J.S. Bell believed that his famous theorem entailed a deep and troubling conflict between the empirically verified predictions of quantum theory and the notion of local causality that is motivated by relativity theory. Yet many physicists continue to accept, usually on the reports of textbook writers and other commentators, that Bell's own view was wrong, and that, in fact, the theorem only brings out a conflict with determinism or the hidden-variables program or realism or some other such principle that (unlike local causality), allegedly, nobody should have believed anyway. (Moreover, typically such beliefs arise without the person in question even being aware that the view they are accepting differs so radically from Bell's own.) Here we try to shed some light on the situation by focusing on the concept of local causality that is the heart of Bell's theorem, and, in particular, by contrasting Bell's own understanding with the analysis of Jon Jarrett which has been the most influential source, in recent decades, for the kinds of claims mentioned previously. We point out a crucial difference between Jarrett's and Bell's own understanding of Bell's formulation of local causality, which turns out to be the basis for the erroneous claim, made by Jarrett and many others, that Bell misunderstood the implications of his own theorem.
The aim of this paper is to give a sharp definition of Bell's notion of local causality. To this end, first we unfold a framework, called local physical theory, integrating probabilistic and spatiotemporal concepts. Formulating local causality within this framework and classifying local physical theories by whether they obey local primitive causality --- a property rendering the dynamics of the theory causal, we then investigate what is needed for a local physical theory, with or without local primitive causality, to be locally causal. Finally, comparing Bell's local causality with the Common …
Bell's Theorem requires any theory which obeys the technical definitions of Free Choice and Local Causality to satisfy the Bell inequality. Invariant set theory is a finite theory of quantum physics which violates the Bell inequality exactly as does quantum theory: in it neither Free Choice nor Local Causality hold, consistent with Bell's Theorem. However, within the proposed theory, the mathematical expressions of both Free Choice and Local Causality involve states which, for number-theoretic reasons, cannot be ontic (cannot lie on the theory's fractal-like invariant set $I_U$ in state space)…
It is widely accepted that the violation of Bell inequalities excludes local theories of the quantum realm. This paper presents a new derivation of the inequalities from non-trivial non-local theories and formulates a stronger Bell argument excluding also these non-local theories. Taking into account all possible theories, the conclusion of this stronger argument provably is the strongest possible consequence from the violation of Bell inequalities on a qualitative probabilistic level (given usual background assumptions). Among the forbidden theories is a subset of outcome dependent theories s…
John Stewart Bell's famous 1964 theorem is widely regarded as one of the most important developments in the foundations of physics. It has even been described as "the most profound discovery of science." Yet even as we approach the 50th anniversary of Bell's discovery, its meaning and implications remain controversial. Many textbooks and commentators report that Bell's theorem refutes the possibility (suggested especially by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen in 1935) of supplementing ordinary quantum theory with additional ("hidden") variables that might restore determinism and/or some notion of a…
Bell's theorem shows that the reasonable relativistic causal principle known as "local causality" is not compatible with the predictions of quantum mechanics. It is not possible maintain a satisfying causal principle of this type while dropping any of the better-known assumptions of Bell's theorem. However, another assumption of Bell's theorem is the use of classical logic. One part of this assumption is the principle of "ontic definiteness", that is, that it must in principle be possible to assign definite truth values to all propositions treated in the theory. Once the logical setting is cla…
This paper aims to motivate Bell's notion of local causality by means of Bayesian networks. In a locally causal theory any superluminal correlation should be screened off by atomic events localized in any so-called \textit{shielder-off region} in the past of one of the correlating events. In a Bayesian network any correlation between non-descendant random variables are screened off by any so-called \textit{d-separating set} of variables. We will argue that the shielder-off regions in the definition of local causality conform in a well defined sense to the d-separating sets in Bayesian networks…
In a Bell test, the set of observed probability distributions complying with the principle of local realism is fully characterized by Bell inequalities. Quantum theory allows for a violation of these inequalities, which is famously regarded as Bell nonlocality. However, finding the maximal degree of this violation is, in general, an undecidable problem. Consequently, no algorithm can be used to derive quantum analogs of Bell inequalities, which would characterize the set of probability distributions allowed by quantum theory. Here we present a family of inequalities, which approximate the set …
