Bell's theorem contains the proposition that the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) theory (hypothesis) of the existence of elements of reality together with Einstein locality permits a mathematical description of EPR experiments by functions that are all defined on one common probability space. This proposition leads in turn to restrictions for possible experimental outcomes that Bell expressed in terms of his well known inequalities and that Vorob'ev and others had investigated before Bell. Summarizing several previous publications and adding new material, the above proposition is refuted by Einstein-local counterexamples from classical physics and shown to involve additional assumptions that can not be justified for mutually exclusive (incompatible) measurements and experiments. Moreover, criticism of our work by Mermin who invoked "standard sampling arguments" is shown to be false.
Bell inequalities are a consequence of measurement incompatibility (not, as generally thought, of nonlocality). In classical terms, this is equivalent to contextuality -- measurement devices do have a significant effect. Contextual models are reasonable in classical physics, which always took the view that we ignore measurement devices whenever possible, but if that isn't good enough then we do have to model measurement devices. It is also argued that quantum theory should only be taken with counterfactual seriousness, because measurement incompatibility is a counterfactual concept.
We analyze the validity of Bell and Kochen-Specker theorems under local (or noncontextual) realism but avoiding an assumption of the existence of a joint probability distribution for incompatible observables. We formulate a realist model which complies with this requirement. This is obtained by employing divergent sequences that nevertheless have marginals which are convergent. We find that under standard reasonable assumptions this possibility does not lead to a loophole of those theorems, by deriving a short of CHSH inequality valid for any finite size ensemble. Moreover, we analyze a Hardy'…
Bell non-locality represents one of the most striking departures of quantum mechanics from classical physics. It shows that correlations between space-like separated systems allowed by quantum mechanics are stronger than those present in any classical theory. In a recent work [Sci. Adv. 7, eabc3847 (2021)], a family of Bell functionals tailored to mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) is proposed. For these functionals, the maximal quantum violation is achieved if the two measurements performed by one of the parties are constructed out of MUBs of a fixed dimension. Here, we generalize this constructi…
The observation of quantum nonlocality, i.e. quantum correlations violating a Bell inequality, implies the use of incompatible local quantum measurements. Here we consider the converse question. That is, can any set of incompatible measurements be used in order to demonstrate Bell inequality violation? Our main result is to construct a local hidden variable model for an incompatible set of qubit measurements. Specifically, we show that if Alice uses this set of measurements, then for any possible shared entangled state, and any possible dichotomic measurements performed by Bob, the resulting s…
It is well known that jointly measurable observables cannot lead to a violation of any Bell inequality - independent of the state and the measurements chosen at the other site. In this letter we prove the converse: every pair of incompatible quantum observables enables the violation of a Bell inequality and therefore must remain incompatible within any other no-signaling theory. While in the case of von Neumann measurements it is sufficient to use the same pair of observables at both sites, general measurements can require different choices. The main result is obtained by showing that for arbi…
Incompatible measurements, i.e., measurements that cannot be simultaneously performed, are necessary to observe nonlocal correlations. It is natural to ask, e.g., how incompatible the measurements have to be to achieve a certain violation of a Bell inequality. In this work, we provide the direct link between Bell nonlocality and the quantification of measurement incompatibility. This includes quantifiers for both incompatible and genuine-multipartite incompatible measurements. Our method straightforwardly generalizes to include constraints on the system's dimension (semi-device-independent app…
Bell conjectured that a positive Wigner function does not allow violation of the inequalities imposed by local hidden variable theories. A requirement for this conjecture is "when phase space measurements are performed". We introduce the theory-independent concept of "operationally local transformations" which refers to the change of the switch on a local measurement apparatus. We show that two separated parties, performing only phase space measurements on a composite quantum system with a positive Wigner function and performing only operationally local transformations that preserve this posit…
In the case of a pair of two-outcome measurements incompatibility is equivalent to Bell nonlocality. Indeed, any pair of incompatible two-outcome measurements can violate the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt Bell inequality, which has been proven by Wolf et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 230402 (2009)]. In the case of more than two measurements the equivalence between incompatibility and Bell nonlocality is still an open problem, though partial results have recently been obtained. Here we show that the equivalence breaks for a special choice of three measurements. In particular, we present a set of thre…
