Many Bell test results violate Bell's inequality. The premise of Bell's inequality is local determinism. We propose that, it can't be proved that something's mechanism isn't deterministic; if loopholes are not the reason of violation of Bell's inequality, violation of Bell's inequality illustrates that the mechanism isn't local. We propose a new explanation of Bell test, and the explanation illustrates the locality loophole is not closed by Weihs' experiment.
We update our paper: The collapse of Bell determinism (Physics Letters A, 359 (2006): 122-125; available online 16 June 2006). First, we point out that Olivier Brunet, using lattice theoretic methods, has recently, and quite independently, derived the core technical lemma of our paper; see: A priori knowledge and the Kochen-Specker theorem (Physics Letters A, available online 5 January 2007). He has also kindly pointed out a misstep in the last line of one of our results. We discuss the correction and comment on slightly revised notions of how Bell determinism collapses. We also correct a few …
We propose a definition of determinism for a physical system that includes, besides the measurement device, the surrounding environment. This enlarged system is assumed to follow a predefined trajectory starting from some (unknown) initial conditions that play the role of hidden variables for the experiment. These assumptions, which are different from realism, allow us to derive a type of time Bell inequalities, which are violated by Quantum Mechanics. In order to illustrate this violation, we discuss the particular case of measurements on a spin 1/2 particle.
It is an established fact that entanglement is a resource. Sharing an entangled state leads to non-local correlations and to violations of Bell inequalities. Such non-local correlations illustrate the advantage of quantum resources over classical resources. Here, we study quantitatively Bell inequalities with $2\times n$ inputs. As found in [N. Gisin et al., Int. J. Q. Inf. 5, 525 (2007)] quantum mechanical correlations cannot reach the algebraic bound for such inequalities. In this paper, we uncover the heart of this effect which we call the {\it fraction of determinism}. We show that any qua…
By assuming a deterministic evolution of quantum systems and taking realism into account, we carefully build a hidden variable theory for Quantum Mechanics based on the notion of ontological states proposed by 't Hooft. We view these ontological states as the ones embedded with realism and compare them to the (usual) quantum states that represent superpositions, viewing the latter as mere information of the system they describe. Such a deterministic model puts forward conditions for the applicability of Bell's inequality: the usual inequality cannot be applied to the usual experiments. We buil…
The paper considers the claim that quantum theories with a deterministic dynamics of objects in ordinary space-time, such as Bohmian mechanics, contradict the assumption that the measurement settings can be freely chosen in the EPR experiment. That assumption is one of the premises of Bell's theorem. I first argue that only a premise to the effect that what determines the choice of the measurement settings is independent of what determines the past state of the measured system is needed for the derivation of Bell's theorem. Determinism as such does not undermine that independence (unless there…
Bell's Theorem from 1964 and the (Strong) Free Will Theorem of Conway and Kochen from 2009 both exclude deterministic hidden variable theories (or, in modern parlance, `ontological models') that are compatible with some small fragment of quantum mechanics, admit `free' settings of the archetypal Alice & Bob experiment, and satisfy a locality condition called Parameter Independence. We clarify the relationship between these theorems by giving reformulations of both that exactly pinpoint their resemblance and their differences. Our reformulation imposes determinism in what we see as the only con…
The Bell-Kochen-Specker conditions (BKS) for a deterministic noncontextual hidden-variable model are wonderfully simple to state, deal with just one-dimensional projectors on a Hilbert space H and make no reference to a probabilistic phase space or quantum system. They only ask for an assignment of zero or one to every projector such that the assignment respects orthogonal resolutions of the identity. Various no-go results in the literature show that the pair of statements {BKS is valid; dim H greater than or equal to 3} are inconsistent. Here we show, more radically, that the pair actually co…
In this PhD thesis the ancient question of determinism ('Does every event have a cause ?') will be re-examined. In the philosophy of science and physics communities the orthodox position states that the physical world is indeterministic: quantum events would have no causes but happen by irreducible chance. Arguably the clearest theorem that leads to this conclusion is Bell's theorem. The commonly accepted 'solution' to the theorem is 'indeterminism', in agreement with the Copenhagen interpretation. Here it is recalled that indeterminism is not really a physical but rather a philosophical hypot…
We give a counter example to show that determinism as such is in contradiction to quantum mechanics. More precisely, we consider a simple quantum system and its environment, including the measurement device, and make the assumption that the time evolution of the global system, the quantum system plus this environment, is deterministic, i. e., the time evolution is given by a dynamical trajectory from some initial conditions. From this, we prove a type of Bell inequalities which are violated by quantum mechanics, reaching the conclusion that our quantum system evolves in a non deterministic way…
It has been believed that statistical inequality such as Bell inequality should be modified once measurement independence (MI), the assumption that observers can freely choose measurement settings without changing the probability distribution of hidden variables, is relaxed. However, we show that there exists the possibility that Bell inequality is still valid even if MI is relaxed. MI is only a sufficient condition to derive Bell inequality when both determinism and setting independence, usually called as local realism, are satisfied. We thus propose a new condition necessary and sufficient f…
Contrary to common belief, it is not difficult to construct deterministic models where stochastic behavior is correctly described by quantum mechanical amplitudes, in precise accordance with the Copenhagen-Bohr-Bohm doctrine. What is difficult however is to obtain a Hamiltonian that is bounded from below, and whose ground state is a vacuum that exhibits complicated vacuum fluctuations, as in the real world. Beneath Quantum Mechanics, there may be a deterministic theory with (local) information loss. This may lead to a sufficiently complex vacuum state, and to an apparent non-locality in the re…
We give a simple non-mathematical explanation of Bell's inequality. Using the inequality, we show how the results of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) experiments violate the principle of strong locality, also known as local causality. This indicates, given some reasonable-sounding assumptions, that some sort of faster-than-light influence is present in nature. We discuss the implications, emphasizing the relationship between EPR and the Principle of Relativity, the distinction between causal influences and signals, and the tension between EPR and determinism.