The starting point of the present paper is Bell's notion of local causality and his own sharpening of it so as to provide for mathematical formalisation. Starting with Norsen's (2007, 2009) analysis of this formalisation, it is subjected to a critique that reveals two crucial aspects that have so far not been properly taken into account. These are (i) the correct understanding of the notions of sufficiency, completeness and redundancy involved; and (ii) the fact that the apparatus settings and measurement outcomes have very different theoretical roles in the candidate theories under study. Bot…
We introduce a new interpretation of quantum mechanics by examining the Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen's (EPR) paradox and Bell's inequality experiments under the assumption that the vacuum has an inhomogeneous texture for energy levels below the Heisenberg time-energy uncertainty relation. In this article, selected results from the most reliable Bell's inequality experiments will be quantitatively analyzed to show that our interpretation of quantum mechanics creates a new loophole in Bell's inequality, and that the past experimental findings do not contradict our new interpretation. Under the v…
On the basis of local realism theory, nonlocal information is necessary for violation of Bell's inequality. From a theoretical point of view, nonlocal information is essentially the mutual information on distant outcome and measurement setting. In this work we prove that if the measurement is free and unbiased, the mutual information about the distant outcome and setting is both necessary for the violation of Bell's inequality in the case with unbiased marginal probabilities. In the case with biased marginal probabilities, we point out that the mutual information about distant outcome cease to…
In this short note, I derive the Bell-CHSH inequalities as an elementary result in the present-day theory of statistical causality based on graphical models or Bayes' nets, defined in terms of DAGs (Directed Acyclic Graphs) representing direct statistical causal influences between a number of observed and unobserved random variables. I show how spatio-temporal constraints in loophole-free Bell experiments, and natural classical statistical causality considerations, lead to Bell's notion of local hidden variables, and thence to the CHSH inequalities. The word "local" applies to the way that the…
Explaining observations in terms of causes and effects is central to all of empirical science. Correlations between entangled quantum particles, however, seem to defy such an explanation. To recover a causal picture in this case, some of the fundamental assumptions of causal explanations have to give way. Here we consider a broad class of models where one of these assumptions, Bell's local causality, is relaxed by allowing a direct influence from one measurement outcome to the other. We use interventional and observational data from a photonic experiment to bound the strength of this causal in…
An EPR-Bell type experiment carried out on an entangled quantum system can produce correlations stronger than allowed by local realistic theories. However there are correlations that are no-signaling and are more non local than the quantum correlations. Here we show that any correlations more non local than those achievable in an EPR-Bell type experiment necessarily allow -in the context of the quantum formalism- both for signaling and for generation of entanglement. We use our approach to rederive Cirel'son bound for the CHSH expression, and we derive a new Cirel'son type bound for qutrits. W…
Nonlocality and contextuality are at the root of conceptual puzzles in quantum mechanics, and are key resources for quantum advantage in information-processing tasks. Bell nonlocality is best understood as the incompatibility between quantum correlations and the classical theory of causality, applied to relativistic causal structure. Contextuality, on the other hand, is on a more controversial foundation. In this work, I provide a common conceptual ground between nonlocality and contextuality as violations of classical causality. First, I show that Bell inequalities can be derived solely from …
Nieuwenhuizen argued that there exists some "contextuality loophole" in Bell's theorem. This claim is unjustified. In Bell's theorem non-contextuality is not presupposed but derived from Einstein causality using the EPR argument.
According to Bell's theorem a large class of hidden-variable models obeying Bell's notion of local causality conflict with the predictions of quantum mechanics. Recently, a Bell-type theorem has been proven using a weaker notion of local causality, yet assuming the existence of perfectly correlated event types. Here we present a similar Bell-type theorem without this latter assumption. The derived inequality differs from the Clauser-Horne inequality by some small correction terms, which render it less constraining.
