We discuss how to embed quantum nonlocality in an approximately classical spacetime background, a question which must be answered irrespective of any underlying microscopic theory of spacetime. We argue that, in deterministic hidden-variables theories, the choice of spacetime kinematics should be dictated by the properties of generic non-equilibrium states, which allow nonlocal signalling. Such signalling provides an operational definition of absolute simultaneity, which may naturally be associated with a preferred foliation of classical spacetime. The argument applies to any deterministic hidden-variables theory, and to both flat and curved spacetime backgrounds. We include some critical discussion of Einstein's 1905 'operational' approach to relativity, and compare it with that of Poincare.
We consider black-hole evaporation from a hidden-variables perspective. It is suggested that Hawking information loss, associated with the transition from a pure to a mixed quantum state, is compensated for by the creation of deviations from Born-rule probabilities outside the event horizon. The resulting states have non-standard or 'nonequilibrium' distributions of hidden variables, with a specific observable signature - a breakdown of the sinusoidal modulation of quantum probabilities for two-state systems. Outgoing Hawking radiation is predicted to contain statistical anomalies outside the …
A simple relativistic quantum hidden-variable theory of particle trajectories, similar to the Bohm theory but without nonlocal forces between the particles, is proposed. To provide compatibility with statistical predictions of quantum mechanics one needs to assume the initial probability density |psi|^2 of particle positions in spacetime, which is the only source of nonlocality in the theory. This demonstrates that the usual Bohm hidden-variable theory contains much more nonlocality than required by the Bell theorem.
Bell's theorem implies that any completion of quantum mechanics which uses hidden variables (that is, preexisting values of all observables) must be nonlocal in the Einstein sense. This customarily indicates that knowledge of the hidden variables would permit superluminal communication. Such superluminal signaling, akin to the existence of a preferred reference frame, is to be expected. However, here we provide a protocol that allows an observer with knowledge of the hidden variables to communicate with her own causal past, without superluminal signaling. That is, such knowledge would contradi…
Hidden-variables models are critically reassessed. It is first examined if the quantum discord is classically described by the hidden-variable model of Bell in the Hilbert space with $d=2$. The criterion of vanishing quantum discord is related to the notion of reduction and, surprisingly, the hidden-variable model in $d=2$, which has been believed to be consistent so far, is in fact inconsistent and excluded by the analysis of conditional measurement and reduction. The description of the full contents of quantum discord by the deterministic hidden-variables models is not possible. We also re-e…
Bell's theorem proves only that hidden variables evolving in true physical time can't exist; still the theorem's meaning is usually interpreted intolerably wide. The concept of hidden time (and, in general, hidden space-time) is introduced. Such concept provides a whole new class of physical theories, fully compatible with current knowledge, but giving new tremendous possibilities. Those theories do not violate Bell's theorem.
An axiomatics for indistinguishability of elementary particles in terms of hidden variables is presented in a manner which depart from the standard approaches usually given to hidden variables. Quantum distribution functions are also discussed and some related lines of work are suggested.
We construct, for any finite dimension $n$, a new hidden measurement model for quantum mechanics based on representing quantum transition probabilities by the volume of regions in projective Hilbert space. For $n=2$ our model is equivalent to the Aerts sphere model and serves as a generalization of it for dimensions $n \geq 3$. We also show how to construct a hidden variables scheme based on hidden measurements and we discuss how joint distributions arise in our hidden variables scheme and their relationship with the results of Fine.
Grassmannian local hidden variables are shown to generate all possible quantum correlations in a bipartite quantum system. Grassmann representation of fermions, common in field theory, opens a related perspective. Although Grassmann hidden variables can not challange Bell's locality theorem, they can become an interesting mathematical tool to investigate entanglement.
It was shown by Bell that no local hidden variable model is compatible with quantum mechanics. If, instead, one permits the hidden variables to be entirely non-local, then any quantum mechanical predictions can be recovered. In this paper, we consider general hidden variable models which can have both local and non-local parts. We then show the existence of (experimentally verifiable) quantum correlations that are incompatible with any hidden variable model having a non-trivial local part, such as the model proposed by Leggett.
