This paper aims to stress the role of the Cahill-Glauber quasi-probability densities in defining, detecting, and quantifying the non-classicality of field states in quantum optics. The distance between a given pure state and the set of all pure classical states is called here a geometric degree of non-classicality. As such, we investigate non-classicality of a pure single-mode state of the radiation field by using the coherent states as a reference set of pure classical states. It turns out that any such distance is expressed in terms of the maximal value of the Husimi $Q$ function. As an insightful application we consider the de-Gaussification process produced when preparing a quantum state by adding $p$ photons to a pure Gaussian one. For a coherent-state input, we get an analytic degree of non-classicality which compares interestingly with the previously evaluated entanglement potential. Then we show that addition of a single photon to a squeezed vacuum state causes a considerable enhancement of non-classicality, especially at weak and moderate squeezing of the original state. By contrast, addition of further photons is less effective.
In this article we propose a solution to the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. We point out that the measurement problem can be traced to an a priori notion of classicality in the formulation of quantum mechanics. If this notion of classicality is dropped and instead classicality is defined in purely quantum mechanical terms the measurement problem can be avoided. We give such a definition of classicality. It identifies classicality as a property of large quantum system. We show how the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics is a result of this notion of classicality. We also commen…
We show that eigenstates |n> of the harmonic oscillator coupled to a linear Markovian bath demonstrate a non-trivial behavior in the dynamics of measures of non-classicality. Specifically, as the system undergoes decoherence, a time-dependent peak in non-classicality as a function of n emerges. We find this effect studying the dynamics of several non-classicality measures previously presented in the literature which compare quantum states to the set of all classical states. In studying these measures we introduce a novel set of classical states for the purpose of calculations which improve upo…
A necessary and sufficient condition for characterization and quantification of entanglement of any bipartite Gaussian state belonging to a special symmetry class is given in terms of classicality measures of one-party states. For Gaussian states whose local covariance matrices have equal determinants it is shown that separability of a two-party state and classicality of one party state are completely equivalent to each other under a nonlocal operation, allowing entanglement features to be understood in terms of any available classicality measure.
We argue that the geometric discord introduced in [B. Dakic, V. Vedral, and C. Brukner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 190502 (2010)] is not a good measure for the quantumness of correlations, as it can increase even under trivial local reversible operations of the party whose classicality/non-classicality is not tested. On the other hand it is known that the standard, mutual-information based discord does not suffer this problem; a simplified proof of such a fact is given.
We introduce a simple measure of "classicality" of pure and mixed quantum states as a maximum value of the Hilbert-Schmidt "scalar products" between the renormalized statistical operators of the state concerned and all displaced thermal states. Choosing Fock states as the reference set, we introduce the measure of "anticlassicality". Both measures are illustrated for the Fock, coherent phase, and generic mixed Gaussian states. Gaussian states are shown to be the closest to thermal states possessing the same degree of quantum purity. On the contrary, Fock states appear to be more close to mixed…
We generalise a non-classicality test described by Kot et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 233601 (2010)], which can be used to rule out any classical description of a physical system. The test is based on measurements of quadrature operators and works by proving a contradiction with the classical description in terms of a probability distribution in phase space. As opposed to the previous work, we generalise the test to include states without rotational symmetry in phase space. Furthermore, we compare the performance of the non-classicality test with classical tomography methods based on the invers…
Non-classical probability (along with its underlying logic) is a defining feature of quantum mechanics. A formulation that incorporates them, inherently and directly, would promise a unified description of seemingly different prescriptions of non-classicality of states that have been proposed so far. This paper sets up such a formalism. It is based on elementary considerations, free of ad-hoc definitions, and is completely operational. It permits a systematic construction of non-classicality conditions on states and also to quantify the non-classicality, at the same time. This quantification, …
Understanding the demarcation line between classical and quantum is an important issue in modern physics. The development of such an understanding requires a clear picture of the various concurrent notions of `classicality' in quantum theory presently in use. Here, we focus on the relationship between Kolmogorov consistency of measurement statistics -- the foundational footing of classical stochastic processes in standard probability theory -- and the commutativity (or absence thereof) of measurement operators -- a concept at the core of quantum theory. Kolmogorov consistency implies that the …
