Many complex systems can spontaneously oscillate under non-periodic forcing. Such self-oscillators are commonplace in biological and technological assemblies where temporal periodicity is needed, such as the beating of a human heart or the vibration of a cello string. While self-oscillation is well understood in classical non-linear systems and their quantized counterparts, the spontaneous emergence of periodicity in quantum systems without a semi-classical limit is more elusive. Here, we show that this behavior can emerge within the repeated-interaction description of open quantum systems. Specifically, we consider a many-body quantum system that undergoes dissipation due to sequential coupling with auxiliary systems at random times. We develop dynamical symmetry conditions that guarantee an oscillatory long-time state in this setting. Our rigorous results are illustrated with specific spin models, which could be implemented in trapped-ion quantum simulators.
It is often said that quantum and classical randomness are of different nature, the former being ontological and the latter epistemological. However, so far the question of "What is quantum in quantum randomness", i.e. what is the impact of quantization and discreteness on the nature of randomness, remains to answer. In a first part, we explicit the differences between quantum and classical randomness within a recently proposed ontology for quantum mechanics based on contextual objectivity. In this view, quantum randomness is the result of contextuality and quantization. We show that this appr…
In contrast with software-generated randomness (called pseudo-randomness), quantum randomness is provable incomputable, i.e.\ it is not exactly reproducible by any algorithm. We provide experimental evidence of incomputability --- an asymptotic property --- of quantum randomness by performing finite tests of randomness inspired by algorithmic information theory.
Randomness expansion where one generates a longer sequence of random numbers from a short one is viable in quantum mechanics but not allowed classically. Device-independent quantum randomness expansion provides a randomness resource of the highest security level. Here, we report the first experimental realization of device-independent quantum randomness expansion secure against quantum side information established through quantum probability estimation. We generate $5.47\times10^8$ quantum-proof random bits while consuming $4.39\times10^8$ bits of entropy, expanding our store of randomness by …
A simple experiment using radioactive decay is proposed to test the possibility of a determinsistic, but chaotic, origin of quantum mechanical randomness.
Does the notion of a quantum randomized or nondeterministic algorithm make sense, and if so, does quantum randomness or nondeterminism add power? Although reasonable quantum random sources do not add computational power, the discussion of quantum randomness naturally leads to several definitions of the complexity of quantum states. Unlike classical string complexity, both deterministic and nondeterministic quantum state complexities are interesting. A notion of \emph{total quantum nondeterminism} is introduced for decision problems. This notion may be a proper extension of classical nondetermi…
This work uses a simple quantum computer model to discuss the randomness of bit strings originated from integer sequences. The considered quantum computer model has three elements: a processing unit responsible for a mathematical operation, an initial equally weighted superposition and a quantum state used as resource. The randomness depends on the last.
Quantum random-number generators (QRNGs) can offer a means to generate information-theoretically provable random numbers, in principle. In practice, unfortunately, the quantum randomness is inevitably mixed with classical randomness due to classical noises. To distill this quantum randomness, one needs to quantify the randomness of the source and apply a randomness extractor. Here, we propose a generic framework for evaluating quantum randomness of real-life QRNGs by min-entropy, and apply it to two different existing quantum random-number systems in the literature. Moreover, we provide a guid…
It is argued that the quantum correlations are not maximally nonlocal to make it possible to control local outcomes from outside spacetime, and quantum mechanics emerges from timeless nonlocality and biased local randomness. This rules out a world described by NL (nonlocal) boxes. A new type of experiments is suggested.
In this paper, we consider periodicity for space-inhomogeneous quantum walks on the cycle. For isospectral coin cases, we propose a spectral analysis. Based on the analysis, we extend the result for periodicity for Hadamard walk to some isospectral coin cases. For non-isospectral coin cases, we consider the the system that uses only one general coin at the origin and the identity coin at the other sites. In this case, we show that the periodicity of the general coin at the origin determines the periodicity for the whole system.
The concept of randomness plays an important role in many disciplines. On one hand, the question of whether random processes exist is fundamental for our understanding of nature. On the other hand, randomness is a resource for cryptography, algorithms and simulations. Standard methods for generating randomness rely on assumptions on the devices that are difficult to meet in practice. However, quantum technologies allow for new methods for generating certified randomness. These methods are known as device-independent because do not rely on any modeling of the devices. Here we review the efforts…
We account for the origin of the laws of quantum probabilities in the de Broglie-Bohm (pilot wave) formulation of quantum theory by considering the property of ergodicity likely to characterise the dynamics of microscopic quantum systems.
