Joint probability distributions of photon polarization correlations are computed, as well as those corresponding to the cases when only one of the photon's polarization is measured in $e^{+}e^{-}$ annihilation, in flight, in QED. This provides a dynamical, rather than a kinematical, description of photon polarization correlations as stemming from the ever precise and realistic QED theory. Such computations may be relevant to recent and future experiments involved in testing Bell-like inequalities as described.
Weak measurements are a new tool for characterizing post-selected quantum systems during their evolution. Weak measurement was originally formulated in terms of von Neumann interactions which are practically available for only the simplest single-particle observables. In the present work, we extend and greatly simplify a recent, experimentally feasible, reformulation of weak measurement for multiparticle observables [Resch and Steinberg (2004, Phys. Rev. Lett., 92, 130402)]. We also show that the resulting ``joint weak values'' take on a particularly elegant form when expressed in terms of ann…
In the operator formalism of quantum mechanics, the density operator describes the complete statistics of a quantum state in terms of d^2 independent elements, where d is the number of possible outcomes for a precise measurement of an observable. In principle, it is therefore possible to express the density operator by a joint probability of two observables that cannot actually be measured jointly because they do not have any common eigenstates. However, such joint probabilities do not refer to an actual measurement outcome, so their definition cannot be based on a set of possible events. Here…
We use the standard three-party Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) setting in order to play general three-player non-cooperative symmetric games. We analyze how the peculiar non-factorizable joint probabilities that may emerge in the EPR setting can change outcome of the game. Our setup requires that the quantum game attains classical interpretation for factorizable joint probabilities. We analyze the generalized three-player game of Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) and show that the players can indeed escape from the classical outcome of the game because of non-factorizable joint probabilities. This result…
An eight parameter family of the most general nonnegative quadruple probabilities is constructed for EPR-Bohm-Aharonov experiments when only 3 pairs of analyser settings are used. It is a simultaneous representation of 3 Bohr-incompatible experimental configurations valid for arbitrary quantum states.
We construct quantum games from a table of non-factorizable joint probabilities, coupled with a symmetry constraint, requiring symmetrical payoffs between the players. We give the general result for a Nash equilibrium and payoff relations for a game based on non-factorizable joint probabilities, which embeds the classical game. We study a quantum version of Prisoners' Dilemma, Stag Hunt, and the Chicken game constructed from a given table of non-factorizable joint probabilities to find new outcomes in these games. We show that this approach provides a general framework for both classical and q…
A probabilistic framework is developed that gives a unifying perspective on both the classical and the quantum games. We suggest exploiting peculiar probabilities involved in Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) experiments to construct quantum games. In our framework a game attains classical interpretation when joint probabilities are factorizable and a quantum game corresponds when these probabilities cannot be factorized. We analyze how non-factorizability changes Nash equilibria in two-player games while considering the games of Prisoner's Dilemma, Stag Hunt, and Chicken. In this framework we fin…
In this paper we analyze the existence of joint probabilities for the Bell-type and GHZ entangled states. We then propose the usage of nonmonotonic upper probabilities as a tool to derive consistent joint upper probabilities for the contextual hidden variables. Finally, we show that for the extreme example of no error, the GHZ state allows for the definition of a joint upper probability that is consistent with the strong correlations.
A sequence of moments encode the corresponding probability distribution. Probing if quantum joint probability distribution can be retrieved from the associated set of moments -- realized in the sequential measurement of a dichotomic observable at different time intervals -- reveals a negative answer i.e., the joint probabilities of sequential measurements do not agree with the ones obtained by inverting the moments. This is indeed a reflection of the non-existence of a bonafide grand joint probability distribution, consistent with all the physical marginal probability distributions. Here we ex…
The density operator of a quantum state can be represented as a complex joint probability of any two observables whose eigenstates have non-zero mutual overlap. Transformations to a new basis set are then expressed in terms of complex conditional probabilities that describe the fundamental relation between precise statements about the three different observables. Since such transformations merely change the representation of the quantum state, these conditional probabilities provide a state-independent definition of the deterministic relation between the outcomes of different quantum measureme…
The well known refinement of the Nash Equilibrium (NE) called an Evolutionarily Stable Strategy (ESS) is investigated in the quantum Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) game that is played using an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen type setting. Earlier results report that in this scheme the classical NE remains intact as the unique solution of the quantum PD game. In contrast, we show here that interestingly in this scheme a non-classical solution for the ESS emerges for the quantum PD.
