Hidden variables and locality

Bell's problem of the possibility of a local hidden variable theory of quantum phenomena is considered in the context of the general problem of representing the statistical states of a quantum mechanical system by measures on a classical probability space, and Bell's result is presented as a generalization of Maczynski's theorem for maximal magnitudes. The proof of this generalization is shown to depend on the impossibility of recovering the quantum statistics for sequential probabilities in a classical representation without introducing a randomization process for the hidden variables. Hidden variable theories that exclude such a randomization process are termed strict, and it is shown that the class of local hidden variable theories is included in the class of strict theories. A counterargument by Freedman and Wigner is evaluated with reference to Clauser's extension of a hidden variable model proposed by Bell.     

Kochen-Specker Theorem in Krein Space

The well known Kochen-Specker’s theorem (Kochen and Specker J. Math. Mech. 17:59–87, 1967) is devoted to the problem of hidden variables in quantum mechanics. In the paper we present a geometric proof for an indefinite analogy of Kochen-Specker’s theorem. On the real three-dimensional Krein space there exists unique two-valued probability measure.     

Interferometric Computation Beyond Quantum Theory

There are quantum solutions for computational problems that make use of interference at some stage in the algorithm. These stages can be mapped into the physical setting of a single particle travelling through a many-armed interferometer. There has been recent foundational interest in theories beyond quantum theory. Here, we present a generalized formulation of computation in the context of a many-armed interferometer, and explore how theories can differ from quantum theory and still perform distributed calculations in this set-up. We shall see that quaternionic quantum theory proves a suitable candidate, whereas box-world does not. We also find that a classical hidden variable model first presented by Spekkens (Phys Rev A 75(3): 32100, 2007) can also be used for this type of computation due to the epistemic restriction placed on the hidden variable.     

The Contextuality Loophole is Fatal for the Derivation of Bell Inequalities: Reply to a Comment by I. Schmelzer

Ilya Schmelzer wrote recently: Nieuwenhuizen argued that there exists some “contextuality loophole” in Bell’s theorem. This claim in unjustified. It is made clear that this arose from attaching a meaning to the title and the content of the paper different from the one intended by Nieuwenhuizen. “Contextual loophole” means only that if the supplementary parameters describing measuring instruments are correctly introduced, Bell and Bell-type inequalities may not be proven. It is also stressed that a hidden variable model suffers from a “contextuality loophole” if it tries to describe different sets of incompatible experiments using a unique probability space and a unique joint probability distribution.     

What is a hidden variable theory of quantum phenomena?

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between existing so-called hidden variable theories of quantum phenomena and some well-known proofs, such as those of von Neumann, Jauch and Piron, and Kochen and Specker, which purport to establish that no such theory is possible. The proof of Kochen and Specker, which is a stronger version of von Neumann's result, demonstrates the impossibility of embedding the algebraic structure of physical parameters of the quantum theory, represented by the self-adjoint Hubert space operators, into the commutative algebra of real-valued functions on a phase space of hidden states. This is a necessary condition for a hidden variable extension of the quantum theory in the usual sense of a statistical mechanical derivation of the statistical theorems of the quantum theory in the classical manner. No existing so-called hidden variable theory is a counter-example to von Neumann's proof. The early 1951 hidden variable theory of Bohm and the recent theory of Bohm and Bub are not in fact hidden variable theories in the usual sense of the term. Since the term hidden variable theory is justifiably used to denote the kind of theory rejected by von Neumann, Jauch and Piron, and Kochen and Specker, it is suggested that the term should not be used as a label for the theories considered by Bohm and other workers in this field. Such theories could be regarded as fundamentally compatible with the original Copenhagen interpretation of the quantum theory, as expressed by Bohr.Supported by the National Science Foundation.     

A Model with Quantum Logic, but Non-Quantum Probability: The Product Test Issue

We introduce a model with a set of experiments of which the probabilities of the outcomes coincide with the quantum probabilities for the spin measurements of a quantum spin- particle. Product tests are defined which allow simultaneous measurements of incompatible observables, which leads to a discussion of the validity of the meet of two propositions as the algebraic model for conjunction in quantum logic. Although the entity possesses the same structure for the logic of its experimental propositions as a genuine spin- quantum entity, the probability measure corresponding with the meet of propositions using the Hilbert space representation and quantum rules does not render the probability of the conjunction of the two propositions. Accordingly, some fundamental concepts of quantum logic, Piron-products, classical systems and the general problem of hidden variable theories for quantum theory are discussed.     