A counterexample to Bell's theorem is presented which uses a pair of photons instead of spin-1/2 particles used in our previous counterexamples. A locally causal protocol is provided for Alice and Bob, which allows them to simulate observing photon polarizations at various angles, and record their results as A=+/-1 in S^3 and B=+/-1 in S^3, respectively. When these results are compared, the correlations are seen to be exactly those predicted by quantum mechanics; namely cos 2(alpha - beta), where alpha and beta are the angles of polarizers. The key ingredient in our counterexample is the topol…
While initial versions of Bell's theorem captured the notion of locality with the assumption of factorizability, in later presentations, Bell argued that factorizability could be derived from the more fundamental principle of local causality. Here we show that, contrary to what is commonly assumed, in order to derive factorizability from the principle of local causality, a non-trivial assumption, similar but strictly independent of settings independence, is required. Loosely speaking, such an extra assumption demands independence between the states of the measurement apparatuses. We conclude t…
Many of the heated arguments about the meaning of "Bell's theorem" arise because this phrase can refer to two different theorems that John Bell proved, the first in 1964 and the second in 1976. His 1964 theorem is the incompatibility of quantum phenomena with the dual assumptions of locality and determinism. His 1976 theorem is the incompatibility of quantum phenomena with the unitary property of local causality. This is contrary to Bell's own later assertions, that his 1964 theorem began with that single, and indivisible, assumption of local causality (even if not by that name). While there a…
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…
"Bell's theorem" can refer to two different theorems that John Bell proved, the first in 1964 and the second in 1976. His 1964 theorem is the incompatibility of quantum phenomena with the joint assumptions of Locality and Predetermination. His 1976 theorem is their incompatibility with the single property of Local Causality. This is contrary to Bell's own later assertions, that his 1964 theorem began with the assumption of Local Causality, even if not by that name. Although the two Bell's theorems are logically equivalent, their assumptions are not. Hence, the earlier and later theorems sugges…
The apparent nonlocality of quantum theory has been a persistent concern. Einstein et. al. (1935) and Bell (1964) emphasized the apparent nonlocality arising from entanglement correlations. While some interpretations embrace this nonlocality, modern variations of the Everett-inspired many worlds interpretation try to circumvent it. In this paper, we review Bell's "no-go" theorem and explain how it rests on three axioms, local causality, no superdeterminism, and one world. Although Bell is often taken to have shown that local causality is ruled out by the experimentally confirrmed entanglement …
Einstein held that the formalism of Quantum Mechanics (QM) entails "spooky actions at a distance". Indeed, in the 60's Bell showed that the predictions of QM disagree with the results of any locally causal description. Accepting non-local descriptions while retaining causality leads to a clash with the theory of relativity. Furthermore, the causal arrow of time by definition contradicts time-reversal symmetry. For these reasons, some authors (Feynman and Wheeler, Costa de Beauregard, Cramer, Price) have advocated abandoning microscopic causality. In the present article, a simplistic but concre…
John Bell showed that a big class of local hidden-variable models stands in conflict with quantum mechanics and experiment. Recently, there were suggestions that empirical adequate hidden-variable models might exist, which presuppose a weaker notion of local causality. We will show that a Bell-type inequality can be derived also from these weaker assumptions.
Bell's 1964 theorem causes a severe problem for the notion that correlations require explanation, encapsulated in Reichenbach's Principle of Common Cause. Despite being a hallmark of scientific thought, dropping the principle has been widely regarded as a much less bitter medicine than the perceived alternative---dropping relativistic causality. Recently, however, some authors have proposed that modified forms of Reichenbach's principle could be maintained even with relativistic causality. Here we break down Reichenbach's principle into two independent assumptions---the Principle of Common Cau…
We provide a new formulation of the Local Friendliness no-go theorem of Bong et al [Nat. Phys. 16, 1199 (2020)] from fundamental causal principles, providing another perspective on how it puts strictly stronger bounds on quantum reality than Bell's theorem. In particular, quantum causal models have been proposed as a way to maintain a peaceful coexistence between quantum mechanics and relativistic causality, while respecting Leibniz's methodological principle. This works for Bell's theorem but does not work for the Local Friendliness no-go theorem, which considers an extended Wigner's Friend s…
Mathematics equivalent to Bell's derivation of the inequalities, also allows a local hidden variables explanation for the correlation between distant measurements.