Quantum theory does not provide a unique definition for the joint probability of two non-commuting observables, which is the next important question after the Born's probability for a single observable. Instead, various definitions were suggested, e.g. via quasi-probabilities or via hidden-variable theories. After reviewing open issues of the joint probability, we relate it to quantum imprecise probabilities, which are non-contextual and are consistent with all constraints expected from a quantum probability. We study two non-commuting observables in a two-dimensional Hilbert space and show th…
Quantum mechanics does not permit joint measurements of non-commuting observables. However, it is possible to measure the weak value of a projection operator, followed by the precise measurement of a different property. The results can be interpreted as complex joint probabilities of the two non-commuting measurement outcomes. Significantly, it is possible to predict the outcome of completely different measurements by combining the joint probabilities of the initial state with complex conditional probabilities relating the new measurement to the possible combinations of measurement outcomes us…
This paper extends our probabilistic framework for two-player quantum games to the mutliplayer case, while giving a unified perspective for both classical and quantum games. Considering joint probabilities in the standard Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm (EPR-Bohm) setting for three observers, we use this setting in order to play general three-player non-cooperative symmetric games. We analyze how the peculiar non-factorizable joint probabilities provided by the EPR-Bohm setting can change the outcome of a game, while requiring that the quantum game attains a classical interpretation for factoriza…
A statistical analysis of optimal universal cloning shows that it is possible to identify an ideal (but non-positive) copying process that faithfully maps all properties of the original Hilbert space onto two separate quantum systems. The joint probabilities for non-commuting measurements on separate clones then correspond to the real parts of the complex joint probabilities observed in weak measurements on a single system, where the measurements on the two clones replace the corresponding sequence of weak measurement and post-selection. The imaginary parts of weak measurement statics can be o…
The method of defining quantum joint probabilities of two events is applied to a multimode system of trapped Bose-condensed atoms. The coherent modes are generated by modulating the trapping potential with an alternating field with a frequency in resonance with a transition frequency between two coherent modes. The system is subjected to nondestructive measurements randomly influencing the phase difference of the modes. The joint probability of observing two events, corresponding to the observation of two states, is calculated by employing the channel-state duality. The interference term in th…
We show that the joint behaviour of an arbitrary pair of quantum observables can be described by quasi-probabilities, which are extensions of the standard probabilities used for describing the behaviour of a single observable. The physical situations that require these quasi-probabilities arise when one considers quantum measurement of an observable conditioned by some other variable, with the notable example being the weak measurement employed to obtain Aharonov's weak value. Specifically, we present a general prescription for the construction of quasi-joint-probability (QJP) distributions as…
A quantum version of the Matching Pennies (MP) game is proposed that is played using an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm (EPR-Bohm) setting. We construct the quantum game without using the state vectors, while considering only the quantum mechanical joint probabilities relevant to the EPR-Bohm setting. We embed the classical game within the quantum game such that the classical MP game results when the quantum mechanical joint probabilities become factorizable. We report new Nash equilibria in the quantum MP game that emerge when the quantum mechanical joint probabilities maximally violate the Clau…
The problem of defining quantum probabilities of composite events is considered. This problem is of high importance for the theory of quantum measurements and for quantum decision theory that is a part of measurement theory. We show that the Luders probability of consecutive measurements is a transition probability between two quantum states and that this probability cannot be treated as a quantum extension of the classical conditional probability. The Wigner distribution is shown to be a weighted transition probability that cannot be accepted as a quantum extension of the classical joint prob…
We show an operational approach to bilocality with quasi-probability distributions and quasi-stochastic processes. This approach clearly demonstrates that negative probabilities are necessary to violate bilocality. It also highlights a subtle interplay between bilocal and local correlations and it can be easily extended to study N-locality.
Bipartite quantum entangled systems can exhibit measurement correlations that violate Bell inequalities, revealing the profoundly counter-intuitive nature of the physical universe. These correlations reflect the impossibility of constructing a joint probability distribution for all values of all the different properties observed in Bell inequality tests. Physically, the impossibility of measuring such a distribution experimentally, as a set of relative frequencies, is due to the quantum back-action of projective measurements. Weakly coupling to a quantum probe, however, produces minimal back-a…
We propose a new approach to the problem of defining the degree of entanglement between two particles in a pure state with Hilbert spaces of arbitrary finite dimensions. The central idea is that entanglement gives rise to correlations between the particles that do not occur in separable states. We individuate the contributions of these correlations to the joint and the conditional probabilities of local measurements outcomes. We use these probabilities to define the measure of entanglement. Our measure turns out to be proportional to the so-called 2-entropy and therefore satisfies the properti…
The spatiotemporal Born rule is quasiprobabilistic
School of Mathematics and Statistics, Hainan University（海南大学数学与统计学院）；School of Mathematical Sciences, MOE-LSC, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学数学科学学院，教育部线性代数与计算中心）；Shanghai Seres Information Technology Co., Ltd（上海思尔思信息技术有限公司）；Shenzhen Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology（南方科技大学深圳量子科学与工程研究院）
We discuss some issues about probability in quantum mechanics, with particular emphasis on the GHZ theorem. We propose the usage of nonmonotonic upper probabilities as a tool to derive consistent joint upper probabilities for systems where only contextual hidden variables are possible.