Counterfactual definiteness is supposed to underlie the Bell theorem. An old controversy exists among those who reject the theorem implications by rejecting counterfactual definiteness and those who claim that, since it is a direct consequence of locality, it cannot be independently rejected. We propose a different approach for solving this contentious issue by realizing that counterfactual definiteness is an unnecessary and inconsistent assumption. Counterfactual definiteness is not equivalent to realism or determinism neither it follows from locality. It merely reduces to an incongruent appl…
Bell's theorem is a statement by which averages obtained from specific types of statistical distributions must conform to a family of inequalities. These models, in accordance with the EPR argument, provide for the simultaneous existence of quantum mechanically incompatible quantities. We first recall several contradictions arising between the assumption of a joint distribution for incompatible observables and the probability structure of quantum-mechanics, and conclude that Bell's theorem is not expected to be relevant to quantum phenomena described by non-commuting observables, irrespective …
Incompatibility of observables, or measurements, is one of the key features of quantum mechanics, related, among other concepts, to Heisenberg's uncertainty relations and Bell nonlocality. In this manuscript we show, however, that even though incompatible measurements are necessary for the violation of any Bell inequality, some relevant Bell-like inequalities may be obtained if compatibility relations are assumed between the local measurements of one (or more) of the parties. Hence, compatibility of measurements is not necessarily a drawback and may, however, be useful for the detection of Bel…
Locality and realism are two main assumptions in deriving Bell's inequalities. Though the experimentally demonstrated violations of Bell's inequalities rule out local realism, it is, however, not clear what role each of the two assumptions solely plays in the observed violations. Here we show that two testable inequalities for the statistical predictions of two-qubit systems can be derived by assuming either locality or realism. It turns out that quantum mechanics respects a nonlocal classical realism, and it is locality that is incompatible with experimental observations and quantum mechanics…
Derivation and experimental violation of Bell-like inequalities involve the measurement of in-compatible observables. Simple complementarity forbids the existence of such joint probabilitydistribution. Moreover, the measurement of incompatible observables requires different experimen-tal procedures, which no necessarily must share a common joint statistics. In this work, we avoidthese difficulties by proposing a joint simultaneous measurement experiment. We can obtain theexact individual statistics of all the observables involved in the Bell inequalities after a suitable datainversion. A lack …
A model for two entangled systems in an EPR setting is shown to reproduce the quantum-mechanical outcomes and expectation values. Each system is represented by a small sphere containing a point-like particle embedded in a field. A quantum state appears as an equivalence class of several possible particle-field configurations. Contrarily to Bell-type hidden variables models, the fields account for the non-commutative aspects of the measurements and deny the simultaneous reality of incompatible physical quantities, thereby allowing to escape EPR's "completeness or locality" dilemma.
H. P. Stapp has proposed a number of demonstrations of a Bell-type theorem which dispensed with an assumption of hidden variables, but relied only upon locality together with an assumption that experimenters can choose freely which of several incompatible observables to measure. In recent papers his strategy has centered upon counterfactual conditionals. Stapp's paper in American Journal of Physics, 2004, replies to objections raised against earlier expositions of this strategy and proposes a simplified demonstration. The new demonstration is criticized, several subtleties in the logic of coun…
We model a typical Bell-test experimental situation by considering that Alice and Bob perform incompatible measurements in a sequential way, with mixed orders of execution. After emphasizing that order effects will generally produce a violation of the marginal laws, we derive an upper limit for the observed correlations. More precisely, when Alice's and Bob's measurements are compatible, the marginal laws are obeyed and Tsirelson's bound limits the quantum correlations in the Bell-CHSH inequality to $2\sqrt{2}$. On the other hand, when Alice and Bob perform incompatible mixed sequential measur…
We show that by taking into account randomness of realization of experimental contexts it is possible to construct common Kolmogorov space for data collected for these contexts, although they can be incompatible. We call such a construction "Kolmogorovization" of contextuality. This construction of common probability space is applied to Bell's inequality. It is well known that its violation is a consequence of collecting statistical data in a few incompatible experiments. In experiments performed in quantum optics contexts are determined by selections of pairs of angles $(θ_i, θ^\prime_j)$ fix…
According to Bell's theorem, local realism is incompatible with quantum theory. However, it depends on an implied assumption about quantum measurement. We suggest that the assumption might be removed by a detailed quantum analysis of the interaction between the measured system and measuring apparatus using Born's statistical interpretation. But it is conceivable that detailed analysis of all possible Bell experiments would allow the compatibility of quantum theory and local realism. The difficulties of theory and experiment are closely related.
