Perfect Quantum Cloning Machines (QCM) would allow to use quantum nonlocality for arbitrary fast signaling. However perfect QCM cannot exist. We derive a bound on the fidelity of QCM compatible with the no-signaling constraint. This bound equals the fidelity of the Bužek-Hillery QCM.
The argument given by M.D. Westmoreland and B. Schumacher in quant-ph/9801014 leading to the purported conclusion that superluminal signaling violates the no-cloning theorem is shown to be incorrect.
We investigate a new class of quantum cloning machines that equally duplicate all real states in a Hilbert space of arbitrary dimension. By using the no-signaling condition, namely that cloning cannot make superluminal communication possible, we derive an upper bound on the fidelity of this class of quantum cloning machines. Then, for each dimension d, we construct an optimal symmetric cloner whose fidelity saturates this bound. Similar calculations can also be performed in order to recover the fidelity of the optimal universal cloner in d dimensions.
The impossibility of superluminal communication is a fundamental principle of physics. Here we show that this principle underpins the performance of several fundamental tasks in quantum information processing and quantum metrology. In particular, we derive tight no-signaling bounds for probabilistic cloning and super-replication that coincide with the corresponding optimal achievable fidelities and rates known. In the context of quantum metrology, we derive the Heisenberg limit from the no-signaling principle for certain scenarios including reference frame alignment and maximum likelihood stat…
In port-based teleportation, Alice teleports an unknown quantum state to one of N ports at Bob's site. Alice applies a measurement and sends Bob the outcome k. Bob only needs to select the kth port in order to obtain the state. We present a theorem in the spirit of the no-cloning theorem, which says that it is impossible to extract any information from an unknown quantum state if only a single copy of it is provided and if the state remains unchanged. We use this theorem and the no-signaling principle to prove an upper bound on the success probability of port-based teleportation.
The paper is a Chapter of a book. In it an exhaustive review of the proposals to send faster than light signals resorting to quantum nonlocality and the reduction process is presented, together with a critical analysis and rebuttal of all proposals. The most interesting part of the Chapter is the one in which the problem of quantum cloning is discussed. Actually, a proposal of superluminal signaling based on an hypothetical cloning machine has been presented by N. Herbert. The proposal does not work just because of the assumption that one can clone nonorthogonal states. The fact that such a ma…
If YES, then we can look forward to physical realization of superluminal communication, as the original considerations of the ``no-cloning'' theorem were motivated in part as an explanation of why certain schemes for superluminal signaling cannot work. If NO, then it would seem that some aspects of the ``hidden'' variables must be ``intrinsically hidden'', i.e., ``unknowable'', such that ``hidden-variable'' theories belong more to the ``idealist'' than to the ``realist'' school of thought. I pose this question without proposing a definite answer. I am unaware of any commentary on this topic du…
We prove generic versions of the no-cloning and no-broadcasting theorems, applicable to essentially {\em any} non-classical finite-dimensional probabilistic model that satisfies a no-signaling criterion. This includes quantum theory as well as models supporting ``super-quantum'' correlations that violate the Bell inequalities to a larger extent than quantum theory. The proof of our no-broadcasting theorem is significantly more natural and more self-contained than others we have seen: we show that a set of states is broadcastable if, and only if, it is contained in a simplex whose vertices are …
We consider a physical system in which the description of states and measurements follow the usual quantum mechanical rules. We also assume that the dynamics is linear, but may not be fully quantum (i.e unitary). We show that in such a physical system, certain complementary evolutions, namely cloning and deleting operations that give a better fidelity than quantum mechanically allowed ones, in one (inaccessible) region, lead to signaling to a far-apart (accessible) region. To show such signaling, one requires certain two-party quantum correlated states shared between the two regions. Subsequen…
Summoning is a task between two parties, Alice and Bob, with distributed networks of agents in space-time. Bob gives Alice a random quantum state, known to him but not her, at some point. She is required to return the state at some later point, belonging to a subset defined by communications received from Bob at other points. Many results about summoning, including the impossibility of unrestricted summoning tasks and the necessary conditions for specific types of summoning tasks to be possible, follow directly from the quantum no-cloning theorem and the relativistic no-superluminal-signalling…
Nonclassical properties of correlations-- like unpredictability, no-cloning and uncertainty-- are known to follow from two assumptions: nonlocality and no-signaling. For two-input-two-output correlations, we derive these properties from a single, unified assumption: namely, the excess of the communication cost over the signaling in the correlation. This is relevant to quantum temporal correlations, resources to simulate quantum correlations and extensions of quantum mechanics. We generalize in the context of such correlations the nonclassicality result for nonlocal-nonsignaling correlations (M…
We study the role of interference in the process of quantum cloning. We show that in order to achieve better than classical cloning of a qubit no interference is needed. In particular, a large class of symmetric universal 1$\to$ 2 qubit cloners exists which achieve the optimal average fidelity 5/6 for such machines, without using any interference. We also obtain optimal average fidelities for interference--free cloning in asymmetric situations, and discuss the relation of the quantum cloners found to the Bužek--Hillery quantum cloner.