In previously exhibited hidden variable models of quantum state preparation and measurement, the number of continuous hidden variables describing the actual state of a single realization is never smaller than the quantum state manifold dimension. We introduce a simple model for a qubit whose hidden variable space is one-dimensional, i.e., smaller than the two-dimensional Bloch sphere. The hidden variable probability distributions associated with the quantum states satisfy reasonable criteria of regularity. Possible generalizations of this shrinking to a N-dimensional Hilbert space are discusse…
We generalize Bell's hidden variable model describing the singlet state of a two-qubits system by extending it to arbitrary states and observables. As in the original work, we assume a uniform, state-independent probability distribution for the hidden variables which are identified with the unit vectors of a 3-dimensional real space. By slightly modifying our model, we provide also a minimal hidden variable description of the two-qubits system, relying on a single hidden variable. We discuss the main features and the implications of the model.
I review the relation of the Bell inequalities - characteristic of (classical) probabilities defined on Boolean logics - with noncontextual and local hidden variables theories of quantum mechanics and with quantum information.
We criticize Colbeck and Renner's (CR's) statement that "any hidden variable model can only be compatible with quantum mechanics if its local part is trivial" [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 050403 (2008)]. We note that CR's attempt to divide a nonlocal hidden variable model into a "local part" and a "nonlocal part" contains a restriction on the latter. This restriction implies that the division is really into a "local part" and a "nonsignaling nonlocal part." CR's nonsignaling requirement on the "nonlocal part" cannot be physically motivated, since the hidden variables cannot be accessed by experiment…
A local hidden variables model is exhibited which gives predictions in agreement with the quantum ones for the recent experiment by Go et al. quant-ph/0702267
Bell inequalities or Bell-like experiments are supposed to test hidden variable theories based on three intuitive assumptions: determinism, locality and measurement independence. If one of the assumptions of Bell inequality is properly relaxed, the probability distribution of the singlet state, for example, can be reproduced by a hidden variable model. Models that deal with the relaxation of some condition above, with more than one hidden variable, have been studied in the literature nowadays. In this work the relation between the number of hidden variables and the degree of relaxation necessa…
Recently, Matzkin claimed the construction of a hidden variable (HV) model which is both local and equivalent with the quantum-mechanical predictions. In this paper we will briefly present this HV model and argue, by identifying an extra non-local "hidden" HV, why this model is not local
We study a continuous set of spin 1 measurements and show that for a special family of measurements parametrized by a single variable $θ$ the possibility of hidden-variable description is a discontinuous property.
It is shown that theoretically viable noncontextual hidden variables models in $d=2$ lead to conflicting dispersion free expressions in the analysis of the conditional measurement of two non-orthogonal projectors. No satisfactory criterion of the quantum discord, which relies on the analysis of conditional measurement, is formulated in the $d=2$ hidden variables space due to a lack of uniqueness of the dispersion free representation. We also make a speculative comment on a "many-worlds interpretation" of hidden variables models to account for the conditional measurement.
We prove that all deterministic hidden-variables theories, that reproduce quantum theory for a 'quantum equilibrium' distribution of hidden variables, predict the existence of instantaneous signals at the statistical level for hypothetical 'nonequilibrium ensembles'. This signal-locality theorem generalises yet another property of the pilot-wave theory of de Broglie and Bohm. The theorem supports the hypothesis that in the remote past the universe relaxed to a state of statistical equilibrium (at the hidden-variable level) in which nonlocality happens to be masked by quantum noise.
We show a quantum state with explicit local hidden-variable models for correlations between any fixed number of subsystems which cannot be extended to a model simultaneously describing correlations between different numbers of subsystems.