Mixtures of coherent states are commonly regarded as classical. Here we show that there is a quantum advantage in discriminating between coherent states in a mixture, implying the presence of quantum properties in the mixture, which are however not captured by commonly used non-classicality measures. We identify a set of desired properties for any non-classicality measure that aims to capture these quantum features, and define the discord potential CD, which we show to satisfy all those properties. We compare the discord potential with recently proposed coherence monotones, and prove that the …
Preparation and measurement of physical systems are the operational building blocks of any physical experiment, and to describe them is the first purpose of any physical theory. It is remarkable that, in some situations, even when only preparation and measurement devices of a single system are present and they are uncharacterized, it is possible to distinguish between the behaviours of quantum and classical systems relying only on observational data. Certifying the physical origin of measurement statistics in the prepare and measure scenario is of primal importance for developing quantum netwo…
We study information measures in quantu mechanics, with particular emphasis on providing a quantification of the notions of classicality and predictability. Our primary tool is the Shannon - Wehrl entropy I. We give a precise criterion for phase space classicality and argue that in view of this a) I provides a measure of the degree of deviation from classicality for closed system b) I - S (S the von Neumann entropy) plays the same role in open systems We examine particular examples in non-relativistic quantum mechanics. Finally, (this being one of our main motivations) we comment on field clas…
This paper establishes a direct, robust and intimate connection between (i) non classicality tests for various quantum features, e.g., non-Boolean logic, quantum coherence, nonlocality, quantum entanglement, quantum discord; (ii) negative probability, and (iii) anomalous weak values. It has been shown [Adhikary et al. Eur. Phys. J. D, 74(68):68, 2020] that nonexistence of a classical joint probability scheme gives rise to sufficiency conditions for nonlocality, a nonclassical feature not restricted to quantum mechanics. The conditions for nonclassical features of quantum mechanics are obtained…
The use of the so-called entropic inequalities is revisited in the light of new quantum correlation measures, specially nonlocality. We introduce the concept of {\it classicality} as the non-violation of these classical inequalities by quantum states of several multiqubit systems and compare it with the non-violation of Bell inequalities, that is, {\it locality}. We explore --numerically and analytically-- the relationship between several other quantum measures and discover the deep connection existing between them. The results are surprising due to the fact that these measures are very differ…
We investigate signatures of non-classicality in quantum states, in particular, those involved in the DQC1 model of mixed-state quantum computation [Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 5672 (1998)]. To do so, we consider two known non-classicality criteria. The first quantifies disturbance of a quantum state under locally noneffective unitary operations (LNU), which are local unitaries acting invariantly on a subsystem. The second quantifies measurement induced disturbance (MID) in the eigenbasis of the reduced density matrices. We study the role of both figures of non-classicality in the exponential speedup…
Many non-classicality indicators are used to measure quantum effects of different systems. Kenfack's and Sadeghi's non-classicality indicators are introduced in terms of the amount of Wigner function's negativities and interferences in phase space quantum mechanics, respectively. They are, effectively, applied for some real distribution functions. In this paper, we compared these non-classicality indicators for the entangled state of photonic number states in the Wigner, Husimi and Rivier representations. It is shown that for a two-level entangled state, Sadeghi's indicator has more benefits w…
We consider the information flow on a system's observable $X$ corresponding to a positive-operator valued measure under a quantum measurement process $Y$ described by a completely positive instrument from the viewpoint of the relative entropy. We establish a sufficient condition for the relative-entropy conservation law which states that the averaged decrease in the relative entropy of the system's observable $X$ equals the relative entropy of the measurement outcome of $Y$, i.e. the information gain due to measurement. This sufficient condition is interpreted as an assumption of classicality …
We describe a set of measurement protocols for performing non-classicality tests and the verification of entangled superposition states of macroscopic continuous variable systems, such as nanomechanical resonators. Following earlier works, we first consider a setup where a two-level system is used to indirectly probe the motion of the mechanical system via Ramsey measurements and discuss the application of this methods for detecting non-classical mechanical states. We then show that the generalization of this techniques to multiple resonator modes allows the conditioned preparation and the det…
We present two possible criteria quantifying the degree of classicality of an arbitrary (finite dimensional) dynamical system. The inputs for these criteria are the classical dynamical structure of the system together with the quantum and the classical data providing the two alternative descriptions of its initial time configuration. It is proved that a general quantum system satisfying the criteria up to some extend displays a time evolution consistent with the classical predictions up to some degree and thus it is argued that the criteria provide a suitable measure of classicality. The featu…