In this paper we present an approach to quantum cloning via free dynamical evolution of spin networks. By properly designing the network and the couplings between spins, we show that optimal 1->M phase covariant cloning can be achieved without any external control. Especially, when M is an odd number, the optimal phase-covariant cloning can be achieved without ancillas. Moreover, we demonstrate that the same framework is capable for optimal 1->2 universal cloning.
We present a probabilistic cloning scheme operating independently of any phase reference. The scheme is based solely on a phase-randomized displacement and photon counting, omitting the need for non-classical resources and non-linear materials. In an experimental implementation, we employ the scheme to clone coherent states from a phase covariant alphabet and demonstrate that the cloner is capable of outperforming the hitherto best-performing deterministic scheme. An analysis of the covariances between the output states shows that uncorrelated clones can be approached asymptotically. An intrig…
It is shown that the no-signaling condition is not needed in order to argue a linear quantum dynamics from standard quantum statics and the usual interpretation of quantum measurement outcomes as probabilistic mixtures.
We derive the optimal N to M phase-covariant quantum cloning for equatorial states in dimension d with M=kd+N, k integer. The cloning maps are optimal for both global and single-qudit fidelity. The map is achieved by an ``economical'' cloning machine, which works without ancilla.
The quantum mechanical no-cloning theorem for pure states is generalized and transfered to the quantum logics with a conditional probability calculus in a rather abstract, though simple and basic fashion without relying on a tensor product construction or finite dimension as required in other generalizations.
In this paper, we study the entanglement and quantum discord of the output modes in the unified $1\rightarrow 2$ state-dependent cloning and probabilistic quantum cloning. The tripartite entanglement among the output modes and the quantum cloning machine is also considered. We find that the roles of the quantum correlations including the bipartite and tripartite entanglement and quantum discord strongly depend on the quantum cloning machines as well as the cloned state. In particular, it is found that this quantum cloning scheme can be realizable even without any quantum correlation.
We investigate the security of continuous-variable (CV) quantum key distribution (QKD) using coherent states and reverse reconciliation against Gaussian individual attacks based on an optimal Gaussian $1 \to 2$ cloning machine. We provide an implementation of the optimal Gaussian individual attack. we also find a Bell-measurement attack which works without delayed choice of measurements and has better performance than the cloning attack.
