Analyzing Bell's inequality for different measurement angles

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the analysis of Bell's inequality in the context of quantum mechanics, specifically focusing on different measurement angles and the implications for entangled and separable states. Participants explore the conditions under which Bell's inequality is violated and the nature of the density operators involved.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents a specific form of Bell's inequality and explores the violation of this inequality using different measurement angles, particularly focusing on the Bell state.
  • Another participant notes that entangled states can exist without violating Bell's inequality, referencing work by R. F. Werner that identifies such states.
  • A participant seeks to construct a separable density operator for specific measurement directions, emphasizing the need for clarity on the structure of this operator as it relates to the violation of Bell's inequality.
  • There is a discussion about the nature of entangled states and whether all entangled states necessarily violate Bell's inequalities, with references to existing literature that challenges this notion.
  • One participant questions the use of product states in the context of Werner's findings, seeking clarification on the relationship between entanglement and local hidden variable models.
  • Another participant suggests a connection between the intersection points of correlation curves for entangled versus classical systems and the measurement angles discussed.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the relationship between entanglement and Bell's inequality, with some asserting that not all entangled states violate the inequality, while others maintain that all nonseparable pure states do. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the construction of a specific separable density operator and the implications of Werner's work.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various academic sources and papers that discuss the conditions for violating Bell's inequality and the nature of entangled states, indicating a complex interplay of concepts that may not be fully resolved within the discussion.

greypilgrim
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Hi,

I'm trying get a better understanding of Bell's inequality in the form
$$\left|E\left(\bf{a},\bf{b}\right) -E\left(\bf{a},\bf{c}\right)\right|\leq 1+E\left(\bf{b},\bf{c}\right)\enspace.$$
I'm considering the Bell state
$$\left|\psi\right\rangle= \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left(\left|+\right\rangle_1\left|-\right\rangle_2- \left|-\right\rangle_1\left|+\right\rangle_2\right)\enspace.$$
and the expectation value ##E^{qt}## of the product of the result of a measurement of spin 1 in direction ##\bf{a}## and spin 2 in direction ##\bf{b}##
$$E^{qt}\left(\bf{a},\bf{b}\right)= \left\langle\psi\right|\vec{\sigma_1} \cdot\bf{a}\otimes \vec{\sigma_2} \cdot\bf{b} \left|\psi\right\rangle=-\bf{a}\cdot\bf{b}$$
which is a straigthforward calculation. I'm using the notation from 1.5.1 in
http://www.uibk.ac.at/exphys/photonik/people/gwdiss.pdf
which is, however, in German.

We can violate the inequality by choosing e.g. ##\bf{a}=e_x##, ##\bf{b}=\left(e_x+e_z\right)/\sqrt{2}##, ##\bf{c}=e_z## which yields
$$\left|-\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}-0\right|=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\leq 1-\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}$$
which is obviously wrong. I think this choice of vectors also maximally violates the inequality.

However, if we choose ##\bf{a}=e_x##, ##\bf{b}=e_y##, ##\bf{c}=e_z##, then we get
$$\left|0-0\right|\leq 1-0$$
so the inequality is valid. I now wanted to find out exactly when the inequality breaks down and interpolated by choosing ##\bf{a}=e_x##, ##\bf{b}=\cos{\phi}\cdot e_y+\sin{\phi}\cdot \left(e_x+e_z\right)/\sqrt{2}##, ##\bf{c}=e_z## with ##0\leq\phi\leq\pi/2##. Plugging this in we get
$$\left|-\frac{\sin{\phi}}{\sqrt{2}}-0\right|=\frac{\sin{\phi}}{\sqrt{2}}\leq 1-\frac{\sin{\phi}}{\sqrt{2}}$$
and solving for equality yields ##\phi=\pi/4##.

So far so good, since the Bell inequality is valid for ##0\leq\phi\leq\pi/4##, there should be a local-realistic description of the system for these values of ##\phi##. Hence there must be a separable, most probably mixed density operator that yields the same expectation values as ##\left|\psi\right\rangle## for these choices of measurement angles. How can I find this density operator? I'm interested in its structure, and how it breaks down when crossing the magic angle ##\phi=\pi/4## from below.
 
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That's not exactly what I want, I'm trying to construct an explicitly non-entangled (separable, can be written as a convex combination of product states) density operator for the measurement directions I mentioned.
 
jfizzix said:
Actually, quantum systems that don't violate any kind of Bell inequality can still be entangled.

In 1989, a prof. R. F. Werner proved there were entangled states which admit a local hidden variable model
http://pra.aps.org/abstract/PRA/v40/i8/p4277_1

Isn't Professor Werner using a product state in the article above?
 
Just seen this: http://pra.aps.org/accepted/20076N60Sa11d318e22f12e2030ab6559c9459dd3

I thought all entangled states violate a Bell, or other, inequality?

Now, all states that are nonseparable and pure (i.e., vector states) violate a Bell’s inequality (Popescu & Rohrlich)
 
I may be connecting two incompatible concepts, but are you simply noticing the pi/4 intersection points of the correlation curves for entangled vs classical systems? Look at the graph on this page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell's_theorem
 
StevieTNZ said:
Isn't Professor Werner using a product state in the article above?

Prof. Werner is using a state which is a mixture of the of the maximally mixed state (the identity matrix) and the matrix representing a swap between systems.

This swap operator on [itex]\psi^{A}\otimes\psi^{B}[/itex] would give you [itex]\psi^{B}\otimes\psi^{A}[/itex]
 

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