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Authors: Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2020
We review how reparametrization of space and time, namely the procedure where both are made to depend on yet another parameter, can be used to formulate quantum physics in a way that is naturally conducive to relativity. This leads us to a second quantised formulation of quantum dynamics in which different points of spacetime represent different modes. We speculate on the fact that our formulation can be used to model dynamics in spacetime the same way that one models propagation of an electron through a crystal lattice in solid state physics. We comment on the implications of this for the notion of mode entanglement as well as for the fully relativistic Page-Wootters formulation of the wavefunction of the Universe.
Authors: Chiara Marletto and Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2020
We propose a general argument to show that if a physical system can mediate locally the generation of entanglement between two quantum systems, then it itself must be non-classical. Remarkably, we do not assume any classical or quantum formalism to describe the mediating physical system: our result follows from general information-theoretic principles, drawn from the recently proposed constructor theory of information. This argument provides the indispensable theoretical basis for recently proposed tests of non-classicality in gravity, based on witnessing gravitationally-induced entanglement in quantum probes.
Authors: Chiara Marletto and Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2020
We discuss a point, which from time to time has been doubted in the literature: all symmetries, such as those induced by the energy and momentum conservation laws, hold in quantum physics not just “on average”, as is sometimes claimed, but exactly in each “branch” of the wavefunction, expressed in the basis where the conserved observable is sharp. We note that for conservation laws to hold exactly for quantum systems in this sense (not just on average), it is necessary to assume the so-called “totalitarian property of quantum theory”, namely that any system capable of measuring a quantum observable must itself be quantised. Hence, if conservation laws are to hold exactly, the idea of a `classical measuring apparatus’ (i.e., not subject to the branching structure) is untenable. We also point out that any other principle having a well-defined formulation within classical physics, such as the Equivalence principle, is also to be extended to the quantum domain in exactly the same way, i.e., branch by branch.
Authors: Chiara Marletto and Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2020
In the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect, a superposed charge acquires a detectable phase by enclosing an infinite solenoid, in a region where the solenoid’s electric and magnetic fields are zero. Its generation seems therefore explainable only by the local action of gauge-dependent potentials, not of gauge-independent fields. This was recently challenged by Vaidman, who explained the phase by the solenoid’s current interacting with the electron’s field (at the solenoid). Still, his model has a residual non-locality: it does not explain how the phase, generated at the solenoid, is detectable on the charge. In this paper we solve this non-locality explicitly, by quantising the field. We show that the AB phase is mediated locally by the entanglement between the charge and the photons, like all electromagnetic phases. We also predict a gauge-invariant value for the phase difference at each point along the charge’s path. We propose a realistic experiment to measure this phase difference locally, by partial quantum state tomography on the charge, without closing the interference loop.
Authors: Chiara Marletto and Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2020
We use a quantum variant of the Sagnac interferometer to argue for the quantum nature of gravity as well as to formulate a quantum version of the equivalence principle. We first present an original derivation of the phase acquired in the conventional Sagnac matter-wave interferometer, within the Hamiltonian formalism. Then we modify the interferometer in two crucial respects. The interfering matter wave is interfered along two different distances from the centre and the interferometer is prepared in a superposition of two different angular velocities. We argue that if the radial and angular degrees of freedom of the matter wave become entangled through this experiment, then, via the equivalence principle, the gravitational field must be non-classical.
Authors: Pablo L. Saldanha, Chiara Marletto and Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2020
Both classical and quantum wave interference phenomena rely on the notion of phase. In both classical as well as quantum electrodynamics the phases are acquired locally; however, the quantum phases have the additional property that they can be transmitted even when the classical value of the degree of freedom relevant for the transfer (such as the value of the electric field at one point) are zero. Here we use a covariant formalism that is capable of explaining the electric and magnetic versions of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, as well as the Aharonov-Casher effect, through local interactions of charges and currents with the quantum electromagnetic field. We show that Aharonov-Bohm effect, which is just another instance of interference based on a quantum phase, is present even if the solenoid generating the magnetic field is shielded by a superconductor. This is because even though the classical value of the magnetic field is zero in the superconductor (the Meissner effect), the quantum operators pertaining to the magnetic field are non-zero and are furthermore responsible for transmitting the phase information between the solenoid and the electron. The conclusion of our work is that quantum phases cannot be shielded and we believe that this, among other consequences, finally resolves the last outstanding mystery in the Aharonov-Bohm effect.
Authors: Simone Rijavec, Matteo Carlesso, Angelo Bassi, Vlatko Vedral and Chiara Marletto
Year: 2021
The experimental observation of a clear quantum signature of gravity is believed to be out of the grasp of current technology. However, several recent promising proposals to test the possible existence of non-classical features of gravity seem to be accessible by the state-of-art table-top experiments. Among them, some aim at measuring the gravitationally induced entanglement between two masses which would be a distinct non-classical signature of gravity. We explicitly study, in two of these proposals, the effects of decoherence on the system’s dynamics by monitoring the corresponding degree of entanglement. We identify the required experimental conditions necessary to perform successfully the experiments. In parallel, we account also for the possible effects of the Continuous Spontaneous Localization (CSL) model, which is the most known among the models of spontaneous wavefunction collapse. We find that any value of the parameters of the CSL model would completely hinder the generation of gravitationally induced entanglement.