Colbeck and Renner [arXiv:0801.2218] analyzed a class of combined models for entanglements in which local and non-local hidden variables cooperate for producing the measurement results. They came to the conclusion that the measurement results are fully independent of the local components of the hidden variables. Their conclusion is based mainly on an assumption on the local hidden variables, assumption similar to the non-signaling property of probabilities of observables' values. In the present text it is proved that hidden variables are not observables, so their distributions of probabilities…
Malley discussed {[Phys. Rev. A {\bf 69}, 022118 (2004)]} that all quantum observables in a hidden-variable model for quantum events must commute simultaneously. In this comment, we discuss that Malley's theorem is indeed valid for the hidden-variable theoretical assumptions, which were introduced by Kochen and Specker. However, we give an example that the local hidden-variable (LHV) model for quantum events preserves noncommutativity of quantum observables. It turns out that Malley's theorem is not related with the LHV model for quantum events, in general.
In this paper we present some of our experimental results on testing hidden variable theories, which range from Bell inequalities measurements to a conclusive test of stochastic electrodynamics.
An experiment is described which proves, using single photons only, that the standard hidden variables assumptions (commonly used to derive Bell inequalities) are inconsistent with quantum mechanics. The analysis is very simple and transparent. In particular, it demonstrates that a classical wave model for quantum mechanics is not ruled out by experiments demonstrating the violation of the traditional hidden variable assumptions.
It has recently been questioned whether the Kochen-Specker theorem is relevant to real experiments, which by necessity only have finite precision. We give an affirmative answer to this question by showing how to derive hidden-variable theorems that apply to real experiments, so that non-contextual hidden variables can indeed be experimentally disproved. The essential point is that for the derivation of hidden-variable theorems one does not have to know which observables are really measured by the apparatus. Predictions can be derived for observables that are defined in an entirely operational …
Motivated by Popescu's example of hidden nonlocality, we elaborate on the conjecture that quantum states that are intuitively nonlocal, i.e., entangled, do not admit a local causal hidden variables model. We exhibit quantum states which either (i) are nontrivial counterexamples to this conjecture or (ii) possess a new kind of more deeply hidden irreducible nonlocality. Moreover, we propose a nonlocality complexity classification scheme suggested by the latter possibility. Furthermore, we show that Werner's (and similar) hidden variables models can be extended to an important class of generaliz…
Explicit local hidden variables models are exhibited that assume a correlation between detection events produced in the same detector at different times. It is shown that some models give predictions closer to the Bell limit than models without time correlation.
Local variables can't describe the quantum correlations observed in tests of Bell inequalities. Likewise, we show that nonlocal variables can't describe quantum correlations in a relativistic time-order invariant way.
We discuss the problem of hidden variables and the motivation for introducting them in quantum mechanics. These include determinism, and the problem of meassurement and incompleteness. We first discuss Von-Neumann's imposisbility proof and then analyse it's weakness in terms of Bell's explicit hidden variable model of spin one-half particles. We next discuss Gleason's theorem and Kochen-Specker theorem and bring out the troublems with non contextual hidden variable theories. An important role is played by Einstein locality in the discussion of hidden variable theories as was first brought out …
The question of a hidden variable interpretation of quantum contextuality in the Mermin-Peres square is considered. The Kochen-Specker theorem implies that quantum mechanics may be interpreted as a contextual hidden variable theory. It is shown that such a hidden variable description can be viewed as either contextual in the random variables mapping hidden states to observable outcomes or in the probability measure on the hidden state space. The latter view suggests that this apparent contextuality may be interpreted as a simple consequence of measurement disturbance, wherein the initial hidde…
In a recent article (arXiv:2108.08144), Hance, Hossenfelder and Palmer have advanced arguments claiming to show that the analysis of Invariant-set theory in a hidden-variable setting (arXiv:2107.04761) is wrong. We explain here why these arguments are incorrect, and involve misunderstandings of the hidden-variable model in question and Bell's notion of local causality.