Hidden Measurements,Hidden Variables and the Volume Representation of Transition Probabilities

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 . 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 [J. Math. Phys. 23 1306 (1982)].     

Constraints on Determinism: Bell Versus Conway–Kochen

Bell’s Theorem from Physics 36:1–28 (1964) and the (Strong) Free Will Theorem of Conway and Kochen from Notices AMS 56:226–232 (2009) both exclude deterministic hidden variable theories (or, in modern parlance, ‘ontological models’) that are compatible with some small fragment of quantum mechanics, admit ‘free’ settings of the archetypal Alice and Bob experiment, and satisfy a locality condition akin to parameter independence. We clarify the relationship between these theorems by giving reformulations of both that exactly pinpoint their resemblance and their differences. Our reformulation imposes determinism in what we see as the only consistent way, in which the ‘ontological state’ initially determines both the settings and the outcome of the experiment. The usual status of the settings as ‘free’ parameters is subsequently recovered from independence assumptions on the pertinent (random) variables. Our reformulation also clarifies the role of the settings in Bell’s later generalization of his theorem to stochastic hidden variable theories.     

What is Quantum Mechanics? A Minimal Formulation

This paper presents a minimal formulation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, by which is meant a formulation which describes the theory in a succinct, self-contained, clear, unambiguous and of course correct manner. The bulk of the presentation is the so-called “microscopic theory”, applicable to any closed system S of arbitrary size N, using concepts referring to S alone, without resort to external apparatus or external agents. An example of a similar minimal microscopic theory is the standard formulation of classical mechanics, which serves as the template for a minimal quantum theory. The only substantive assumption required is the replacement of the classical Euclidean phase space by Hilbert space in the quantum case, with the attendant all-important phenomenon of quantum incompatibility. Two fundamental theorems of Hilbert space, the Kochen–Specker–Bell theorem and Gleason’s theorem, then lead inevitably to the well-known Born probability rule. For both classical and quantum mechanics, questions of physical implementation and experimental verification of the predictions of the theories are the domain of the macroscopic theory, which is argued to be a special case or application of the more general microscopic theory.     

Compressing the hidden variable space of a qubit

In previously exhibited hidden variable models of quantum state preparation and measurement, the number of continuous hidden variables describing the actual state of single realizations 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 quantum states satisfy reasonable criteria of regularity. Possible generalizations of this shrinking to an N-dimensional Hilbert space are discussed.     

On coding of a quantum source of states with a finite frequency band: Quantum analogue of the Kotel’nikov theorem on sampling

An example of coding a source of quantum states with a finite frequency band W and finite exit power not exceeding ～(?W)W is given. The number of classical information bits that can be coded in the quantum states generated by such a source per unit time is C=W. Such a source is minimal in the sense that the filling factor for each of the orthogonal single-particle modes constituting N=WT-photon vector in time window 2T is equal to 1. This result can be treated as a quantum analogue of the Kotel’nikov theorem on sampling for classical signals     

Derivation of the Rules of Quantum Mechanics from Information-Theoretic Axioms

Conventional quantum mechanics with a complex Hilbert space and the Born Rule is derived from five axioms describing experimentally observable properties of probability distributions for the outcome of measurements. Axioms I, II, III are common to quantum mechanics and hidden variable theories. Axiom IV recognizes a phenomenon, first noted by von Neumann (in Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1955) and independently by Turing (Teuscher and Hofstadter, Alan Turing: Life and Legacy of a Great Thinker, Springer, Berlin, 2004), in which the increase in entropy resulting from a measurement is reduced by a suitable intermediate measurement. This is shown to be impossible for local hidden variable theories. Axiom IV, together with the first three, almost suffice to deduce the conventional rules but allow some exotic, alternatives such as real or quaternionic quantum mechanics. Axiom V recognizes a property of the distribution of outcomes of random measurements on qubits which holds only in the complex Hilbert space model. It is then shown that the five axioms also imply the conventional rules for any finite dimension.     