In papers published in the 25 years following his famous 1964 proof John Bell refined and reformulated his views on locality and causality. Although his formulations of local causality were in terms of probability, he had little to say about that notion. But assumptions about probability are implicit in his arguments and conclusions. Probability does not conform to these assumptions when quantum mechanics is applied to account for the particular correlations Bell argues are locally inexplicable. This account involves no superluminal action and there is even a sense in which it is local, but it…
Between 1964 and 1990, the notion of nonlocality in Bell's papers underwent a profound change as his nonlocality theorem gradually became detached from quantum mechanics, and referred to wider probabilistic theories involving correlations between separated beables. The proposition that standard quantum mechanics is itself nonlocal (more precisely, that it violates `local causality') became divorced from the Bell theorem per se from 1976 on, although this important point is widely overlooked in the literature. In 1990, the year of his death, Bell would express serious misgivings about the mathe…
We begin with a brief summary of issues encountered involving causality in quantum theory, placing careful emphasis on the assumptions involved in results such as the EPR paradox and Bell's inequality. We critique some solutions to the resulting paradox, including Rovelli's relational quantum mechanics and the many-worlds interpretation. We then discuss how a spacetime manifold could come about on the classical level out of a quantum system, by constructing a space with a topology out of the algebra of observables, and show that even with an hypothesis of superluminal causation enforcing consi…
Demonstrations of quantum entanglement which confirm the violation of Bell's inequality indicate that under certain conditions action at a distance is possible. This consequence seems to contradict the relativistic principle of causality, which asserts that an effect never precedes its cause, in any reference frame. By analyzing a numerical example of Bell's experiment with entangled pairs of photons, we show how observers in two inertial reference frames can disagree about the causality relation between two events. One observer claims that event 1 is the cause of event 2, while the other clai…
Bell's theorem states that quantum correlation function of two spins can not be represented as an expectation value of two classical random variables. Spin is described in Bell's model by a single scalar random variable. We discuss another classical model of spin in which spin is described by a triple of classical random variables. It is shown that in this model the quantum correlation function can be represented as the expectation value of classical random variables. Implications of this result to the problem of local causality of quantum mechanics and relations with problems of moments are b…
Bell appealed to the theory of relativity in formulating his principle of local causality. But he maintained that quantum field theories do not conform to that principle, even when their field equations are relativistically covariant and their observable algebras satisfy a relativistically motivated microcausality condition. A pragmatist view of quantum theory and an interventionist approach to causation prompt the reevaluation of local causality and microcausality. Local causality cannot be understood as a reasonable requirement on relativistic quantum field theories: it is unmotivated even i…
We show that arbitrary functions of continuous variables, e.g. position and momentum, can be used to generate tests that distinguish quantum theory from local hidden variable theories. By optimising these functions, we obtain more robust violations of local causality than obtained previously. We analytically calculate the optimal function and include the effect of nonideal detectors and noise, revealing that optimized functional inequalities are resistant to standard forms of decoherence. These inequalities could allow a loophole-free Bell test with efficient homodyne detection.
Bell's Theorem started with two qubits, spins $1/2$. It is a no-go statement on classical (local causal) models of quantum correlations. Only after 25 years, it turned out that for three qubits the situation is even more mind boggling. General statements concerning higher dimensional systems, qutrits etc., started to appear even later, once the spin (higher than $1/2$) picture was replaced by a more broad one, allowing all possible observables. This work is continuation of the Gdansk effort to take advantage of the fact that Bell Theorem can be put in form of a linear programming problem, whic…
The failure of Bell's theorem for Clifford algebra valued local variables is further consolidated by proving that the conditions of remote parameter independence and remote outcome independence are duly respected within the recently constructed exact, local realistic model for the EPR-Bohm correlations. Since the conjunction of these two conditions is equivalent to the locality condition of Bell, this provides an independent geometric proof of the local causality of the model, at the level of microstates. In addition to local causality, the model respects at least seven other conceptual and op…
This Comment argues that two assumptions, which are presented as basic assumptions of Bell's theorem in [J. Handsteiner et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 060401 (2017)] and elsewhere, in fact follow from more basic premises. Measurement independence follows from (i) the use of free variables and (ii) the causal arrow of time. Determinism follows from (i) local causality and (ii) perfect correlations (predicted by quantum mechanics). In particular, it is pointed out that the measurement-independence violating toy model of [M.J.W. Hall, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 250404 (2010)], is based on a retro-causa…