We study a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in a double-well potential subject to an unsharp continuous measurement of the atom number in one of the two wells. We investigate the back action of the measurement on the quantum dynamics and the viability to monitor the ensuing time evolution. For vanishing inter-atomic interactions, mainly the expectation values of the measured local observable can be inferred from the measurement record. Conversely, in the presence of moderate inter-atomic interactions, the entire many-body state --modified by the measurement-- is monitored with unit fidelity and,…
Production and analysis of non-Gaussian radiation fields has evinced a lot of attention recently. Simplest way of generating such non-Gaussians is through adding (subtracting) photons to Gaussian fields. Interestingly, when photons are added to classical Gaussian fields, the resulting states exhibit {\em non-classicality}. Two important classical Gaussian radiation fields are coherent and thermal states. Here, we study the non-classical features of such states when photons are added to them. Non-classicality of these states shows up in the negativity of the Wigner function. We also work out th…
Loschmidt Echo and Classicality of the Gamma Model
Escola Agrotécnica da Universidade Federal de Roraima（罗赖马联邦大学农业技术学校）；Departamento de Física e Matemática, Universidade Federal de São João Del Rei（圣若昂德尔雷伊联邦大学物理与数学系）
The fact that not all measurements can be carried out simultaneously is a peculiar feature of quantum mechanics and responsible for many key phenomena in the theory, such as complementarity or uncertainty relations. For the special case of projective measurements quantum behavior can be characterized by the commutator but for generalized measurements it is not easy to decide whether two measurements can still be understood in classical terms or whether they show already quantum features. We prove that generalized measurements which do not fulfill the notion of joint measurability are nonclassi…
The classical limit of quantum mechanics is discussed for closed quantum systems in terms of observational aspects. Initially, the failure of the limit h->0 is explicitly demonstrated in a model of two quantum mechanically interacting oscillators by showing that neither quantum expectations reduce to Newtonian trajectories nor entanglement vanishes. This result suggests that the quantum-to-classical transition occurs only at an approximative level, which is regulated by the low accuracy of the measurements. In order to verify the consistence of these ideas we take into account the experimental…
We present a robust tool to analyze nonclassical properties of multimode twin-beam states in the mesoscopic photon-number domain. The measurements are performed by direct detection. The analysis exploits three different non-classicality criteria for detected photons exhibiting complementary behavior in the explored intensity regime. Joint signal-idler photon-number distributions and quasi-distributions of integrated intensities are determined and compared with the corresponding distributions of detected photons. Experimental conditions optimal for nonclassical properties of twin-beam states ar…
In the present report we discuss measures of classicality/quantumness of states of finite-dimensional quantum systems, which are based on a deviation of quasiprobability distributions from true statistical distributions. Particularly, the dependence of the global indicator of classicality on the assigned geometry of a quantum state space is analysed for a whole family of Wigner quasiprobability representations. General considerations are exemplified by constructing the global indicator of classicality/quantumness for the Hilbert-Schmidt, Bures and Bogoliubov-Kubo-Mori ensembles of qubits and q…
The results of space-like separated measurements are independent of distant measurement settings, a property one might call two-way no-signalling. In contrast, time-like separated measurements are only one-way no-signalling since the past is independent of the future but not vice-versa. For this reason temporal correlations that are formally identical to non-classical spatial correlations can still be modelled classically. We define non-classical temporal correlations as the ones which cannot be simulated by propagating in time a classical information content of a quantum system. We first show…
We establish a method of directly measuring and estimating non-classicality - operationally defined in terms of the distinguishability of a given state from one with a positive Wigner function. It allows to certify non-classicality, based on possibly much fewer measurement settings than necessary for obtaining complete tomographic knowledge, and is at the same time equipped with a full certificate. We find that even from measuring two conjugate variables alone, one may infer the non-classicality of quantum mechanical modes. This method also provides a practical tool to eventually certify such …
We consider networks featuring preparation, transformation, and measurement devices, in which devices exchange communication via mediating physical systems. We investigate the problem of testing the dimension of the mediating systems in the device-independent scenario, that is, based on observable data alone. A general framework for tackling this problem is presented, considering both classical and quantum systems. These methods can then also be used to certify the non-classicality of the mediating systems, given an upper bound on their dimension. Several case studies are reported, which illus…
In this report we are aiming at introducing a global measure of non-classicality of the state space of $N$-level quantum systems and estimating it in the limit of large $N$. For this purpose we employ the Wigner function negativity as a non-classicality criteria. Thus, the specific volume of the support of negative values of Wigner function is treated as a measure of non-classicality of an individual state. Assuming that the states of an $N$-level quantum system are distributed by Hilbert-Schmidt measure (Hilbert-Schmidt ensemble), we define the global measure as the average non-classicality o…