Authors: Chiara Marletto, Nicetu Tibau Vidal and Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2020
We describe the quantum interference of a single photon in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer using the Heisenberg picture. Our purpose is to show that the description is local just like in the case of the classical electromagnetic field, the only difference being that the electric and the magnetic fields are, in the quantum case, operators (quantum observables). We then consider a single-electron Mach-Zehnder interferometer and explain what the appropriate Heisenberg picture treatment is in this case. Interestingly, the parity superselection rule forces us to treat the electron differently to the photon. A model using only local quantum observables of different fermionic modes, such as the current operator, is nevertheless still viable to describe phase acquisition. We discuss how to extend this local analysis to coupled fermionic and bosonic fields within the same local formalism of quantum electrodynamics as formulated in the Heisenberg picture.
Published in Physical Review D ❱
Published in Physical Review D ❱
Authors: Emanuele Marconato and Chiara Marletto
Year: 2021
Recently, Vedral and one of us proposed an entanglement-based witness of non-classicality in systems that need not obey quantum theory, based on constructor-information-theoretic ideas, which offers a robust foundation for recently proposed table-top tests of non-classicality in gravity. The witness asserts that if a mediator can entangle locally two quantum systems, then it has to be non-classical. Hall and Reginatto claimed that there are classical systems that can entangle two quantum systems, thus violating our proposed witness. Here we refute that claim, explaining that the counterexample proposed by Hall and Reginatto in fact validates the witness, vindicating the witness of non-classicality in its full generality.
Authors: Chiara Marletto
Year: 2021
Quantum computers are revealing an unexpected new theory of reality — A powerful new idea about how the laws of physics work could bring breakthroughs on everything from quantum gravity to consciousness
Authors: Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2021
We present a fully local treatment of the double slit experiment in the formalism of quantum field theory. Our exposition is predominantly pedagogical in nature and exemplifies the fact that there is an entirely local description of the quantum double slit interference that does not suffer from any supposed paradoxes usually related to the wave-particle duality. The wave-particle duality indeed vanishes in favour of the field picture in which particles should not be regarded as the primary elements of reality and only represent excitations of some specific field configurations. Our treatment is general and can be applied to any other phenomenon involving quantum interference of any bosonic or fermionic field, both spatially and temporally. For completeness, we present the full treatment of single qubit interference in the same spirit.
Authors: Chiara Marletto, Vlatko Vedral, Salvatore Virzì, Alessio Avella, Fabrizio Piacentini, Marco Gramegna, Ivo Pietro Degiovanni, Marco Genovese
Year: 2021
We show that, by utilising temporal quantum correlations as expressed by pseudo-density operators (PDOs), it is possible to recover formally the standard quantum dynamical evolution as a sequence of teleportations in time. We demonstrate that any completely positive evolution can be formally reconstructed by teleportation with different temporally correlated states. This provides a different interpretation of maximally correlated PDOs, as resources to induce quantum time-evolution. Furthermore, we note that the possibility of this protocol stems from the strict formal correspondence between spatial and temporal entanglement in quantum theory. We proceed to demonstrate experimentally this correspondence, by showing a multipartite violation of generalised temporal and spatial Bell inequalities and verifying agreement with theoretical predictions to a high degree of accuracy, in high-quality photon qubits.
Authors: Nicetu Tibau Vidal, Vlatko Vedral, Chiara Marletto
Year: 2022
We propose a local model for general fermionic systems, which we express in the Heisenberg picture. To this end, we shall use a recently proposed formalism, the so-called “Raymond-Robichaud” construction, which allows one to construct an explicitly local model for any dynamical theory that satisfies no-signalling, in terms of equivalence classes of transformations that can be attached to each individual subsystem. By following the rigorous use of the parity superselection rule for fermions, we show how this construction removes the usual difficulties that fermionic systems display in regard to the definition of local states and local transformations.
Authors: Chiara Marletto, Emanuele Marconato
Year: 2021
In a recent paper, we vindicated a general entanglement-based witness of non-classicality in hybrid quantum systems. Our vindication refutes a counterexample to the witness, proposed by Hall and Reginatto. These authors recently commented further, claiming to expose “a huge number of errors and misconceptions” in it. However, their comment contains no refutation of our arguments, nor does it expose any error or misconception in them. But it does include a number of misconceptions about the witness of non-classicality. Here we respond to those.
Authors: Chiara Marletto, Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2021
We explore the possibility that the connection between spin and statistics in quantum physics is of dynamical origin. We suggest that the gravitational field could provide a fully local mechanism for the phase that arises when fermionic and bosonic particles are exchanged. Our results hold even if the symmetry of space and time is Galilean, thus establishing that special relativity is not needed to explain the existence of spin (although it does motivate the introduction of creation and annihilation of particles, but this is a separate issue). We provide a model for the coupling between a particle of general spin and the gravitational field and discuss it within the context of both the equivalence principle and the Sagnac effect. This leads us to present a new experiment for testing the quantum nature of the gravitational field.
