Quantum Foundations

Quantum guessing games provide a framework for analyzing how information encoded in quantum states can be optimally extracted through measurement. Beyond the standard role of side information, we introduce the concept of metainformation: knowledge that further side information of a certain type will later become available, even if it is not yet revealed. This distinction uncovers a finer structure in the interplay between timing, information, and strategy, and shows that metainformation can, in some scenarios, raise success probabilities to match those achievable with prior side information. Metainformation connects directly to two applications: the detection of quantum incompatibility and parallel hybrid computation. This talk outlines the basic framework of metainformation and reviews these applications.

Continuous variable (CV) systems play an important role in quantum foundations and quantum information processing, especially because of their quantum optical realization. Gaussian states of CV systems, on the one hand have non-trivial quantum properties, and on the other hand, can be realized in the laboratory.  There are non-Gaussian states which can be obtained from Gaussian states via physically realizable operations and these too can be useful in enhancing  non-classicality and improving the performance of quantum information processing protocols.  In the talk, I will  introduce CV systems and their Gaussian and non-Gaussian states. The violation of Bell-type inequalities using CV systems will be discussed. Quantum key distribution protocols and quantum teleportation schemes using Gaussian and non-Gaussian states will also be taken up. 

The quantum marginal problem concerns the compatibility of given reduced states. In contrast, the entanglement transitivity problem takes compatible entangled marginals as input and ask if one can infer therefrom the entanglement of some other marginals. When this is possible, the input marginals are said to exhibit entanglement transitivity. Previous studies [Npj Quantum Inf 8, 98 (2022)] have demonstrated that certain families of states show entanglement transitivity. In this talk, we will show that when specific dimension constraints are satisfied, entanglement transitivity is possible and even generic among the marginals of pure state. To this end, we use the fact that given these constraints, the marginals of generic pure states (1) uniquely determine the global state and (2) are entangled. For the latter, our results generalize that of Aubrun et al. [Comm. Pure. Appl. Math. 67, 129 (2013)], which allows us to conclude further that sufficiently large parts of a generic multipartite pure state are entangled for any bipartition.

Complementarity is a phenomenon explaining several core features of quantum theory, such as the well-known uncertainty principle. Roughly speaking, two objects are said to be complementary if being certain about one of them necessarily forbids useful knowledge about the other. Two quantum measurements that do not commute form an example of complementary measurements, and this phenomenon can also be defined for ensembles of states. Although a key quantum feature, it is unclear whether complementarity can be understood more operationally, as a necessary resource in some quantum information task. Here we show this is the case, and relates to a task which we term unambiguous exclusion. As well as giving complementarity a clear operational definition, this also uncovers the foundational underpinning of unambiguous exclusion tasks for the first time.

I will give a general method for producing a process theory of local spacetime events and higher-order transformations from any base process theory of first-order maps. This process theory models events as intervention-context pairs, uniting the local actions by agents with the structure of the spacetime around them. I will show how this theory is richer than a standard process theory by permitting additional ways of composing agents beyond the usual tensor product, thereby capturing various strengths of possible spatio-temporal correlations. I will also explain the connection between these compositions and the logic "system BV".

Recent efforts to formulate a unified, causally neutral approach to quantum theory have highlighted the need for a framework treating spatial and temporal correlations on an equal footing. Building on this motivation, we propose operationally inspired axioms for quantum states over time, demonstrating that, unlike earlier approaches, these axioms yield a unique quantum state over time that is valid across both bipartite and multipartite spacetime scenarios. In particular, we show that the Fullwood-Parzygnat state over time uniquely satisfies these axioms, thus unifying bipartite temporal correlations and extending seamlessly to any number of temporal points. In particular, we identify two simple assumptions—linearity in the initial state and a quantum analog of conditionability—that single out a multipartite extension of bipartite quantum states over time, giving rise to a canonical generalization of Kirkwood-Dirac type quasi-probability distributions. This result provides a new characterization of quantum Markovianity, advancing our understanding of quantum correlations across both space and time.

the no-cloning theorem is an essential result in quantum information on top of which many quantum cryptography protocols are built. In this talk we examine the cloning question in the context of classical mechanics/Hamiltonian mechanics. We find the answer is quite subtle: whether a mechanical system can be cloned depends on the topological structure of its phase space. In particular, for a system to be clonable, its phase space must be contractible. This means certain systems (e.g. particle moving on a line) is clonable, while others (e.g. the simple pendulum) cannot be cloned. We explain the idea of the proof, which uses tools from algebraic topology (homotopy groups and Whitehead’s theorem). Finally we discuss the physical interpretations of this result: how do we reconcile this theorem with the experience that generally speaking, classical information is clonable? Can we use this no-cloning theorem to build secure communication protocols in classical systems instead of quantum ones?

To justify the existence of measurements that can not be performed jointly on quantum systems, Heisenberg put forward a heuristic argument, involving the famous gamma-ray microscope Gedankenexperiment, based on the existence of measurements that irreversibly alter the physical system on which they act. Today, the impossibility of jointly measuring some physical quantities, termed measurement incompatibility, and irreversible disturbance, namely the existence of operations that irreversibly alter the system on which they act, are understood to be distinct but related features of quantum mechanics. In our work, we formally characterized the relationship between these two properties, showing that measurement incompatibility implies irreversible disturbance, though the converse is false. The counterexamples are two toy theories: Minimal Classical Theory and Minimal Strongly Causal Bilocal Classical Theory. These two are distinct as counterexamples because the latter allows for classical conditioning. Our research followed an operational approach exploiting the framework of Operational Probabilistic Theories. In particular, it required the development of two new classes of operational theories: Minimal Operational Probabilistic Theories and Minimal Strongly Causal Operational Probabilistic Theories. These theories are characterized by a restricted set of dynamics, limited to the minimal set consistent with the set of states. In Minimal Strongly Causal Operational Probabilistic Theories, classical conditioning is also allowed.