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…
We present an alternative approach to modeling Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm (EPRB)-type experiments. The basis for our approach will be to replace the conventional Kolmogorov theory of probability, with the more general Dempster-Schafer theory of evidence. This leads to the identification of a distinct type of epistemic uncertainty, which is not present in Kolmogorov theory, but which is relevant in modeling experiments with operationally incompatible observables. Our treatment naturally yields conditional relative frequencies, which are perfectly compatible with classical determinism and loca…
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…
Most physicists agree that the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bell paradox exemplifies much of the strange behavior of quantum mechanics, but argument persists about what assumptions underlie the paradox. To clarify what the debate is about, we employ a simple and well-known thought experiment involving two correlated photons to help us focus on the logical assumptions needed to construct the EPR and Bell arguments. The view presented in this paper is that the minimal assumptions behind Bell's inequality are locality and counterfactual definiteness, but not scientific realism, determinism, or hidden …
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 inequalities or Bell-like experiments are supposed to test hidden variable theories based on three intuitive assumptions: determinism, locality and measurement independence. If one of the assumptions of Bell inequality is properly relaxed, the probability distribution of the singlet state, for example, can be reproduced by a hidden variable model. Models that deal with the relaxation of some condition above, with more than one hidden variable, have been studied in the literature nowadays. In this work the relation between the number of hidden variables and the degree of relaxation necessa…
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, typica…
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…
Violation of Bell inequality (or, Bell-type inequalities) by nonlocal correlations is justified by relaxation of at least one of the plausible physical constraints used to model such inequality. Based on this fact, in this letter we present a procedure to simulate three-qubit GHZ correlation relaxing two constraints, determinism and no signaling simultaneously. We have also derived the minimum amount of indeterminism and signaling to be introduced in a system. The corresponding number of signaling and local bits of mutual information needed to communicate are also provided and thus we are able…
Bell's theorem shows that local realistic theories place strong restrictions on observable correlations between different systems, giving rise to Bell's inequality which can be violated in experiments using entangled quantum states. Bell's theorem is based on the assumptions of realism, locality, and the freedom to choose between measurement settings. In experimental tests, "loopholes" arise which allow observed violations to still be explained by local realistic theories. Violating Bell's inequality while simultaneously closing all such loopholes is one of the most significant still open chal…
The Kochen-Specker theorem demonstrates that it is not possible to reproduce the predictions of quantum theory in terms of a hidden variable model where the hidden variables assign a value to every projector deterministically and noncontextually. A noncontextual value-assignment to a projector is one that does not depend on which other projectors - the context - are measured together with it. Using a generalization of the notion of noncontextuality that applies to both measurements and preparations, we propose a scheme for deriving inequalities that test whether a given set of experimental sta…
Determinism, no signaling and measurement independence are some of the constraints required for framing Bell inequality. Any model simulating nonlocal correlations must either individually or jointly give up these constraints. Recently M. J. W. Hall (Phys Review A, \textbf{84}, 022102 (2011)) derived different forms of Bell inequalities under the assumption of individual or joint relaxation of those constraints on both(i.e., two) the sides of a bipartite system. In this work we have investigated whether one sided relaxation can also be a useful resource for simulating nonlocal correlations or …
It is shown that optical experimental tests of Bell inequality violations can be described by SU(1,1) transformations of the vacuum state, followed by photon coincidence detections. The set of all possible tests are described by various SU(1,1) subgroups of Sp(8,$\Bbb R$). In addition to establishing a common formalism for physically distinct Bell inequality tests, the similarities and differences of post--selected tests of Bell inequality violations are also made clear. A consequence of this analysis is that Bell inequality tests are performed on a very general version of SU(1,1) coherent sta…
A simple nonlocal mechanism for Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) correlations inspired by Bell's conjecture (according to which "behind the scenes something is going faster than light") is suggested, and an experimental test is proposed.