Possibility of state cloning is analyzed in two types of generalizations of quantum mechanics with nonlinear evolution. It is first shown that nonlinear Hamiltonian quantum mechanics does not admit cloning without the cloning machine. It is then demonstrated that the addition of the cloning machine, treated as a quantum or as a classical system, makes the cloning possible by nonlinear Hamiltonian evolution. However, a special type of quantum-classical theory, known as the mean-field Hamiltonian hybrid mechanics, does not admit cloning by natural evolution. The latter represents an example of a…
A linear optical probabilistic scheme for the optimal cloning of a pair of orthogonally-polarized photons is devised, based on single- and two-photon interferences. It consists in a partial symmetrization device, realized with a modified unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer, followed by two independent Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometers. This scheme has the advantage that it enables quantum cloning without the need for stimulated amplification in a nonlinear medium. It can also be modified so to make an optical two-qubit partial SWAP gate, thereby providing a potentially useful tool to linear op…
In a recent Letter (Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 (2005) 010503) Barrett, Hardy and Kent (BHK) considered a very interesting question which of the fundamental laws of physics ensure security of quantum cryptographic protocols. In particular, they presented quantum key distribution protocol and claimed its security in a very general framework, which allows - what they call - postquantum eavesdropping strategies i.e. which "allows for eavesdroppers who can break the laws of quantum mechanics, as long as nothing they can do implies the possibility of superluminal signaling". In this Comment, however, we sh…
We re-analyse the Bužek-Hillery Universal Quantum Cloning machine protocol and show that it allows better values for fidelity and Hilbert-Schmidt norm than hitherto reported. This higher value for the fidelity is identical to the maximum fidelity of phase covariant quantum cloning of Bruß-Cinchetti-D'Ariano-Macchiavello. This value of fidelity has also been obtained by Niu and Griffiths in their work without machine states. This is the maximum possible fidelity obtainable in $1\rightarrow 2$ qubits cloning. We then describe a different and new state dependent cloning protocol with four machine…
We understand emergent quantum mechanics in the sense that quantum mechanics describes processes of physical emergence relating an assumed sub-quantum physics to macroscopic boundary conditions. The latter can be shown to entail top-down causation, in addition to usual bottom-up scenarios. With this example it is demonstrated that definitions of "realism" in the literature are simply too restrictive. A prevailing manner to define realism in quantum mechanics is in terms of pre-determination independent of the measurement. With our counter-example, which actually is ubiquitous in emergent, or s…
While the no-cloning theorem, which forbids the perfect copying of quantum states, is well-known as one of the defining features of quantum mechanics, the question of how well the theory allows a state to be cloned is yet to be completely solved. In this paper, rigorous solutions to the problem of M to N asymmetric cloning of qudits are obtained in a number of interesting cases. The central result is the solution to the 1 to N universal asymmetric qudit cloning problem for which the exact trade-off in the fidelities of the clones for every N and d is derived. Analogous results are proven for q…
The possibility of cloning a d-dimensional quantum system without an ancilla is explored, extending on the economical phase-covariant cloning machine found in [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 60}, 2764 (1999)] for qubits. We prove the impossibility of constructing an economical version of the optimal universal cloning machine in any dimension. We also show, using an ansatz on the generic form of cloning machines, that the d-dimensional phase-covariant cloner, which optimally clones all uniform superpositions, can be realized economically only in dimension d=2. The used ansatz is supported by numerical evide…
We address the general problem of removing correlations from quantum states while preserving local quantum information as much as possible. We provide a complete solution in the case of two qubits, by evaluating the minimum amount of noise that is necessary to decorrelate covariant sets of bipartite states. We show that two harmonic oscillators in arbitrary Gaussian state can be decorrelated by a Gaussian covariant map. Finally, for finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, we prove that states obtained from most cloning channels (e.g., universal and phase-covariant cloning) can be decorrelated only …
Quantum steering in a global state allows an observer to remotely steer a subsystem into different ensembles by performing different local measurements on the other part. We show that, in general, this property cannot be perfectly cloned by any joint operation between a steered subsystem and a third system. Perfect cloning is viable if and only if the initial state is of zero discord. We also investigate the process of cloning the steered qubit of a Bell state using a universal cloning machine. Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering, which is a type of quantum correlation existing in the state…
Quantum physics exhibits remarkable distinguishing characteristics. For example, it gives only probabilistic predictions (non-determinism) and does not allow copying of unknown state (no-cloning). Quantum correlations may be stronger than any classical ones, nevertheless information cannot be transmitted faster than light (no-signaling). However, all these features do not single out quantum physics. A broad class of theories exist which share such traits with quantum mechanics, while they allow even stronger than quantum correlations. Here, we introduce the principle of Information Causality. …