Observables and instruments have played significant roles in recent studies on the foundations of quantum mechanics. Sequential products of effects and conditioned observables have also been introduced. After an introduction in Section~1, we review these concepts in Section~2. Moreover, it is shown how these ideas can be unified within the framework of measurement models. In Section~3, we illustrate these concepts and their relationships for the simple example of a qubit Hilbert space. Conditioned observables and their distributions are studied in Section~4. Section~5 considers joint probabili…
It has been proposed that the ability to perform joint weak measurements on post-selected systems would allow us to study quantum paradoxes. These measurements can investigate the history of those particles that contribute to the paradoxical outcome. Here, we experimentally perform weak measurements of joint (i.e. nonlocal) observables. In an implementation of Hardy's Paradox, we weakly measure the locations of two photons, the subject of the conflicting statements behind the Paradox. Remarkably, the resulting weak probabilities verify all these statements but, at the same time, resolve the Pa…
Let us consider the set of all joint probabilities generated by local binary measurements on two separated quantum systems of a given local dimension d. We address the question of whether the shape of this quantum body is convex or not. We construct a point in the space of joint probabilities, which is on the convex hull of the local polytope, but still cannot be attained by measuring d-dimensional quantum systems, if the number of measurement settings is large enough. From this it follows that this body is not convex. We also show that for finite d the quantum body with POVM allowed may conta…
We demonstrate that for two canonically conjugate operators $\hat{q},\hat {p} $,the global correlation $\langle \hat{q} \hat {p} + \hat{p} \hat {q} \rangle -2 \langle \hat{q}\rangle \langle \hat {p}\rangle$, and the local correlations $\langle \hat{q} \rangle (p) - \langle \hat{q}\rangle$ and $\langle \hat{p} \rangle (q)-\langle \hat {p}\rangle$ can be measured exactly by Von Neumann-Arthurs-Kelly joint quadrature measurements . These correlations provide a sensitive experimental test of quantum phase space probabilities quite distinct from the probability densities of $ q,p $. E.g. for EPR st…
Relativistic causality, namely, the impossibility of signaling at superluminal speeds, restricts the kinds of correlations which can occur between different parts of a composite physical system. Here we establish the basic restrictions which relativistic causality imposes on the joint probabilities involved in an experiment of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm type. Quantum mechanics, on the other hand, places further restrictions beyond those required by general considerations like causality and consistency. We illustrate this fact by considering the sum of correlations involved in the CHSH in…
We analyze the validity of Bell and Kochen-Specker theorems under local (or noncontextual) realism but avoiding an assumption of the existence of a joint probability distribution for incompatible observables. We formulate a realist model which complies with this requirement. This is obtained by employing divergent sequences that nevertheless have marginals which are convergent. We find that under standard reasonable assumptions this possibility does not lead to a loophole of those theorems, by deriving a short of CHSH inequality valid for any finite size ensemble. Moreover, we analyze a Hardy'…
We detect a certain pattern of behavior of separability probabilities $p(r_A,r_B)$ for two-qubit systems endowed with Hilbert-Schmidt, and more generally, random induced measures, where $r_A$ and $r_B$ are the Bloch radii ($0 \leq r_A,r_B \leq 1$) of the qubit reduced states ($A,B$). We observe a relative repulsion of radii effect, that is $p(r_A,r_A) < p(r_A,1-r_A)$, except for rather narrow "crossover" intervals $[\tilde{r}_A,\frac{1}{2}]$. Among the seven specific cases we study are, firstly, the "toy" seven-dimensional $X$-states model and, then, the fifteen-dimensional two-qubit states ob…
Compelling evidence-though yet no formal proof--has been adduced that the probability that a generic two-qubit state ($ρ$) is separable is $\frac{8}{33}$ (arXiv:1301.6617, arXiv:1109.2560, arXiv:0704.3723). Proceeding in related analytical frameworks, using a further determinantal moment formula of C. Dunkl (Appendix), we reach the conclusion that one-half of this probability arises when the determinantal inequality $|ρ^{PT}|>|ρ|$, where $PT$ denotes the partial transpose, is satisfied, and, the other half, when $|ρ|>|ρ^{PT}|$. These probabilities are taken with respect to the flat, Hilbert-Sc…