Based on the Bell theorem, it has been believed that a theoretical computation of the Bell correlation requires explicit use of an entangled state. Such a physical superposition of light waves occurs in the downconverter sources used in Bell experiments. However, this physical superposition is eliminated by wave propagation to spatially separated detectors. Bell correlations must therefore result from local waves, and the source boundary conditions of their previously entangled state. In the present model, Bell correlations are computed from disentangled separated waves, boundary conditions of…
Bell's theorem is often said to imply that quantum mechanics violates local causality, and that local causality cannot be restored with a hidden-variables theory. This however is only correct if the hidden-variables theory fulfils an assumption called Statistical Independence. Violations of Statistical Independence are commonly interpreted as correlations between the measurement settings and the hidden variables (which determine the measurement outcomes). Such correlations have been discarded as ``fine-tuning'' or a ``conspiracy''. We here point out that the common interpretation is at best ph…
The problems connected with a causality of space-time universe and with the paradox of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen are considered. A main philosophical problem and its possible solutions are briefly discussed. A concept of unified local field theory is considered. It is shown that in the framework of such theory there are nonlocal correlations between space separate events. These correlations are predicted by quantum mechanics and they are confirmed by Aspect type experiments for testing of Bell inequality. The presence of these nonlocal correlations in the framework of a local field theory …
In my commentary, I will argue that the conclusions drawn in the paper "Noncommutative causality in algebraic quantum field" theory by Gábor Hofer-Szabó (and similar publications) are incorrect. As proven by J.S. Bell, a local common causal explanation of correlations violating the Bell inequality is impossible.
A recent paper [P. Martin-Dussaud, C. Rovelli, F. Zalamea, arXiv:1806.08150] has given a lucid treatment of Bell's notion of local causality within the framework of the relational interpretation of quantum mechanics. However, the authors went on to conclude that the quantum violation of Bell's notion of local causality is no more surprising than a common cause. Here, I argue that this conclusion is unwarranted by the authors' own analysis. On the contrary, within the framework outlined by the authors, I argue that the implications of the relational interpretation are much more radical.
J.S. Bell's work has convinced many that correlations in violation of CHSH inequalities show that the world itself is non-local, and that there is an apparently essential conflict between any sharp formulation of quantum theory and relativity. Against this consensus, this paper argues that there is no conflict between quantum theory and relativity. Quantum theory itself helps us explain such (otherwise) puzzling correlations in a way that contradicts neither Bell's intuitive locality principle nor his local causality condition. The argument depends on understanding quantum theory along pragmat…
The entanglement and the violation of Bell and CHSH inequalities in spin polarization correlation experiments (SPCE) is considered to be one of the biggest mysteries of Nature and is called quantum nonlocality. In this paper we show once again that this conclusion is based on imprecise terminology and on the lack of understanding of probabilistic models used in various proofs of Bell and CHSH theorems. These models are inconsistent with experimental protocols used in SPCE. This is the only reason why Bell and CHSH inequalities are violated. A probabilistic non-signalling description of SPCE, c…
Bell's theorem is 50 years old. Still there is a controversy about its implications. Much of it has its roots in confusion regarding the premises from which the theorem can be derived. Some claim that a derivation of Bell's inequalities requires just locality assumption, and nothing more. Violations of the inequalities are then interpreted as ``nonlocality'' or ``quantum nonlocality''. We show that such claims are unfounded and that every derivation of Bell's inequalities requires a premise -- in addition to locality and freedom of choice -- which is either assumed tacitly, or unconsciously, o…
We propose a framework for the systematic and quantitative generalization of Bell's theorem using causal networks. We first consider the multi-objective optimization problem of matching observed data while minimizing the causal effect of nonlocal variables and prove an inequality for the optimal region that both strengthens and generalizes Bell's theorem. To solve the optimization problem (rather than simply bound it), we develop a novel genetic algorithm treating as individuals causal networks. By applying our algorithm to a photonic Bell experiment, we demonstrate the trade-off between the q…
A model of reality is called separable if the state of a composite system is equal to the union of the states of its parts, located in different regions of space. Spekkens has argued that it is trivial to reproduce the predictions of quantum mechanics using a separable ontological model, provided one allows for arbitrary violations of `dynamical locality'. However, since dynamical locality is strictly weaker than local causality, this leaves open the question of whether an ontological model for quantum mechanics can be both separable and dynamically local. We answer this question in the affirm…