We propose a measure of non-classical correlations in bipartite quantum states based on local unitary operations. We prove the measure is non-zero if and only if the quantum discord is non-zero; this is achieved via a new characterization of zero discord states in terms of the state's correlation matrix. Moreover, our scheme can be extended to ensure the same relationship holds even with a generalized version of quantum discord in which higher-rank projective measurements are allowed. We next derive a closed form expression for our scheme in the cases of Werner states and (2 x N)-dimensional s…
We investigate the implications of quantum Darwinism in a composite quantum system with interacting constituents exhibiting a decoherence-free subspace. We consider a two-qubit system coupled to an $N$-qubit environment via a dephasing interaction. For excitation preserving interactions between the system qubits, an analytical expression for the dynamics is obtained. It demonstrates that part of the system Hilbert space redundantly proliferates its information to the environment, while the remaining subspace is decoupled and preserves clear non-classical signatures. For measurements performed …
The origin of non-classicality in physical systems and its connection to distinctly quantum features such as entanglement and coherence is a central question in quantum physics. This work analyses this question theoretically and experimentally, linking quantitatively non-classicality with quantum coherence. On the theoretical front, we show when the coherence of an observable is linearly related to the degree of violation of the Kolmogorov condition, which quantifies the deviation from any classical (non-invasive) explanation of the multi-time statistics. Experimentally, we probe this connecti…
Although quantum coherence is a basic trait of quantum mechanics, the presence of coherences in the quantum description of a certain phenomenon does not rule out the possibility to give an alternative description of the same phenomenon in purely classical terms. Here, we give definite criteria to determine when and to what extent quantum coherence is equivalent to non-classicality. We prove that a Markovian multi-time statistics obtained from repeated measurements of a non-degenerate observable cannot be traced back to a classical statistics if and only if the dynamics is able to generate cohe…
Entropic Bell inequalities witness contextual probability distributions on sets of jointly measurable observables. We find that their violation does not entail a violation of the correlative Bell inequality for certain parameter values. This anomaly between the entropic and correlative measures of contextuality helps to precisely qualify the type of non-classical resource. We determine its numerical bounds inviting their experimental verification. Among the permutations of observables that keep this anomaly in place, we identify the 'exotic' type that gives rise to non-classical resources unde…
We study the effects of post-selection measurements on both the non-classicality of the state of a mechanical oscillator and the entanglement between two mechanical systems that are part of a distributed optomechanical network. We address the cases of both Gaussian and non-Gaussian measurements, identifying the values of the parameters for which simple photon-counting and Geiger-like measurements are effective in distilling a strongly non-classical mechanical state and enhancing the purely mechanical entanglement between two elements of the network.
Correlations between spacelike separated measurements on entangled quantum systems are stronger than any classical correlations and are at the heart of numerous quantum technologies. In practice, however, spacelike separation is often not guaranteed and we typically face situations where measurements have an underlying time order. Here we aim to provide a fair comparison of classical and quantum models of temporal correlations on a single particle, as well as timelike-separated correlations on multiple particles. We use a causal modeling approach to show, in theory and experiment, that quantum…
A minimal example of quantum non-classicality without freedom of choice
Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas（坎皮纳斯州立大学格莱巴·瓦塔金物理研究所）；International Institute of Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte（北里奥格兰德联邦大学国际物理研究所）；School of Science and Technology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte（北里奥格兰德联邦大学理学院）
Quantum theory demands that, in contrast to classical physics, not all properties can be simultaneously well defined. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is a manifestation of this fact. Another important corollary arises that there can be no joint probability distribution describing the outcomes of all possible measurements, allowing a quantum system to be classically understood. We provide the first experimental evidence that even for a single three-state system, a qutrit, no such classical model can exist that correctly describes the results of a simple set of pairwise compatible measureme…
Quantum measurements are crucial for quantum technologies and give rise to some of the most classically counter-intuitive quantum phenomena. As such, the ability to certify the presence of genuinely non-classical joint measurements in a device-independent fashion is vital. However, previous work has either been non-device-independent, or has relied on post-selection---the ability to discard all runs of an experiment in which a specific event did not occur. In the case of entanglement, the post-selection approach applies an entangled measurement to independent states and post-selects the outcom…
We develop a classical theoretical description for nonlinear many-body dynamics that incorporates the back-action of a continuous measurement process. The classical approach is compared with the exact quantum solution in an example with an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well potential where the atom numbers in both potential wells are monitored by light scattering. In the classical description the back-action of the measurements appears as diffusion of the relative phase of the condensates on each side of the trap. When the measurements are frequent enough to resolve the system dy…