The relation between entanglement and nonlocality is discussed in the case of multipartite quantum systems. We show that, for any number of parties, there exist genuinely multipartite entangled states which admit a fully local hidden variable model, i.e. where all parties are separated. Hence, although these states are entangled in the strongest possible sense, they cannot lead to Bell inequality violation considering general non-sequential local measurements. Then, we show that the nonlocality of these states can nevertheless be activated using sequences of local measurements, thus revealing …
Hidden variables are extra components added to try to banish counterintuitive features of quantum mechanics. We start with a quantum-mechanical model and describe various properties that can be asked of a hidden-variable model. We present six such properties and a Venn diagram of how they are related. With two existence theorems and three no-go theorems (EPR, Bell, and Kochen-Specker), we show which properties of empirically equivalent hidden-variable models are possible and which are not. Formally, our treatment relies only on classical probability models, and physical phenomena are used only…
We extend to any maximally entangled state of a bipartite system whose constituents are arbitrarily (but finite) dimensional the result, recently derived for two-dimensional constituents, that hidden variable theories cannot have local parts, i.e., that their local averages cannot differ from the quantum mechanical ones.
Elaborating on a previous work by Han et al., we give a general, basis-independent proof of the necessity of negative probability measures in order for a class of local hidden-variable (LHV) models to violate the Bell-CHSH inequality. Moreover, we obtain general solutions for LHV-induced probability measures that reproduce any consistent set of probabilities.
We consider alternative models to quantum mechanics, that have been proposed in the recent years in order to explain the EPR correlations between two particles. These models allow in principle local hidden variables produced at the source, and some superluminal "hidden communication" (or "influences") to reproduce the non-local correlations. Moving to the case of three particles, we show that these alternative models lead to signaling when "hidden communication" alone is considered as the origin of the correlations.
Kent's conclusion that ``non-contextual hidden variable theories cannot be excluded by theoretical arguments of the Kochen-Specker type once the imprecision in real world experiments is taken into account'' [Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 3755 (1999)], is criticized. The Kochen-Specker theorem just points out that it is impossible even conceive a hidden variable model in which the outcomes of all measurements are pre-determined; it does not matter if these measurements are performed or not, or even if these measurements can be achieved only with finite precision.
The hidden-variable question is whether or not various properties --- randomness or correlation, for example --- that are observed in the outcomes of an experiment can be explained via introduction of extra (hidden) variables which are unobserved by the experimenter. The question can be asked in both the classical and quantum domains. In the latter, it is fundamental to the interpretation of the quantum formalism (Bell [1964], Kochen and Specker [1967], and others). In building a suitable mathematical model of an experiment, the physical set-up will guide us on how to model the observable vari…
A recent article of Colbeck and Renner tackled the problem whether entanglements may be explained by combined models of local and non-local hidden variables. To the difference from previous works they considered models in which each pair of entangled particles behaves in the same way, and the particles in the pair are equivalent, i.e. each of them produces its response to a measurement according to both local and non-local hidden variables. Their article aimed at proving that the local hidden variable component in such models has no effect on the measurement results, i.e. only the non-local va…
We demonstrate a contradiction of quantum mechanics with local hidden variable theories for continuous variable quadrature phase amplitude (``position'' and ``momentum'') measurements, by way of a violation of a Bell inequality. For any quantum state, this contradiction is lost for situations where the quadrature phase amplitude results are always macroscopically distinct. We show that for optical realisations of this experiment, where one uses homodyne detection techniques to perform the quadrature phase amplitude measurement, one has an amplification prior to detection, so that macroscopic f…
The paper is withdrawn by the author, due to the fact that in Larsson's Phys.Lett. A256 (1999) 245-252 (quant-ph/9901074) a similar model was published with even higher efficiency.
I will argue that the Peres-Mermin square does not necessarily rule out a value-definite (deterministic) noncontextual hidden variable model if the operators are not given a physical interpretation satisfying the following two requirements: (i) each operator is uniquely realized by a single physical measurement; (ii) commuting operators are realized by simultaneous measurements. To underpin this claim, I will construct three hidden variable models for three different physical realizations of the Peres-Mermin square: one violating (i), another violating (ii), and a third one violating both (i) …
The noncontextual hidden variables models in $d=2$, such as the ones constructed by Bell and by Kochen and Specker, have difficulties in accounting for the conditional measurement of two non-orthogonal projectors. An idea of branching in the hidden variables space, which provides a means to realize the notion of reduction effectively and describe the state preparation, is suggested as a way to resolve the difficulties associated with the conditional measurement.
