In this paper we attempt to explicate Salmon's idea of a causal process, as defined in terms of the mark method, in the context of C*-dynamical systems. We prove two propositions, one establishing mark manifestation infinitely many times along a given interval of the process, and, a second one, which establishes continuous manifestation of mark with the exception of a countable number of isolated points. Furthermore, we discuss how these results can be implemented in the context of Haag-Araki theories of relativistic quantum fields in Minkowski spacetime.
Bell inequalities, understood as constraints between classical conditional probabilities, can be derived from a set of assumptions representing a common causal explanation of classical correlations. A similar derivation, however, is not known for Bell inequalities in algebraic quantum field theories establishing constraints for the expectation of specific linear combinations of projections in a quantum state. In the paper we address the question as to whether a 'common causal justification' of these non-classical Bell inequalities is possible. We will show that although the classical notion of…
We provide a scheme for inferring causal relations from uncontrolled statistical data based on tools from computational algebraic geometry, in particular, the computation of Groebner bases. We focus on causal structures containing just two observed variables, each of which is binary. We consider the consequences of imposing different restrictions on the number and cardinality of latent variables and of assuming different functional dependences of the observed variables on the latent ones (in particular, the noise need not be additive). We provide an inductive scheme for classifying functional …
A recent framework of quantum theory with no global causal order predicts the existence of "causally nonseparable" processes. Some of these processes produce correlations incompatible with any causal order (they violate so-called "causal inequalities" analogous to Bell inequalities) while others do not (they admit a "causal model" analogous to a local model). Here we show for the first time that bipartite causally nonseparable processes with a causal model exist, and give evidence that they have no clear physical interpretation. We also provide an algorithm to generate processes of this kind a…
We develop rigorous notions of causality and causal separability in the process framework introduced in [Oreshkov, Costa, Brukner, Nat. Commun. 3, 1092 (2012)], which describes correlations between separate local experiments without a prior assumption of causal order between them. We consider the general multipartite case and take into account the possibility for dynamical causal order, where the order of a set of events can depend on other events in the past. Starting from a general definition of causality, we derive an iteratively formulated canonical decomposition of multipartite causal pro…
Causal reasoning is essential to science, yet quantum theory challenges it. Quantum correlations violating Bell inequalities defy satisfactory causal explanations within the framework of classical causal models. What is more, a theory encompassing quantum systems and gravity is expected to allow causally nonseparable processes featuring operations in indefinite causal order, defying that events be causally ordered at all. The first challenge has been addressed through the recent development of intrinsically quantum causal models, allowing causal explanations of quantum processes -- provided th…
We show a method of describing processes with indefinite causal order (ICO) by a definite causal order. We do so by relabeling the processes that take place in the circuit in accordance with the basis of measurement of control qubit. Causal nonseparability is alleviated at a cost of nonlocality of the acting processes. This result highlights the key role of superposition in creating the paradox of ICO. We also draw attention to the issue of growing incompatibility of language in its current form (especially the logical structures it embodies) with the quantum logic.
For a system of two parties, the process matrix framework predicts the existence of causally nonseparable structures. We characterize the information exchanged, showing that the total entropy of the two parties acts as a measure for the nonseparability.