We study the optimization of any quantum process by minimizing the "randomness" in the measurement result at the output of that quantum process. We conceptualize and propose a measure of such randomness and inquire whether an optimization of the quantum process based on that measure, can reach the point where the process operates with maximum fidelity. We consider approximate quantum cloning and teleportation processes, and find, in particular, that the optimal approximate state-dependent quantum cloning machine obtained by maximizing the fidelity is different from that obtained by minimizing …
The quantum mechanical probability densities are compared with the probability densities treated by the theory of random variables. The relevance of their difference for the interpretation of quantum mechanics is commented.
The before-before experiment demonstrates that quantum randomness can be controlled by influences from outside spacetime, and therefore by immaterial free will. Rather than looking at quantum physics as the model for explaining free will, one should look at free will as a primitive principle for explaining why the laws of Nature are quantum.
The non-local correlations exhibited when measuring entangled particles can be used to certify the presence of genuine randomness in Bell experiments. While non-locality is necessary for randomness certification, it is unclear when and why non-locality certifies maximal randomness. We provide here a simple argument to certify the presence of maximal local and global randomness based on symmetries of a Bell inequality and the existence of a unique quantum probability distribution that maximally violates it. Using our findings, we prove the existence of N-party Bell test attaining maximal global…
Quantum measurements can produce randomness arising from the uncertainty principle. When measuring a state with von Neumann measurements, the intrinsic randomness can be quantified by the quantum coherence of the state on the measurement basis. Unlike projection measurements, there are additional and possibly hidden degrees of freedom in apparatus for generic measurements. We propose an adversary scenario for general measurements with arbitrary input states, based on which, we characterize the intrinsic randomness. Interestingly, we discover that under certain measurements, such as the symmetr…
A scenario is outlined for quantum measurement, assuming that self-sustaining classicality is the consequence of an attractive gravitational self-interaction acting on massive bodies, and randomness arises already in the classical domain. A simple solvable model is used to demonstrate that small quantum systems influence big ones in a mean-field way, offering a natural route to Born's probability rule.
Measurements of quantum systems can be used to generate classical data that is truly unpredictable for every observer. However, this true randomness needs to be discriminated from randomness due to ignorance or lack of control of the devices. We analyze the randomness gain of a measurement-device-independent setup, consisting of a well-characterized source of quantum states and a completely uncharacterized and untrusted detector. Our framework generalizes previous schemes as arbitrary input states and arbitrary measurements can be analyzed. Our method is used to suggest simple and realistic im…
The goal of randomness extraction is to distill (almost) perfect randomness from a weak source of randomness. When the source yields a classical string X, many extractor constructions are known. Yet, when considering a physical randomness source, X is itself ultimately the result of a measurement on an underlying quantum system. When characterizing the power of a source to supply randomness it is hence a natural question to ask, how much classical randomness we can extract from a quantum system. To tackle this question we here take on the study of quantum-to-classical randomness extractors (QC…
Randomness has attracted great interest in the field of music composition for quite some time. As early as 1962, Iannis Xenakis started exploring a stochastic approach to randomness by using computer-based interlinking probability functions to determine compositional structure, pitches and their durations. Soon after, composers and music technologists started to explore randomness with various methods of algorithmic compositions, sometimes with the help of artificial intelligence. However, in most cases, the source of randomness they used was in fact deterministic in nature. That is to say, th…
Randomness is a defining element of mixing processes in nature and an essential ingredient to many protocols in quantum information. In this work, we investigate how much randomness is required to transform a given quantum state into another one. Specifically, we ask whether there is a gap between the power of a classical source of randomness compared to that of a quantum one. We provide a complete answer to these questions, by identifying provably optimal protocols for both classical and quantum sources of randomness, based on a dephasing construction. We find that in order to implement any n…
This dissertation describes the effect of quenched randomness on first order phase transitions in lattice systems, classical and quantum. It is proven that a large class of quantum lattice systems in low dimension (d <= 2 or, with suitable continuous symmetry, d <= 4) cannot exhibit first-order phase transitions in the presence of suitable ("direct") quenched disorder.
The remarkable capability of quantum Fourier transformation (QFT) to extract the periodicity of a given periodic function has been exhibited by using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. Two separate sets of experiments were performed. In a full QFT, the periodicity were validated with state tomography and fidelity measurements. For a simplified QFT, the three-qubit pseudo-pure state was created by introducting an additional observer spin, and the spectra recorded on the observer spin showed intuitively the power of QFT\ to find the periodicity. Experimentally realizing the QFT provide…
Quantum entanglement between two or more bipartite entities is a core concept in quantum information areas limited to microscopic regimes directly governed by Heisenberg uncertainty principle via quantum superposition, resulting in nondeterministic and probabilistic quantum features. Such quantum features cannot be generated by classical means. Here, a pure classical method of on-demand entangled light-pair generation is presented in a macroscopic regime via basis randomness. This conflicting idea of conventional quantum mechanics invokes a fundamental question about both classicality and quan…
Randomness plays a central rol in the quantum mechanical description of our interactions. We review the relationship between the violation of Bell inequalities, non signaling and randomness. We discuss the challenge in defining a random string, and show that algorithmic information theory provides a necessary condition for randomness using Borel normality. We close with a view on incomputablity and its implications in physics.