Generalized entropy production fluctuation theorems for quantum systems

Based on trajectory-dependent path probability formalism in state space, we derive generalized entropy production fluctuation relations for a quantum system in the presence of measurement and feedback. We have obtained these results for three different cases: (i) the system is evolving in isolation from its surroundings; (ii) the system being weakly coupled to a heat bath; and (iii) system in contact with reservoir using quantum Crooks fluctuation theorem. In Case (iii), we build on the treatment carried out by H T Quan and H Dong [arXiv/cond-mat:0812.4955], where a quantum trajectory has been defined as a sequence of alternating work and heat steps. The obtained entropy production fluctuation theorems (FTs) retain the same form as in the classical case. The inequality of second law of thermodynamics gets modified in the presence of information. These FTs are robust against intermediate measurements of any observable performed with respect to von Neumann projective measurements as well as weak or positive operator-valued measurements.     

Methodology of Analytic and Computational Studies on Quantum Systems

The concept of separation of procedures and the ST-transformation are briefly reviewed together with the equivalence theorem that a d-dimensional quantum system with finite-range interactions is equivalent to the corresponding (d+1)-dimentional classical system with finite-range interactions. This theorem yields the introduction of the quantum transfer-matrix method. Thermo quantum dynamics is formulated using the quantum transfer-matrix method. This new formulation has the great merit that the thermal average Q for any observable Q in the thermodynamic limit is expressed as an expectation value over a temperature-dependent state vector in the single (conjugate) Hilbert space in the contrast to the usage of the double Hilbert space in thermo field dynamics.     

Bell's theorem,inference, and quantum transactions

Bell's theorem is expounded as an analysis in Bayesian inference. Assuming the result of a spin measurement on a particle is governed by a causal variable internal (hidden, local) to the particle, one learns about it by making a spin measurement; thence about the internal variable of a second particle correlated with the first; and from there predicts the probabilistic result of spin measurements on the second particle. Such predictions are violated by experiment: locality/causality fails. The statistical nature of the observations rules out signalling; acausal, superluminal, or otherwise. Quantum mechanics is irrelevant to this reasoning, although its correct predictions of experiment imply that it has a nonlocal/acausal interpretation. Cramer's newtransactional interpretation, which incorporates this feature by adapting the Wheeler-Feynman idea of advanced and retarded processes to the quantum laws, is advocated. It leads to an invaluable way of envisaging quantum processes. The usual paradoxes melt before this, and one, the delayed choice experiment, is chosen for detailed inspection. Nonlocality implies practical difficulties in influencing hidden variables, which provides a very plausible explanation for why they have not yet been found; from this standpoint, Bell's theoremreinforces arguments in favor of hidden variables.     

A hidden measurement representation for quantum entities described by finite-dimensional complex Hilbert spaces

It will be shown that the probability calculus of a quantum mechanical entity can be obtained in a deterministic framework, embedded in a real space, by introducing a lack of knowledge in the measurements on that entity. For all n we propose an explicit model in , which entails a representation for a quantum entity described by an n-dimensional complex Hilbert space þ_n, namely, the þ_n,Euclidean hidden measurement representation. This Euclidean hidden measurement representation is also in a more general sense equivalent with the orthodox Hilbert space formulation of quantum mechanics, since every mathematical ingredient of ordinary quantum mechanics can easily be translated into the framework of these representations.Supported by Flanders' Federale Dienst voor Wet., Techn. en Cult. Aang., in the framework of IUAP-III No. 9.     

A Kolmogorov Extension Theorem for POVMs

We prove a theorem about positive-operator-valued measures (POVMs) that is an analog of the Kolmogorov extension theorem, a standard theorem of probability theory. According to our theorem, if a sequence of POVMs G _n on satisfies the consistency (or projectivity) condition then there is a POVM G on the space of infinite sequences that has G _n as its marginal for the first n entries of the sequence. We also describe an application in quantum theory. The main proof in this article was first formulated in my habilitation thesis [6].     

Linearity of expectation functionals

LetB be the set of bounded observables on a quantum logic. A mapJ: B →R is called an expectation functional ifJ is normalized, positive, continuous, and compatibly linear. Two questions are considered. IsJ linear, and isJ an expectation relative to some state? It is shown that the answers are affirmative for hidden variable logics and most Hilbert space logics. An example is given which shows thatJ can be nonlinear on an arbitrary quantum logic.     

Schütte's tautology and the Kochen-Specker theorem

I present a new 33-ray proof of the Kochen and Specker no-go hidden variable theorem in ₃, based on a classical tautology that corresponds to a contingent quantum proposition in ₃ proposed by Kurt Schütte in an unpublished letter to Specker in 1965. 1 discuss the relation of this proof to a 31-ray proof by Conway and Kochen, and to a 33-ray proof by Peres.