Classical correlations without predefined causal order arise from processes where parties manipulate random variables, and where the order of these interactions is not predefined. No assumption on the causal order of the parties is made, but the processes are restricted to be logically consistent under any choice of the parties' operations. It is known that for three parties or more, this set of processes is larger than the set of processes achievable in a predefined ordering of the parties. Here, we model all classical processes without predefined causal order geometrically and find that the …
Recent frameworks describing quantum mechanics in the absence of a global causal order admit the existence of causally indefinite processes, where it is impossible to ascribe causal order for events A and B. These frameworks even allow for processes that violate the so-called causal inequalities, which are analogous to Bell's inequalities. However, the physicality of these exotic processes is, in the general case, still under debate, bringing into question their foundational relevance. While it is known that causally indefinite processes can be probabilistically realised by means of a quantum …
Quantum mechanics, in principle, allows for processes with indefinite causal order. However, most of these causal anomalies have not yet been detected experimentally. We show that every such process can be simulated experimentally by means of non-Markovian dynamics with a measurement on additional degrees of freedom. Explicitly, we provide a constructive scheme to implement arbitrary acausal processes. Furthermore, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for open system dynamics with measurement to yield processes that respect causality locally, and find that tripartite entanglement and no…
The capacity of distant parties to send signals to one another is a fundamental requirement in many information-processing tasks. Such ability is determined by the causal structure connecting the parties, and more generally, by the intermediate processes carrying signals from one laboratory to another. Here we build a fully fledged resource theory of causal connection for all multi-party communication scenarios, encompassing those where the parties operate in a definite causal order and also where the order is indefinite. We define and characterize the set of free processes and three different…
All causally separable quantum processes are quantum circuits with classical control of causal order
Centre for Quantum Information and Communication (QuIC), École Polytechnique de Bruxelles, C.P. 165, Université libre de Bruxelles（布鲁塞尔自由大学）；Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inria（格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学）；Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, Institut Néel（格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学）
Recently, the possible existence of quantum processes with indefinite causal order has been extensively discussed, in particular using the formalism of process matrices. Here we give a new perspective on this question, by establishing a direct connection to the theory of multi-time quantum states. Specifically, we show that process matrices are equivalent to a particular class of pre- and post- selected quantum states. This offers a new conceptual point of view to the nature of process matrices. Our results also provide an explicit recipe to experimentally implement any process matrix in a pro…
In this work, we consider the following family of two prover one-round games. In the CHSH_q game, two parties are given x,y in F_q uniformly at random, and each must produce an output a,b in F_q without communicating with the other. The players' objective is to maximize the probability that their outputs satisfy a+b=xy in F_q. This game was introduced by Buhrman and Massar (PRA 2005) as a large alphabet generalization of the celebrated CHSH game---which is one of the most well-studied two-prover games in quantum information theory, and which has a large number of applications to quantum crypto…
To study which are the most general causal structures which are compatible with local quantum mechanics, Oreshkov et al. introduced the notion of a process: a resource shared between some parties that allows for quantum communication between them without a predetermined causal order. These processes can be used to perform several tasks that are impossible in standard quantum mechanics: they allow for the violation of causal inequalities, and provide an advantage for computational and communication complexity. Nonetheless, no process that can be used to violate a causal inequality is known to b…
The identification of causal relations is a cornerstone of the scientific method. Traditional approaches to this task are based on classical statistics. However, such classical approaches do not apply in the quantum domain, where a broader spectrum of causal relations becomes accessible. New approaches to quantum causal inference have been developed in recent years, and promising new features have been discovered. In this paper, we review and partly expand the framework and results of Ref. [1], which demonstrated quantum speedups in the identification of various types of causal relations induc…
We propose an approach to quantum theory based on the energetic causal sets, introduced in Cortês and Smolin (2013). Fundamental processes are causal sets whose events carry momentum and energy, which are transmitted along causal links and conserved at each event. Energetic causal set models differ from other spacetime-free causal set approaches, e.g. Ref. [2] proposed causal sets based on quantum information processing systems, and Ref. [3] proposed causal sets constructed out of standard model particles. Fundamentally there are amplitudes for causal processes in energetic causal sets, but no…
