Is Quantumness of Product States a Violation of Classical Realism?

In summary, a recent paper has shown that even product states, which were previously thought to not violate Bell inequalities, can exhibit quantumness and cross the line between the quantum and classical worlds. This is demonstrated through a violation of the AR inequality, which is described in the paper by Alicki and Van Ryn. Experimental tests have also been performed to confirm this result. Non-commutativity of observables is a clear indicator of quantum behavior, and this concept is not trivial as it can have implications for classical realism.
  • #1
DrChinese
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I saw this today, thought some of you might find it interesting (as I did).

Product states do not violate Bell inequalities. Entangled states do, and this draws a clear line between the quantum world and the classical world.

So imagine my surprise with this: a paper that shows that even Product States can cross the line between the quantum world and the classical world.

Quantumness of Product States
Jing-Ling Chen, Hong-Yi Su, Chunfeng Wu, C. H. Oh
http://arxiv.org/abs/1204.1798

From the paper:

Abstract: Product states do not violate Bell inequalities. In this work, we investigate the quantumness of product states by violating a certain classical algebraic models. Thus even for product states, statistical predictions of quantum mechanics and classical theories do not agree. An experiment protocol is proposed to reveal the quantumness...

...a classical model must satisfy the AR [Alicki-Van Ryn] inequality


[itex](1) <A>\: ≥\: 0,[/itex]
[itex](2) <B>\: ≥\: 0,[/itex]
[itex](3) <B − A>\: ≥\: 0, [/itex]
[itex](4) <B^2 − A^2>\: ≥\: 0[/itex]

However, in quantum mechanics there exist noncommutative observables that violate the fourth constraint, namely, one can find positive-definite observables A and B satisfying [the first three but not the last]. This violation is called quantumness. Experimental tests have been performed for the case of one qubit...
[itex]\:[/itex]
 
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  • #2
DrChinese said:
I saw this today, thought some of you might find it interesting (as I did).

Product states do not violate Bell inequalities. Entangled states do, and this draws a clear line between the quantum world and the classical world.

So imagine my surprise with this: a paper that shows that even Product States can cross the line between the quantum world and the classical world.

Quantumness of Product States
Jing-Ling Chen, Hong-Yi Su, Chunfeng Wu, C. H. Oh
http://arxiv.org/abs/1204.1798

From the paper:

Abstract: Product states do not violate Bell inequalities. In this work, we investigate the quantumness of product states by violating a certain classical algebraic models. Thus even for product states, statistical predictions of quantum mechanics and classical theories do not agree. An experiment protocol is proposed to reveal the quantumness...

...a classical model must satisfy the AR [Alicki-Van Ryn] inequality[itex](1) <A>\: ≥\: 0,[/itex]
[itex](2) <B>\: ≥\: 0,[/itex]
[itex](3) <B − A>\: ≥\: 0, [/itex]
[itex](4) <B^2 − A^2>\: ≥\: 0[/itex]

However, in quantum mechanics there exist noncommutative observables that violate the fourth constraint, namely, one can find positive-definite observables A and B satisfying [the first three but not the last]. This violation is called quantumness. Experimental tests have been performed for the case of one qubit...
[itex]\:[/itex]

browsed through the 2 page paper

it would help, some of us, if you can give the layman definition of "product state" and compare/contrast from quantum entangled state (or any other relevant state), thanks
 
  • #3
Well, I do not understand QM formalisms so well to say it's crap but it certainly looks like that.
For one thing [itex]A\otimes B[/itex] is not [itex]A-B[/itex] and [itex]A^2[/itex] (whatever that means) is not [itex]A\otimes A[/itex].
If A and B are two-dimensional matrices then [itex]A-B[/itex] is two-dimensional matrice as well but [itex]A\otimes B[/itex] is four-dimensional matrice (combination of everything with everything).
 
  • #4
AR [Alicki-Van Ryn] inequality
...is described in: "R. Alicki and N. Van Ryn, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 41, 062001 (2008).", which does not seem to be available online. Google does not help. Any ideas?

Also: http://www.nist.gov/manuscript-publication-search.cfm?pub_id=900940
We present an optimized experimental realization of this test leading to a 46standard deviation violation of classicality.
 
  • #5
  • #6
It seems trivial, or am I missing something? Of course non-commutativity is not classical.
 
  • #7
martinbn said:
It seems trivial, or am I missing something? Of course non-commutativity is not classical.

When I try to put my socks on after I put on my shoes, I am not so sure.
 
  • #8
DrChinese said:
When I try to put my socks on after I put on my shoes, I am not so sure.

Non-commutativity of observables, that was clear, no?
 
  • #9
martinbn said:
It seems trivial, or am I missing something? Of course non-commutativity is not classical.

I don't believe there is a proof that the existence of non-commuting observables violates classical realism.
 
  • #10
I don't know what classical realism is, and whether it has to be violated in order for me to say that something is not classical. For example the uncertainty relations for momentum and coordinates is not classical, and that is a clear statement no matter what kind of realism is violated.
 

1. What is the definition of "Quantumness of Product States"?

The quantumness of product states refers to the amount of entanglement present in a composite quantum system that is composed of multiple individual subsystems.

2. How is the quantumness of product states measured?

The quantumness of product states is typically measured using various entanglement measures, such as concurrence or entanglement entropy.

3. Can classical systems exhibit quantumness of product states?

No, classical systems do not exhibit quantumness of product states as they do not possess the fundamental properties of quantum mechanics, such as superposition and entanglement.

4. What are the practical applications of studying the quantumness of product states?

Studying the quantumness of product states is important for understanding the behavior of complex quantum systems and has potential applications in quantum computing, quantum information processing, and quantum cryptography.

5. Can the quantumness of product states be manipulated or controlled?

Yes, the quantumness of product states can be manipulated and controlled through techniques such as quantum state engineering and quantum error correction, which are key components of quantum technologies.

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