We prove that the results of a finite set of general quantum measurements on an arbitrary dimensional quantum system can be simulated using a polynomial (in measurements) number of hidden-variable states. In the limit of infinitely many measurements, our method gives models with the minimal number of hidden-variable states, which scales linearly with the number of measurements. These results can find applications in foundations of quantum theory, complexity studies and classical simulations of quantum systems.
Kent [quant-ph/9906006] has constructed a hidden variable theory by taking the finite precision of physical measurements into account. But its claim to noncontextuality has been queried, and it shown here that there is a particularly simple way of seeing why it cannot be noncontextual.
Considering an extended type of Bohm's version of EPR thought experiment, we derive Bell's inequality for the case of factorizable contextual hidden variable theories which are consistent with the predictions of quantum theory. Usually factorizability is associated with non-contextuality. Here, we show that factorizability is consistent with contextuality, even for the ordinary Bohm's version of EPR thought experiment.
In this paper we address the question as to what extent the quantum-mechanical nature of the process is relevant for teleportation of A spin-1/2 state. For this purpose we analyze the possibility of underpinning teleportation with a local-hidden-variable model. The nature of the models, which we consider as legitimate candidates, guarantees the classical character of all the probabilities which can be deduced from them. When we try to describe the teleportation process following two different mathematical routes, we find two different hidden-variable densities, which thus end up having a doubt…
Assuming that quantum mechanics is obeyed exactly after averaging over hidden variables, and considering models that obey both the hypotheses of free will and locality, we establish the form of all possible hidden-variable models that reproduce the spin-singlet.
We review several no-go theorems attributed to Gisin and Hardy, Conway and Kochen purporting the impossibility of Lorentz-invariant deterministic hidden-variable model for explaining quantum nonlocality. Those theorems claim that the only known solution to escape the conclusions is either to accept a preferred reference frame or to abandon the hidden-variable program altogether. Here we present a different alternative based on a foliation dependent framework adapted to deterministic hidden variables. We analyse the impact of such an approach on Bohmian mechanics and show that retrocausation (t…
It is shown that, although correct mathematically, the celebrated 1932 theorem of von Neumann which is often interpreted as proving the impossibility of the existence of "hidden variables" in Quantum Mechanics, is in fact based on an assumption which is physically not reasonable. Apart from that, the alleged conclusion of von Neumann proving the impossibility of the existence of "hidden variables" was already set aside in 1952 by the counterexample of the possibility of a physical theory, such as given by what is usually called the "Bohmian Mechanics". Similar arguments apply to other two well…
Is quantum mechanics (QM) local or nonlocal? Different formulations/interpretations (FI) of QM, with or without hidden variables, suggest different answers. Different FI's can be viewed as different algorithms, which leads us to propose an algorithmic definition of locality according to which a theory is local if and only if there exists at least one FI in which all irreducible elements of that FI are local. The fact that no such FI of QM is known strongly supports quantum nonlocality.
In this letter we discuss entanglement properties of neutral kaons systems and their use for testing local realism. In particular we show that, as previous proposals, also a scheme recently suggested for performing a test of hidden variable theories against standard quantum mechanics cannot be conclusive.
It has been shown by us recently that Einstein was right in his controversy with Bohr or that the so called hidden-variable theory should be preferred to the Copenhagen quantum mechanics. In the following paper the corresponding arguments will be shortly repeated. The main attention will be then devoted to explaining main differences between these two quantum alternatives, differing in the access to the problem of chance, causality and locality of microscopic objects. The actual meaning of the mentioned hidden variables will be discussed, too, the essence of which remained practically unclear …
It is a well-known fact that all the statistical predictions of quantum mechanics on the state of any physical system represented by a two-dimensional Hilbert space can always be duplicated by a noncontextual hidden-variables model. In this paper, I show that, in some cases, when we consider an additional independent (unentangled) two-dimensional system, the quantum description of the resulting composite system cannot be reproduced using noncontextual hidden variables. In particular, a no-hidden-variables proof is presented for two individual spin-1/2 particles preselected in an uncorrelated s…