Higher-order quantum processes respecting closed labs in a spacetime have quantum controlled causal order
International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies, University of Gdańsk（格但斯克大学量子理论国际中心）；Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH Zurich（苏黎世联邦理工学院理论物理研究所）；Université Grenoble Alpes, Inria（格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学法国国家信息与自动化研究所）
In classical physics, the Kolmogorov extension theorem lays the foundation for the theory of stochastic processes. It has been known for a long time that, in its original form, this theorem does not hold in quantum mechanics. More generally, it does not hold in any theory of stochastic processes -- classical, quantum or beyond -- that does not just describe passive observations, but allows for active interventions. Such processes form the basis of the study of causal modelling across the sciences, including in the quantum domain. To date, these frameworks have lacked a conceptual underpinning …
In the last few years, there has been increasing interest in quantum processes with indefinite causal order. Process matrices are a convenient framework to study such processes. Ref. [1] defines higher order transformations from process matrices to process matrices and shows that no continuous and reversible transformation can change the causal order of a process matrix. Ref. [2] argues, based on a set of examples, that there are situations where a process can change its causal order over time. Ref. [2] claims that the formalism of higher order transformations is not general enough to capture …
A symmetric monoidal category naturally arises as the mathematical structure that organizes physical systems, processes, and composition thereof, both sequentially and in parallel. This structure admits a purely graphical calculus. This paper is concerned with the encoding of a fixed causal structure within a symmetric monoidal category: causal dependencies will correspond to topological connectedness in the graphical language. We show that correlations, either classical or quantum, force terminality of the tensor unit. We also show that well-definedness of the concept of a global state forces…
Non-causal correlations certify the lack of a definite causal order among localized space-time regions. In stark contrast to scenarios where a single region influences its own causal past, some processes that distribute non-causal correlations satisfy a series of natural desiderata: logical consistency, linear and reversible dynamics, and computational tameness. Here, we present such processes among arbitrary many regions where each region influences every other but itself, and show that the above desiderata are altogether insufficient to limit the amount of "acausality" of non-causal correlat…
We derive the category-theoretic backbone of quantum theory from a process ontology. More specifically, we treat quantum theory as a theory of systems, processes and their interactions. In this first part of a three-part overview, we first present a general theory of diagrams, and in particular, of string diagrams. We discuss why diagrams are a very natural starting point for developing scientific theories. Then we define process theories, and define a very general notion of quantum type. We show how our process ontology enables us to assert causality, that is, compatibility of quantum theory …
While the standard formulation of quantum theory assumes a fixed background causal structure, one can relax this assumption within the so-called process matrix framework. Remarkably, some processes, termed causally nonseparable, are incompatible with a definite causal order. We explore a form of certification of causal nonseparability in a semi-device-independent scenario where the involved parties receive trusted quantum inputs, but whose operations are otherwise uncharacterised. Defining the notion of causally nonseparable distributed measurements, we show that certain causally nonseparable …
The communication power of indefinite causal order
QICI Quantum Information and Computation Initiative, School of Computing and Data Science, The University of Hong Kong（香港大学计算与数据科学学院量子信息与计算倡议）；Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, Institut Néel（格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学）；Quantum Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford（牛津大学计算机科学系量子研究组）；Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics（理论物理前沿研究所）
It has been shown that it is theoretically possible for there to exist higher-order quantum processes in which the operations performed by separate parties cannot be ascribed a definite causal order. Some of these processes are believed to have a physical realization in standard quantum mechanics via coherent control of the times of the operations. A prominent example is the quantum SWITCH, which was recently demonstrated experimentally. However, the interpretation of such experiments as realizations of a process with indefinite causal structure as opposed to some form of simulation of such a …
The causal order of events need not be fixed: whether a bus arrives before or after another at a certain stop can depend on other variables -- like traffic. Coherent quantum control of causal order is possible too and is a useful resource for several tasks. However, quantum control implies that a controlling system carries the which-order information -- if the control is traced out, the order of events remains in a probabilistic mixture. Can the order of two events be in a pure superposition, uncorrelated with any other system? Here we show that this is not possible for a broad class of proces…
Here we deal in a pedagogical way with an approach to construct an algebraic structure for the Quantum Mechanical measurement processes from the concept of \emph{Measurement Symbol}. Such concept was conceived by Julian S. Schwinger and constitutes a fundamental piece in his variational formalism and its several applications.