We describe a procedure to create entangled history states and measurements that would enable one to check for temporal entanglement. The checks take the form of inequalities among observable quantities. They are similar in spirit, but different in detail, to Bell tests for ordinary entanglement.
We report on the experimental realization of two different Bell inequality tests based on six-qubit linear-type and Y-shape graph states. For each of these states, the Bell inequalities tested are optimal in the sense that they provide the maximum violation among all Bell inequalities with stabilizing observables and possess the maximum resistance to noise.
It is pointed out that a loophole exists in experimental tests of Bell inequality using atomic qubits, due to possible errors in the rotation angles of the atomic states. A sufficient condition is derived for closing the loophole.
Bell test is one of the most important tools in quantum information science. On the one hand, it enables fundamental test for the physics laws of nature, and on the other hand, it can be also applied in varieties of device independent tasks such as quantum key distribution and random number generation. In practice, loopholes existing in experimental demonstrations of Bell tests may affect the validity of the conclusions. In this work, we focus on the randomness (freewill) loophole and investigate the randomness requirement in a well-known Bell test, the Clauser-Horne test, under various condit…
It is shown that memory effects in experiments measuring correlations in entangled photon pairs are not able to produce a relevant loophole for the test of local hidden variables theories.
According to recent reports, the last loopholes in testing Bell's inequality are closed. It is argued that the really important task in this field has not been tackled yet and that the leading experiments claiming to close locality and detection efficiency loopholes, although making a very significant progress, have conceptual drawbacks.
We study an asymmetric form of two-mode entangled coherent state (ECS), where the two local amplitudes have different values, for testing the Bell-Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (Bell-CHSH) inequality. We find that the asymmetric ECSs have obvious advantages over the symmetric form of ECSs in testing the Bell-CHSH inequality. We further study an asymmetric strategy in distributing an ECS over a lossy environment and find that such a scheme can significantly increase violation of the inequality.
A time-reversal Bell test protocol is proposed. The quantum states are prepared by faraway separated partners and transferred to the third partner who carries out Bell basis measurement on them to post-select the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pairs. If some loopholes open, similar as that in normal Bell test, the Bell violation in the present protocol is apt to be interpreted with local hidden variable (lhv) theory. With some modifications on the protocol, the lhvs at both sides are prevented to exchange their information. Thus they only function locally and cannot affect the behaviors of the …
A family of local models containing two angles as hidden variables is defined for experiments measuring polarization correlation of optical photons. Searching for the best model of the family, that is giving predictions most close to quantum mechanics, allows deriving Bell-type inequalities which may be tested with relatively low detection efficiency.
Quantum nonlocality has recently been classified into three distinct types: quantum entanglement, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering, and Bell's nonlocality. Experimentally Bell's nonlocality is usually tested by quantum violation of the Clause-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality in the two-qubit system. Bell's nonlocality is the strongest type of nonlocality, also due this reason Bell-test experiments have encountered both the locality loophole and the detection loophole for a very long time. As a weaker nonlocality, EPR steering naturally escapes from the locality loophole and is corres…
We have performed a Bell-type test for energy-time entangled qutrits. A method of inferring the Bell violation in terms of an associated interference visibility is derived. Using this scheme we obtained a Bell value of $2.784 \pm 0.023$, representing a violation of $34 σ$ above the limit for local variables. The scheme has been developed for use at telecom wavelengths and using proven long distance quantum communication architecture to optimize the utility of this high dimensional entanglement resource.
We propose a scheme for testing high-dimensional Bell inequalities in phase space. High-dimensional Bell inequalities can be recast into the forms of a phase-space version using quasiprobability functions with the complex-valued order parameter. We investigate their violations for two-mode squeezed states while increasing the dimension of measurement outcomes, and finally show the robustness of high-dimensional tests to detection inefficiency.
Any Bell test consists of a sequence of measurements on a quantum state in space-like separated regions. Thus, a state is better than others for a Bell test when, for the optimal measurements and the same number of trials, the probability of existence of a local model for the observed outcomes is smaller. The maximization over states and measurements defines the optimal nonlocality proof. Numerical results show that the required optimal state does not have to be maximally entangled.