We propose a protocol where one can exploit dual quantum and classical channels to achieve perfect ``cloning'' and ``orthogonal-complementing'' of an unknown state with a minimal assistance from a state preparer (without revealing what the input state is). The first stage of the protocol requires usual teleportation and in the second stage, the preparer disentangles the left-over entangled states by a single particle measurement process and communicates a number of classical bits (1-cbit per copy) to different parties so that perfect copies and complement copies are produced. We discuss our pr…
In this paper we present an approach to quantum cloning with unmodulated spin networks. The cloner is realized by a proper design of the network and a choice of the coupling between the qubits. We show that in the case of phase covariant cloner the XY coupling gives the best results. In the 1->2 cloning we find that the value for the fidelity of the optimal cloner is achieved, and values comparable to the optimal ones in the general N->M case can be attained. If a suitable set of network symmetries are satisfied, the output fidelity of the clones does not depend on the specific choice of the g…
In this letter we propose a set of conditions on the joint probabilities as a test of genuine multipartite nonlocality without inequality. Our test is failed by all non-signaling local models in which even nonlocal correlations among some observables (not all) are allowed as long as these correlations respect the non-signaling principle. A pass of our test by a state therefore indicates that this state cannot be simulated by any non-signaling local models, i.e., the state exhibits genuine multipartite nonlocality. It turns out that all entangled symmetric n-qubit ($n \geq 3$) states pass our t…
We present a characterization of the set of non-signaling correlations in terms of a two dimensional representation that involves the maximal value of a Bell functional and the mutual information between the parties. In particular, we apply this representation to the bipartite Bell scenario with two measurements and two outcomes. In terms of these physically meaningful quantities and through numerical optimization methods and some analytical results, we investigate the frontier between the different subsets of the non-signaling correlations, focussing on the quantum and post-quantum ones. Fina…
Closed Timelike Curves (CTCs) are intriguing relativistic objects that allow for time travel to the past and can be used as computational resources. In Deutschian Closed Timelike Curves (D-CTCs), due to the monogamy of entanglement, non-local correlations between entangled states are destroyed. In contrast, for Postselected Closed Timelike Curves (P-CTCs), a second variant of CTCs, the non-local correlations are preserved. P-CTCs can be harnessed for the signaling of non-orthogonal states to the past without a disruption of causality. In this paper, we take up signaling to the past and show a …
We investigate the relationship between no backwards in time signaling and classically causal correlations. We discover that unlike the case for two parties, the no backwards in time signaling paradigm for three parties is not enough to ensure that correlations can be reproduced with a classical causal ordering. We demonstrate this with an explicit example. We also generalise some existing results for linear two-time states to multi-party scenarios.
In the quest for an understanding of nonlocality with respect to an appropriate ontology, we propose a "cosmological solution". We assume that from the beginning of the universe each point in space has been the location of a scalar field representing a zero-point vacuum energy that nonlocally vibrates at a vast range of different frequencies across the whole universe. A quantum, then, is a nonequilibrium steady state in the form of a "bouncer" coupled resonantly to one of those (particle type dependent) frequencies, in remote analogy to the bouncing oil drops on an oscillating oil bath as in C…
One of the formulations of Heisenberg uncertainty principle, concerning so-called measurement uncertainty, states that the measurement of one observable modifies the statistics of the other. Here, we derive such a measurement uncertainty principle from two comprehensible assumptions: impossibility of instantaneous messaging at a distance (no-signaling), and violation of Bell inequalities (non-locality). The uncertainty is established for a pair of observables of one of two spatially separated systems that exhibit non-local correlations. To this end, we introduce a gentle form of measurement wh…
Understanding the role that quantum entanglement plays as a resource in various information processing tasks is one of the crucial goals of quantum information theory. Here we propose a new perspective for studying quantum entanglement: distributed computation of functions without communication between nodes. To formalize this approach, we propose identity games. Surprisingly, despite of no-signaling, we obtain that non-local quantum strategies beat classical ones in terms of winning probability for identity games originating from certain bipartite and multipartite functions. Moreover we show …
Quantum entanglement can be used to demonstrate nonlocality and to teleport a quantum state from one place to another. The fact that entanglement can be used to do both these things has led people to believe that teleportation is a nonlocal effect. In this paper it is shown that teleportation is conceptually independent of nonlocality. This is done by constructing a toy local theory in which cloning is not possible (without a no-cloning theory teleportation makes limited sense) but teleportation is. Teleportation in this local theory is achieved in an analogous way to the way it is done with q…
We describe a unified framework of phase covariant multi user quantum transformations for d-dimensional quantum systems. We derive the optimal phase covariant cloning and transposition tranformations for multi phase states. We show that for some particular relations between the input and output number of copies they correspond to economical tranformations, which can be achieved without the need of auxiliary systems. We prove a relation between the optimal phase covariant cloning and transposition maps, and optimal estimation of multiple phases for equatorial states.