A master equation has been constructed for a global system-bath interaction both in the absence as well as presence of non-Markovian noise. For the memoryless case, it has been exactly solved for a paradigmatic class of two qubit states in high and zero temperature thermal environment. For the non-Markovian model, it has been solved for zero temperature bath. The evolution of quantum coherence and entanglement has been observed in presence of the above mentioned interactions. We show that the global part of the system-bath interaction compensates for the decoherence, resulting in slow down of …
Enforcing a non-classical behavior in mesoscopic systems is important for the study of the boundaries between quantum and classical world. Recent experiments have shown that optomechanical devices are promising candidates to pursue such investigations. Here we consider two different setups where the indirect coupling between a three-level atom and the movable mirrors of a cavity is achieved. The resulting dynamics is able to conditionally prepare a non-classical state of the mirrors by means of projective measurements operated over a pure state of the atomic system. The non-classical features …
The "classical-quantum" ($\mathit{cq}$) discord of a bipartite state $ρ^{AB}$ is the smallest difference between the mutual information $S(ρ^{A:B})$ of $ρ$ and that of $ρ$ after a measurement channel is applied on the $A$ system. Relating zero discord to the strong subadditivity of the Von Neumann entropy, Datta proved that a state has zero $\mathit{cq}$ discord iff and only if it can be written in the form $\sum_i p_i\, |i\rangle\langle i|\otimes ρ^B_i$ for $p_i$ a probability distribution, $|i\rangle$ a basis of the $A$ system and $ρ^B_i$ states of the $B$ system. We provide a simple proof o…
We analyze the multitime statistics associated with pure dephasing systems repeatedly probed with sharp measurements, and search for measurement protocols whose statistics satisfies the Kolmogorov consistency conditions possibly up to a finite order. We find a rich phenomenology of quantum dephasing processes which can be interpreted in classical terms. In particular, if the underlying dephasing process is Markovian, we find sufficient conditions under which classicality at every order can be found: this can be reached by choosing the dephasing and measurement basis to be fully compatible or f…
The connection between coarse-graining of measurement and emergence of classicality has been investigated for some time, if not well understood. Recently in (PRL $\textbf{112}$, 010402, (2014)) it was pointed out that coarse-graining measurements can lead to non-violation of Bell-type inequalities by a state which would violate it under sharp measurements. We study here the effects of coarse-grained measurements on bipartite cat states. We show that while it is true that coarse-graining does indeed lead to non-violation of a Bell-type inequality, this is not reflected at the state level. Under…
We study various measures of classicality of the states of open quantum systems subject to decoherence. Classical states are expected to be stable in spite of decoherence, and are thought to leave conspicuous imprints on the environment. Here these expected features of environment-induced superselection (einselection) are quantified using four different criteria: predictability sieve (which selects states that produce least entropy), purification time (which looks for states that are the easiest to find out from the imprint they leave on the environment), efficiency threshold (which finds stat…
Quantum resource theories seek to quantify sources of non-classicality that bestow quantum technologies their operational advantage. Chief among these are studies of quantum correlations and quantum coherence. The former to isolate non-classicality in the correlations between systems, the latter to capture non-classicality of quantum superpositions within a single physical system. Here we present a scheme that cyclically inter-converts between these resources without loss. The first stage converts coherence present in an input system into correlations with an ancilla. The second stage harnesse…
A simple toy model is proposed that would allow conscious perceptions to be either classical (perceptions of objects without large quantum uncertainties or variances) or highly quantum (e.g., having large variances in the perceived position within a single perception), and yet for which plausible quantum states exhibiting Quantum Darwinism would lead to much higher measures for the classical perceptions.
We investigate the role of coherence and Markovianity in finding an answer to the question whether the outcomes of a projectively measured quantum stochastic process are compatible with a classical stochastic process. For this purpose we put forward an operationally motivated definition of incoherent dynamics applicable to any open system's dynamics. For non-degenerate observables described by rank-1 projective measurements we show that classicality always implies incoherent dynamics, whereas the converse is only true for invertible Markovian (but not necessarily time-homogeneous) dynamics. Fo…
In the context of bipartite bosonic systems, two notions of classicality of correlations can be defined: P-classicality, based on the properties of the Glauber-Sudarshan P-function; and C-classicality, based on the entropic quantum discord. It has been shown that these two notions are maximally inequivalent in a static (metric) sense -- as they coincide only on a set of states of zero measure. We extend and reinforce quantitatively this inequivalence by addressing the dynamical relation between these types of non-classicality in a paradigmatic quantum-optical setting: the linear mixing at a be…