Dukes (2014) and Konno, Shimizu, and Takei (2017) studied the periodicity for 2-state quantum walks whose coin operator is the Hadamard matrix on cycle graph C_N with N vertices. The present paper treats the periodicity for 3-state quantum walks on C_N. Our results follow from a new method based on cyclotomic field. This method shows a necessary condition for the coin operator of quantum walks to have the finite period. Moreover, we reveal the period T_N of two kinds of typical quantum walks, the Grover and Fourier walks. We prove that both walks do not have any finite period except for N=3, i…
Randomness is a valuable resource in science, cryptography, engineering, and information technology. Quantum-mechanical sources of randomness are attractive because of the indeterminism of individual quantum processes. Here we consider the production of random bits from polarization measurements on photons. We first present a pedagogical discussion of how the quantum randomness inherent in such measurements is connected to quantum coherence, and how it can be quantified in terms of the quantum state and an associated entropy value known as min-entropy. We then explore these concepts by perform…
If quantum mechanics is taken for granted the randomness derived from it may be vacuous or even delusional, yet sufficient for many practical purposes. "Random" quantum events are intimately related to the emergence of both space-time as well as the identification of physical properties through which so-called objects are aggregated. We also present a brief review of the metaphysics of indeterminism.
Unconditional security of the BB84 quantum key distribution protocol has been proved by exploiting the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics, but the practical quantum key distribution system maybe hacked by considering the imperfect state preparation and measurement respectively. Until now, different attacking schemes have been proposed by utilizing imperfect devices, but the general security analysis model against all of the practical attacking schemes has not been proposed. Here, we demonstrate that the general practical attacking schemes can be divided into the Trojan horse attack, strong …
Randomness can help one to implement quantum maps that cannot be realized in a deterministic fashion. Recently, it was discovered that explicitly treating a randomness source as a quantum system could double the efficiency as a catalyst for some tasks. In this work, we first show that every quantum channel that can be implemented with a randomness source without leaking information to it must be a catalysis. For that purpose, we prove a new no-go theorem that generalizes the no-hiding theorem, the no-secret theorem that states no quantum information can be shared with other system as a secret …
We present an efficient method to extract the amount of true randomness that can be obtained by a Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG). By repeating the measurements of a quantum system and by swapping between two mutually unbiased bases, a lower bound of the achievable true randomness can be evaluated. The bound is obtained thanks to the uncertainty principle of complementary measurements applied to min- and max- entropies. We tested our method with two different QRNGs, using a train of qubits or ququart, demonstrating the scalability toward practical applications.
Our aim is to experimentally study the possibility of distinguishing between quantum sources of randomness--recently proved to be theoretically incomputable--and some well-known computable sources of pseudo-randomness. Incomputability is a necessary, but not sufficient "symptom" of "true randomness". We base our experimental approach on algorithmic information theory which provides characterizations of algorithmic random sequences in terms of the degrees of incompressibility of their finite prefixes. Algorithmic random sequences are incomputable, but the converse implication is false. We have …
Catalysts are substances that assist transformation of other resourceful objects without being consumed in the process. However, the fact that their `catalytic power' is limited and can be depleted is often overlooked, especially in the recently developing theories on catalysis of quantum randomness utilizing building correlation with catalyst. In this work, we establish a resource theory of one-shot catalytic randomness in which uncorrelatedness is consumed in catalysis of randomness. We do so by completely characterizing bipartite unitary operators that can be used to implement catalysis of …
We compare the power of quantum and classical physics in terms of randomness certification from devices which are only partially characterised. We study randomness certification based on state discrimination and take noncontextuality as the notion of classicality. A contextual advantage was recently shown to exist for state discrimination. Here, we develop quantum and noncontextual semi-device independent protocols for random-number generation based on maximum-confidence discrimination, which generalises unambiguous and minimum-error state discrimination. We show that, for quantum eavesdropppe…
Quantum information processing shows advantages in many tasks, including quantum communication and computation, comparing to its classical counterpart. The essence of quantum processing lies on the fundamental difference between classical and quantum states. For a physical system, the coherent superposition on a computational basis is different from the statistical mixture of states in the same basis. Such coherent superposition endows the possibility of generating true random numbers, realizing parallel computing, and other classically impossible tasks such as quantum Bernoulli factory. Consi…
The statistics of local measurements performed on certain entangled states can be reproduced using a local hidden variable (LHV) model. While all known models make use of an infinite amount of shared randomness---the physical relevance of which is questionable---we show that essentially all entangled states admitting a LHV model can be simulated with finite shared randomness. Our most economical model simulates noisy two-qubit Werner states using only 3.58 bits of shared randomness. We also discuss the case of POVMs, and the simulation of nonlocal states with finite shared randomness and finit…
This brief note in response to Wojciech Zurek's article "Quantum Darwinism, classical reality, and the randomness of quantum jumps" (Physics Today, October 2014, page 44) points out extant rebuttals in the literature to some of the author's key claims.