Authors: Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2021
It is frequently stated that the electromagnetic vector potential acquires a fundamental role in quantum physics, whereas classically it only represents a convenient, but by no means necessary, way of representing the electromagnetic field. Here we argue that this is a historical accident due to the fact that the electromagnetic field was discovered before photons, while the electron itself was discovered first as a particle, before it became clear that it must also be treated as a wave and therefore as an excitation of the underlying electron field. We illustrate the fact that the vector potential ought to play a fundamental role classically using the Aharonov-Bohm effect. This effect is considered as the strongest argument for the role the vector potential plays in quantum physics, however, here we offer a fully classical account of it. This is a consequence of the fact that any account, be it classical or quantum, must involve the vector potential in order to preserve the local nature of the Aharonov-Bohm (as well as all the other) phases.
Authors: Gowtham Amirthya Neppoleon, Aditya Iyer, Vlatko Vedral, Yi Wang
Year: 2021
We study the superposition of primordial massive particles and compute the associated decoherence time scale in the radiation dominated universe. We observe that for lighter primordial particles with masses up to 107kg, the corresponding decoherence time scale is significantly larger than the age of the observable universe, demonstrating that a primordial particle would persist in a pure quantum state, with its wavefunction spreading freely. For heavier particles, they can still be in a quantum state while their position uncertainties are limited by the wavelength of background photons. We then discuss three observational signatures that may arise from a quantum superposition of primordial particles such as primordial black holes and other heavy dark matter candidates, namely, interference effects due to superpositions of the metric, transition lines in the gravitational wave spectrum due to gravitationally bound states indicating the existence of gravitons, and witnesses of quantum entanglement between massive particles and of the gravitational field.
Authors: Tianfeng Feng, Vlatko Vedral
Year: 2022
Observation of gravitationally induced entanglement between two massive particles is the evidence of quantum nature of gravity. However, quantum effects in the gravitational field are exceptionally small so that the existing quantum-gravity proposals are extremely hard to test in practice. For addressing this key challenge, here we propose a criterion based on the logical contradictions of weak entanglement, which may boost the sensitivity of the signal due to the gravitationally induced entanglement. Specifically, we make use of the weak-value scenario and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering. We prove that it is impossible for a classical mediator to act on two local quantum objects to simulate amplified-weak-value phenomenon in two-setting EPR steering. Compared to the previous protocols, our approach can amplify the signal of quantum gravity by any desired factor that depends on the magnitude of the weak value. Our results not only open up the possibility of detecting quantum gravity in the near future, but also pave the way for weak entanglement criterion of a more general nature.
Authors: Nicetu Tibau Vidal, Vlatko Vedral, and Chiara Marletto
Year: 2022
We propose a local model for general fermionic systems, which we express in the Heisenberg picture. To this end, we shall use a recently proposed formalism, the so-called “Raymond-Robichaud” construction, which allows one to construct an explicitly local model for any dynamical theory that satisfies no-signaling, in terms of equivalence classes of transformations that can be attached to each individual subsystem. By following the rigorous use of the parity superselection rule for fermions, we show how this construction removes the usual difficulties that fermionic systems display in regard to the definition of local states and local transformations.
Published in AVS Quantum Sci. 4, 013802 (2022) ❱
Authors: Chiara Marletto
Year: 2022
In this paper I demonstrate a novel distinction between work and heat, in terms of the distinguishability of states. Specifically, I show that if it is possible to extract different amounts of work deterministically from a physical system prepared in any one of a set of states, then those states must be distinguishable from one another. This result is formulated independently of scale and of particular dynamical laws; it also provides a novel connection between thermodynamics and information theory, established via the law of conservation of energy. This connection, unlike the well-known one between information and the second law, is exact, i.e., it does not depend on coarse-graining or ensemble approximation. Albeit compatible with these conclusions, existing thermodynamics approaches cannot provide a result of such generality, because they are scale-dependent (relying on ensembles or coarse-graining) or tied to particular dynamical laws. This result provides a foundation for thermodynamics that is both broader and more secure than existing ones, with implications for the theory of von Neumann’s universal constructor.
Published in Journal of Physics Communications ❱
Authors: Maria Violaris, Chiara Marletto
Year: 2022
Erasure is fundamental for information processing. It is also key in connecting information theory and thermodynamics, as it is a logically irreversible task. We provide a new angle on this connection, noting that there may be an additional cost to erasure, that is not captured by standard results such as Landauer’s principle. To make this point we use a model of irreversibility based on Constructor Theory – a recently proposed generalization of the quantum theory of computation. The model uses a machine called the “quantum homogenizer”, which has the ability to approximately realise the transformation of a qubit from any state to any other state and remain approximately unchanged, through overall entirely unitary interactions. We argue that when performing erasure via quantum homogenization there is an additional cost to performing the erasure step of the Szilard’s engine, because it is more difficult to reliably produce pure states in a cycle than to produce mixed states. We also discuss the implications of this result for the cost of erasure in more general terms.