' contradiction between quantum mechanics and the local realism of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen are exactly the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states and the states obtained from them by local unitary transformations. The proof is obtained by showing that there are at most four elements (except for a different sign) in a set of mutually commuting nonlocal spin observables in the three-qubit system and using the certain algebraic properties that Pauli's matrices satisfy. We show that only does such a set of four nonlocal spin observables present a Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-Mermin-like argument. This also reveals the equivalence between the GHZ theorem and maximal violation of the Bell inequality.
The Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) theorem exhibits an ``all versus nothing'' contradiction between Ernstein, Podelsky, and Rosen's local realism and quantum mechanics by using a maximally entangled state of three qubits. However, it is shown in this paper that no extension of GHZ's proof is possible for any entangled state of two qubits, including Bell states. The proof is obtained by showing the fact that there are no more than three distinct elements (except for a different sign) in a set of mutually commuting nonlocal spin observables of two qubits. This also leads to a generic setup of the Kochen-Specker theorem for the two-qubit system.
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In this paper, we show that there are eight distinct forms of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) argument for the four-qubit cluster state ∣ϕ4>|ϕ_4>∣ϕ4​> and forty eight distinct forms for the five-qubit cluster state ∣ϕ5>|ϕ_5>∣ϕ5​> in the case of the one-dimensional lattice. The proof is obtained by regarding the pair qubits as a single object and constructing the new Pauli-like operators. The method can be easily extended to the case of the N-qubit system and the associated Bell inequalities are also discussed. Consequently, we present a complete construction of the GHZ theorem for the cluster states of N-qubit in the case of the one-dimensional lattice.
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