Experimental construction of a symmetric three-qubit entangled state and its utility in testing the violation of a Bell inequality on an NMR quantum simulator
We formulate the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) gedankenexperiment within the framework of relativistic quantum theory to analyze a situation in which measurements are performed by moving observers. We point out that under certain conditions the perfect anti-correlation of an EPR pair of spins in the same direction is deteriorated in the moving observers' frame due to the Wigner rotation, and show that the degree of the violation of Bell's inequality prima facie decreases with increasing the velocity of the observers if the directions of the measurement are fixed. However, this does not imply a…
As a way of saving quantum resources, recycling of Bell nonlocality has been experimentally studied, but restricted to sequential unsharp measurements. However, it has been theoretically shown recently that projective measurements are sufficient for recycling nonlocality [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{129}, 230402 (2022)]. Here, we go beyond unsharp measurement scenarios and experimentally demonstrate the recycling of nonlocal resources with projective measurements. By verifying the violation of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality, we find that three independent parties can recycle the Bel…
Local realism is the worldview in which physical properties of objects exist independently of measurement and where physical influences cannot travel faster than the speed of light. Bell's theorem states that this worldview is incompatible with the predictions of quantum mechanics, as is expressed in Bell's inequalities. Previous experiments convincingly supported the quantum predictions. Yet, every experiment requires assumptions that provide loopholes for a local realist explanation. Here we report a Bell test that closes the most significant of these loopholes simultaneously. Using a well-o…
Bell's theorem shows that local measurements on entangled states give rise to correlations incompatible with local hidden variable models. The degree of quantum nonlocality is not maximal though, as there are even more nonlocal theories beyond quantum theory still compatible with the nonsignalling principle. In spite of decades of research, we still have a very fragmented picture of the whole geometry of these different sets of correlations. Here we employ both analytical and numerical tools to ameliorate that. First, we identify two different classes of Bell scenarios where the nonsignalling …
In the first part of this presentation (sections 2 to 6), I show that Bell's Inequalities provide a quantitative criterion to test "reasonable" Supplementary Parameters Theories versus Quantum Mechanics. Following Bell, I first explain the motivations for considering supplementary parameters theories: the argument is based on an analysis of the famous Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) Gedankenexperiment . Introducing a reasonable Locality Condition, we will then derive Bell's theorem, which states: (i) that Local Supplementary Parameters Theories are constrained by Bell's Inequalities; (ii) that c…
In 1935, Albert Einstein and two colleagues, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen (EPR) developed a thought experiment to demonstrate what they felt was a lack of completeness in quantum mechanics. EPR also postulated the existence of more fundamental theory where physical reality of any system would be completely describe by the variables/states of that fundamental theory. This variable is commonly called hidden variable and the theory is called hidden variable theory (HVT). In 1964, John Bell proposed an empirically verifiable criterion to test for the existence of these HVTs. He derived an inequ…
The existence of incompatible measurements is a fundamental phenomenon having no explanation in classical physics. Intuitively, one considers given measurements to be incompatible within a framework of a physical theory, if their simultaneous implementation on a single physical device is prohibited by the theory itself. In the mathematical language of quantum theory, measurements are described by POVMs (positive operator valued measures), and given POVMs are by definition incompatible if they cannot be obtained via coarse-graining from a single common POVM; this notion generalizes noncommutati…
A very simple illustration of the Bell-Kochen-Specker contradiction is presented using continuous observables in infinite dimensional Hilbert space. It is shown that the assumption of the \emph{existence} of putative values for position and momentum observables for one single particle is incompatible with quantum mechanics.