We present a protocol that produces a conditionally prepared state that can be used for a Bell test based on homodyne detection. Based on the results of Munro [PRA 1999], the state is near-optimal for Bell-inequality violations based on quadrature-phase homodyne measurements that use correlated photon-number states. The scheme utilizes the Gaussian entanglement distillation protocol of Eisert et. al. [Annals of Phys. 2004] and uses only beam splitters and photodetection to conditionally prepare a non-Gaussian state from a source of two-mode squeezed states with low squeezing parameter, permitt…
In quantum information, lifting is a systematic procedure that can be used to derive---when provided with a seed Bell inequality---other Bell inequalities applicable in more complicated Bell scenarios. It is known that the procedure of lifting introduced by Pironio [J. Math. Phys. A 46, 062112 (2005)] preserves the facet-defining property of a Bell inequality. Lifted Bell inequalities therefore represent a broad class of Bell inequalities that can be found in {\em all} Bell scenarios. Here, we show that the maximal value of {\em any} lifted Bell inequality is preserved for both the set of nons…
Experimental violations of Bell inequalities are in general vulnerable to so-called "loopholes." In this work, we analyse the characteristics of a loophole-free Bell test with photons, closing simultaneously the locality, freedom-of-choice, fair-sampling (i.e. detection), coincidence-time, and memory loopholes. We pay special attention to the effect of excess predictability in the setting choices due to non-ideal random number generators. We discuss necessary adaptations of the CH/Eberhard inequality when using such imperfect devices and -- using Hoeffding's inequality and Doob's optional stop…
We study Bell inequality tests with entanglement between a coherent-state field in a cavity and a two-level atom. In order to detect the cavity field for such a test, photon on/off measurements and photon number parity measurements, respectively, are investigated. When photon on/off measurements are used, at least 50% of detec- tion efficiency is required to demonstrate violation of the Bell inequality. Photon number parity measurements for the cavity field can be effectively performed using ancillary atoms and an atomic detector, which leads to large degrees of Bell violations up to Cirel'son…
We propose a feasible optical setup allowing for a loophole-free Bell test with efficient homodyne detection. A non-gaussian entangled state is generated from a two-mode squeezed vacuum by subtracting a single photon from each mode, using beamsplitters and standard low-efficiency single-photon detectors. A Bell violation exceeding 1% is achievable with 6-dB squeezed light and an homodyne efficiency around 95%. A detailed feasibility analysis, based upon the recent generation of single-mode non-gaussian states, confirms that this method opens a promising avenue towards a complete experimental B…
The issues, raised in arXiv:0809.011, concerning the relevance of the von Neumann theorem for the single-system's quantumness test proposed in arXiv:0704.1962 and performed for the case of single photon polarization in arXiv:0804.1646, and the usefulness of Bell's inequality for testing the idea of macroscopic quantum systems are discussed in some details. Finally, the proper quantum mechanical description of the experiment with polarized photon beams is presented.
For a two-particle two-state system, sets of compatible propositions exist for which quantum mechanics and noncontextual hidden-variable theories make conflicting predictions for every individual system whatever its quantum state. This permits a simple all-or-nothing state-independent experimental verification of the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem.
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…
The inequalities proposed in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 170404 (2010)] are not Bell's inequalities in the usual sense: there are local classical models that violate these inequalities. Thus, their violation demonstrates nonlocality only under assumptions about the physical implementation and moreover they cannot be used as a device-independent test of nonlocality.
We emphasize the difficulties of an experiment that can definitely discriminate between local realistic hidden variables theories and quantum mechanics using the Bell CHSH inequalities and a real measurement apparatus. In particular we analyze some examples in which the noise in real instruments can alter the experimental results, and the nontrivial problem to find a real "fair sample" of particles to test the inequalities.
A Bell test can rule out local realistic models, and has potential applications in communications and information tasks. For example, a Bell inequality violation can certify the presence of intrinsic randomness in measurement outcomes, which then can be used to generate unconditional randomness. A Bell test requires, however, measurements that are chosen independently of other physical variables in the test, as would be the case if the measurement settings were themselves unconditionally random. This situation seems to create a "bootstrapping problem" that was recently addressed in The BIG Bel…
We study the problem of closing the detection loophole in three-qubit Bell tests, the experimentally most relevant case beyond the usual bipartite scenario, and show that the minimal detection efficiencies required can be considerably lowered compared to the two-qubit case. The lowest reported detection efficiency thresholds for two and three qubits so far are $\sim66.7\%$ and $60\%$, respectively. Using the three-qubit W state and a 3-setting Bell inequality, we beat these thresholds and with an 8-setting Bell inequality we reach $50.13\%$. We also investigate generic three-qubit states which…
