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 thermal states than to pure coherent states.
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 insi…
In nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, Hudsons theorem states that a Gaussian wavefunction is the only pure state corresponding to a positive Wigner function (WF). We explicitly construct non Gaussian Dirac spinors with positive relativistic WF. These pure states are coherent superpositions of particles and antiparticles, while the existence of positive WF exclusive composed of particles is conjectured. These observations challenge a common belief that states with positive WF are classical or have classical analogues, and may open new venues in relativistic quantum information.
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…
Gibbons et al. [Phys. Rev. A 70, 062101(2004)] have recently defined a class of discrete Wigner functions W to represent quantum states in a Hilbert space with finite dimension. We show that the only pure states having non-negative W for all such functions are stabilizer states, as conjectured by one of us [Phys. Rev. A 71, 042302 (2005)]. We also show that the unitaries preserving non-negativity of W for all definitions of W form a subgroup of the Clifford group. This means pure states with non-negative W and their associated unitary dynamics are classical in the sense of admitting an efficie…
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, …
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…
We introduce the quantum-house effect, a non-local phenomenon which apparently does not require quantum discord to be present. It suffices for the effect if neither subsystem of a bipartite system is in a pure state. This way, the quantum-house effect completely fills the gap between trivial correlations and quantum discord. However, we discuss why the situation is more subtle than that, by showing that in a concrete cryptographic setting called "the quantum-house game", the ability to produce quantum discord is in fact necessary for the quantum-house effect to work. Then, we suggest a princip…
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…
We lay a comprehensive foundation for the study of redundant information storage in decoherence processes. Redundancy has been proposed as a prerequisite for objectivity, the defining property of classical objects. We consider two ensembles of states for a model universe consisting of one system and many environments: the first consisting of arbitrary states, and the second consisting of ``singly-branching'' states consistent with a simple decoherence model. Typical states from the random ensemble do not store information about the system redundantly, but information stored in branching states…
We define a new quantifier of classicality for a quantum state, the Roughness, which is given by the $\mathcal{L}^2 (\R^2)$ distance between Wigner and Husimi functions. We show that the Roughness is bounded and therefore it is a useful tool for comparison between different quantum states for single bosonic systems. The state classification via the Roughness is not binary, but rather it is continuous in the interval [0,1], being the state more classic as the Roughness approaches to zero, and more quantum when it is closer to the unity. The Roughness is maximum for Fock states when its number o…
Deterministic quantum computation with one qubit (DQC1) is iconic in highlighting that exponential quantum speedup may be achieved with negligible entanglement. Its discovery catalyzed heated study of general quantum resources, and various conjectures regarding their role in DQC1's performance advantage. Coherence and discord are prominent candidates, respectively characterizing non-classicality within localized and correlated systems. Here we realize DQC1 within a superconducting system, engineered such that the dynamics of coherence and discord can be tracked throughout its execution. We exp…
Telecommunication wavelength with well-developed optical communication technologies and low losses in the waveguide are advantageous for quantum applications. However, an experimental generation of non-classical states called non-Gaussian states at the telecommunication wavelength is still underdeveloped. Here, we generate highly-pure-single-photon states, one of the most primitive non-Gaussian states, by using a heralding scheme with an optical parametric oscillator and a superconducting nano-strip photon detector. The Wigner negativity, the indicator of non-classicality, of the generated sin…
Emergent classicality and wavefunction branching in an isolated quantum many-body system
Center for Theoretical Physics — a Leinweber Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology（麻省理工学院理论物理中心）；Harvard University（哈佛大学）；California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院）；NTT Research, Inc.（日本电报电话公司研究所）
We present six new measures of nonlocal correlation for discrete multipartite quantum systems; correlance, statance, probablance, strong discordance, discordance, and diagonal discordance. The correlance measures all nonlocal correlation (even bound entanglement), and is exactly computable for all pure and mixed states. Statance and probablance are not yet computable, but motivate the strong discordance (for nonlocal correlation beyond that achievable by a strictly classical state), discordance (a measure of all nonlocal correlation in distinguishably quantum states), and diagonal discordance …
We define a new measure of quantum correlations in bipartite quantum systems given by the Bures distance of the system state to the set of classical states with respect to one subsystem, that is, to the states with zero quantum discord. Our measure is a geometrical version of the quantum discord. As the latter it quantifies the degree of non-classicality in the system. For pure states it is identical to the geometric measure of entanglement. We show that for mixed states it coincides with the optimal success probability of an ambiguous quantum state discrimination task. Moreover, the closest z…
A bipartite state is classical with respect to party $A$ if and only if party $A$ can perform nondisruptive local state identification (NDLID) by a projective measurement. Motivated by this we introduce a class of quantum correlation measures for an arbitrary bipartite state. The measures utilize the general Schatten $p$-norm to quantify the amount of departure from the necessary and sufficient condition of classicality of correlations provided by the concept of NDLID. We show that for the case of Hilbert-Schmidt norm, i.e. $p=2$, a closed formula is available for an arbitrary bipartite state.…
Self-duality and Jordan structure of quantum theory follow from homogeneity and pure transitivity
Center for Quantum Information and Control, Dept of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico（新墨西哥大学物理与天文学系量子信息与控制中心）；University of Amsterdam, Dept of Computer Science（阿姆斯特丹大学计算机科学系）