In quantum physics the term `contextual' can be used in more than one way. One usage, here called `Bell contextual' since the idea goes back to Bell, is that if $A$, $B$ and $C$ are three quantum observables, with $A$ compatible (i.e., commuting) with $B$ and also with $C$, whereas $B$ and $C$ are incompatible, a measurement of $A$ might yield a different result (indicating that quantum mechanics is contextual) depending upon whether $A$ is measured along with $B$ (the $\{A,B\}$ context) or with $C$ (the $\{A,C\}$ context). An analysis of what projective quantum measurements measure shows that…
Bell's theorem is typically understood as the proof that quantum theory is incompatible with local-hidden-variable models. More generally, we can see the violation of a Bell inequality as witnessing the impossibility of explaining quantum correlations with classical causal models. The violation of a Bell inequality, however, does not exclude classical models where some level of measurement dependence is allowed, that is, the choice made by observers can be correlated with the source generating the systems to be measured. Here, we show that the level of measurement dependence can be quantitativ…
The combination of various physically plausible properties, such as no signaling, determinism, and experimental free will, is known to be incompatible with quantum correlations. Hence, these properties must be individually or jointly relaxed in any model of such correlations. The necessary degrees of relaxation are quantified here, via natural distance and information-theoretic measures. This allows quantitative comparisons between different models in terms of the resources, such as the number of bits, of randomness, communication, and/or correlation, that they require. For example, measuremen…
In contrast with classical physics, in quantum physics some sets of measurements are incompatible in the sense that they can not be performed simultaneously. Among other applications, incompatibility allows for contextuality and Bell nonlocality. This makes of crucial importance developing tools for certifying whether a set of measurements posses a certain structure of incompatibility. Here we show that, for quantum or nonsignaling models, if the measurements employed in a Bell test satisfy a given type of compatibility, then the amount of violation of some specific Bell inequalities become li…
A model for two entangled systems in an EPR setting is shown to reproduce the quantum-mechanical outcomes and expectation values. Each system is represented by a small sphere containing a point-like particle embedded in a field. A quantum state appears as an equivalence class of several possible particle-field configurations. Contrarily to Bell-type hidden variables models, the fields account for the non-commutative aspects of the measurements and deny the simultaneous reality of incompatible physical quantities, thereby allowing to escape EPR's "completeness or locality" dilemma.
A model for two entangled systems in an EPR setting is shown to reproduce the quantum-mechanical outcomes and expectation values. Each system is represented by a small sphere containing a point-like particle embedded in a field. A quantum state appears as an equivalence class of several possible particle-field configurations. Contrarily to Bell-type hidden variables models, the fields account for the non-commutative aspects of the measurements and deny the simultaneous reality of incompatible physical quantities, thereby allowing to escape EPR's ``completeness or locality'' dilemma.
Self-guided certification of nonlocality in quantum networks
Instituto Milenio de Investigación en Óptica, Universidad de Concepción（孔塞普西翁大学米列尼奥光学研究所）；Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Departamento de Física, Universidad de Concepción（孔塞普西翁大学物理与数学科学学院物理系）；ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology（巴塞罗那科技大学光子科学研究所）
It is shown that any theory that has certain properties has a measurement problem, in the sense that it makes predictions that are incompatible with measurement outcomes being absolute (that is, unique and non-relational). These properties are Bell Nonlocality, Information Preservation, and Local Dynamics. The result is extended by deriving Local Dynamics from No Superluminal Influences, Separable Dynamics, and Consistent Embeddings. As well as explaining why the existing Wigner's-friend-inspired no-go theorems hold for quantum theory, these results also shed light on whether a future theory o…
Bell's [Physics 1 (1964) 195-200] theorem is popularly supposed to establish the nonlocality of quantum physics. Violation of Bell's inequality in experiments such as that of Aspect, Dalibard and Roger [Phys. Rev. Lett. 49 (1982) 1804-1807] provides empirical proof of nonlocality in the real world. This paper reviews recent work on Bell's theorem, linking it to issues in causality as understood by statisticians. The paper starts with a proof of a strong, finite sample, version of Bell's inequality and thereby also of Bell's theorem, which states that quantum theory is incompatible with the con…
The celebrating theorem of A. Fine implies that the CHSH inequality is violated if and only if the joint probability distribution for the quadruples of observables involved the EPR-Bohm-Bell experiment does not exist, i.e., it is impossible to use the classical probabilistic model (Kolmogorov, 1933). In this note we demonstrate that, in spite of Fine's theorem, the results of observations in the EPR-Bohm-Bell experiment can be described in the classical probabilistic framework. However, the "quantum probabilities" have to be interpreted as conditional probabilities, where conditioning is with …
A critical reconsideration of the EPR (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen) paper shows that the EPR argument can be developed without using the concept of `element of physical reality', thus eliminating any philosophical element in the logical chains of the paper. Deprived of its philosophical ornament, the EPR argument plainly reduces to require what quantum mechanics can not do: to assign definite values to two incompatible physical quantities. Hidden variables theories built up according to Bell - type theorems are formulated on the basis of the assumption that the locality condition implies the stati…