We propose entangled (M+1)-mode quantum states as a multiuser quantum channel for continuous-variable communication. Arbitrary quantum states can be sent via this channel simultaneously to M remote and separated locations with equal minimum excess noise in each output mode. For a set of coherent-state inputs, the channel realizes optimum symmetric 1-to-M cloning at a distance (``telecloning''). It also provides the optimal cloning of coherent states without the need of amplifying the state of interest. The generation of the multiuser quantum channel requires no more than two 10\log_{10}[(\sqrt…
National University of Singapore(新加坡国立大学);Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore(新加坡国立大学量子技术中心);Stony Brook University(石溪大学)
We review the long history of nonlocality in physics with special emphasis on the conceptual breakthroughs over the last few years. For the first time it is possible to study "nonlocality without signaling" {\it from the outside}, that is without all the quantum physics Hilbert space artillery. We emphasize that physics has always given a nonlocal description of Nature, except during a short 10 years gap. We note that the very concept of "nonlocality without signaling" is totally foreign to the spirit of relativity, the only strictly local theory.
Bell showed 50 years ago that quantum theory is nonlocal via his celebrated inequalities, turning the issue of quantum nonlocality from a matter of taste into a matter of test. Years later, Hardy proposed a test for nonlocality without inequality, which is a kind of "something-versus-nothing" argument. Hardy's test for $n$ particles induces an $n$-partite Bell's inequality with two dichotomic local measurements for each observer, which has been shown to be violated by all entangled pure states. Our first result is to show that the Bell-Hardy inequality arising form Hardy's nonlocality test is …
Full characterization of informative subsets in Quantum Encrypted Cloning
Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca(米兰比可卡大学);Università degli Studi di Milano(米兰大学);Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore(天主教神圣之心大学);Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon(里昂国立应用科学学院)
Motivated by a proposal from Greenberger [Physica Scripta T76, p.57 (1998) ] for superluminal signaling, and inspired by an experiment from Zou, Wang, and Mandel [Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, p.318 (1991) ] showing interference effects within multi-particle entanglement without coincidence detection, we propose a feasible quantum-optical scheme that purports to manifest the capacity for superluminal transfer of information between distant parties
The digital currency Bitcoin has had remarkable growth since it was first proposed in 2008. Its distributed nature allows currency transactions without a central authority by using cryptographic methods and a data structure called the blockchain. In this paper we use the no-cloning theorem of quantum mechanics to introduce Quantum Bitcoin, a Bitcoin-like currency that runs on a quantum computer. We show that our construction of quantum shards and two blockchains allows untrusted peers to mint quantum money without risking the integrity of the currency. The Quantum Bitcoin protocol has several …
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…
Though the no-cloning theorem [1] prohibits exact replication of arbitrary quantum states, there are many instances in quantum information processing and entanglement measurement in which a weaker form of cloning may be useful. Here, I provide a construction for generating an "entangled clone" for a particular but rather expansive and rich class of states. Given a stabilizer code or free fermion Hamiltonian, this construction generates an exact entangled clone of the original ground state, in the sense that the entanglement between the original and the exact copy can be tuned to be arbitrarily…
If black holes were able to clone quantum states, a number of paradoxes in black hole physics would disappear. However, the linearity of quantum mechanics forbids exact cloning of quantum states. Here we show that black holes indeed clone incoming quantum states with a fidelity that depends on the black hole's absorption coefficient, without violating the no-cloning theorem because the clones are only approximate. Perfectly reflecting black holes are optimal universal "quantum cloning machines" and operate on the principle of stimulated emission, exactly as their quantum optical counterparts. …
Traditional Bell's argument shows that freedom of choice is inconsistent with quantum realism if lack of signaling and sufficiently fast choices and readouts are assumed. While no-signaling alone is a consequence of special relativity, this is not the case of spacetime location of choice and readout. Here we attempt to incorporate freedom of choice into quantum objective realism relying solely on relativistic quantum field theory. We conclude that this is impossible without breaking relativistic invariance and put forward the possibility of signaling faster than light, which cannot be excluded…