Quantum Martin-Löf randomness (q-MLR) for infinite qubit sequences was introduced by Nies and Scholz. We define a notion of quantum Solovay randomness which is equivalent to q-MLR. The proof of this goes through a purely linear algebraic result about approximating density matrices by subspaces. We then show that random states form a convex set. Martin-Löf absolute continuity is shown to be a special case of q-MLR. Quantum Schnorr randomness is introduced. A quantum analogue of the law of large numbers is shown to hold for quantum Schnorr random states.
The peculiar uncertainty or randomness of quantum measurements stems from coherence, whose information-theoretic characterization is currently under investigation. Under the resource theory of coherence, it is interesting to investigate interpretations of coherence measures and the interplay with other quantum properties, such as quantum correlations and intrinsic randomness. Coherence can be viewed as the resource for the intrinsic randomness in the measurement outcomes of a state in the computational basis. We observed in our previous work that the coherence of formation, which measures the …
Quantum mechanics predicts the existence of intrinsically random processes. Contrary to classical randomness, this lack of predictability can not be attributed to ignorance or lack of control. Here we find the optimal method to quantify the amount of local or global randomness that can be extracted in two scenarios: (i) the quantum steering scenario, where two parties measure a bipartite system in an unknown state but one of them does not trust his measurement apparatus, and (ii) the prepare-and-measure scenario, where additionally the quantum state is known. We use our methods to compute the …
Quantum advantage is notoriously hard to find and even harder to prove. For example the class of functions computable with classical physics actually exactly coincides with the class computable quantum-mechanically. It is strongly believed, but not proven, that quantum computing provides exponential speed-up for a range of problems, such as factoring. Here we address a computational scenario of "randomness processing" in which quantum theory provably yields, not only resource reduction over classical stochastic physics, but a strictly larger class of problems which can be solved. Beyond new fo…
We show that in device independent quantum key distribution protocols the privacy of randomness is of crucial importance. For sublinear test sample sizes even the slightest guessing probability by an eavesdropper will completely compromise security. We show that a combined attack exploiting test sample and measurement choices compromises the security even with a linear size test sample and otherwise device independent security considerations. We explicitly derive the sample size needed to retrieve security as a function of the randomness quality. We demonstrate that exploiting features of genu…
Brakerski et. al [BCM+18] introduced the model of cryptographic testing of a single untrusted quantum device and gave a protocol for certifiable randomness generation. We use the leakage resilience properties of the Learning With Errors problem to address a key issue left open in previous work - the rate of generation of randomness. Our new protocol can certify $Ω(n)$ fresh bits of randomness in constant rounds, where $n$ is a parameter of the protocol and the total communication is $O(n)$, thus achieving a nearly optimal rate. The proof that the output is statistically random is conceptually …
Applications of randomness such as private key generation and public randomness beacons require small blocks of certified random bits on demand. Device-independent quantum random number generators can produce such random bits, but existing quantum-proof protocols and loophole-free implementations suffer from high latency, requiring many hours to produce any random bits. We demonstrate device-independent quantum randomness generation from a loophole-free Bell test with a more efficient quantum-proof protocol, obtaining multiple blocks of $512$ bits with an average experiment time of less than $…
We consider how randomness can be made to play a useful role in quantum information processing - in particular, for decoherence control and the implementation of quantum algorithms. For a two-level system in which the decoherence channel is non-dissipative, we show that decoherence suppression is possible if memory is present in the channel. Random switching between two potentially harmful noise sources can then provide a source of stochastic control. Such random switching can also be used in an advantageous way for the implementation of quantum algorithms.
Authors develop new nonparametric methods for verification and monitoring for quantum randomness based on the ranged correlation function (RCF) and a sequence of the ranged amplitudes (SRA). We carried out RCF-analysis of different topology subsamples from raw data of the prototype of a quantum random number generator on homodyne detection. It is shown that in the real system there are weak local regression relations, for which it is possible to introduce a robust criterion of significance, and also precise SRA-identification of long samples statistics is made. The obtained results extend the …
The capability of a given channel to communicate information is, a priori, distinct from its capability to distribute shared randomness. In this article we define randomness distribution capacities of quantum channels assisted by forward, back, or two-way classical communication and compare these to the corresponding communication capacities. With forward assistance or no assistance, we find that they are equal. We establish the mutual information of the channel as an upper bound on the two-way assisted randomness distribution capacity. This implies that all of the capacities are equal for cla…
