Two of the most intriguing features of quantum physics are the uncertainty principle and the occurrence of nonlocal correlations. The uncertainty principle states that there exist pairs of incompatible measurements on quantum systems such that their outcomes cannot both be predicted. On the other hand, nonlocal correlations of measurement outcomes at different locations cannot be explained by classical physics, but appear in the presence of entanglement. Here, we show that these two fundamental quantum effects are quantitatively related. Namely, we provide an entropic uncertainty relation for the outcomes of two binary measurements, where the lower bound on the uncertainty is quantified in terms of the maximum Clauser–Horne–Shimony–Holt value that can be achieved with these measurements. We discuss applications of this uncertainty relation in quantum cryptography, in particular, to certify quantum sources using untrusted devices.
On a related topic, Oppenheim and Wehner @cite_11 ,| ,for a class of generalized physical theories that includes quantum mechanics and classical theory ,| ,showed that the presence of uncertainty, via steering, directly limits the maximally achievable nonlocality. Our result can be seen as complementary to theirs, as we show that in order to achieve a certain nonlocality, at least some specific amount of uncertainty is necessary.
@cite_11
2015389932
Two central concepts of quantum mechanics are Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and a subtle form of nonlocality that Einstein famously called “spooky action at a distance.” These two fundamental features have thus far been distinct concepts. We show that they are inextricably and quantitatively linked: Quantum mechanics cannot be more nonlocal with measurements that respect the uncertainty principle. In fact, the link between uncertainty and nonlocality holds for all physical theories. More specifically, the degree of nonlocality of any theory is determined by two factors: the strength of the uncertainty principle and the strength of a property called “steering,” which determines which states can be prepared at one location given a measurement at another. Nonlocality refers to correlations between spatially separated parties that are stronger than those explained by the existence of local hidden variables. Quantum mechanics is known to allow some nonlocal correlations between particles in a phenomena known as entanglement. We explore several aspects of nonlocality in general and how they relate to quantum mechanics. First, we construct a hierarchy of theories with nonlocal correlations stronger than those allowed in quantum mechanics and derive several results about these theories. We show that these theories include codes that can store an amount of information exponential in the number of physical bits used. We use this result to demonstrate an unphysical consequence of theories with stronger-than-quantum correlations: learning even an approximate description of states in such theories would be practically impossible. Next, we consider the difficult problem of determining whether specific correlations are nonlocal. We present a novel learning algorithm and show that it provides an outer bound on the set of local states, and can therefore be used to identify some nonlocal states. Finally, we put nonlocal correlations to work by showing that the entanglement present in the vacuum of a quantum field can be used to detect spacetime curvature. We quantify how the entangling power of the quantum field varies as a function of spacetime curvature. I introduce a framework in which a variety of probabilistic theories can be defined, including classical and quantum theories, and many others. From two simple assumptions, a tensor product rule for combining separate systems can be derived. Certain features, usually thought of as specifically quantum, turn out to be generic in this framework, meaning that they are present in all except classical theories. These include the nonunique decomposition of a mixed state into pure states, a theorem involving disturbance of a system on measurement (suggesting that the possibility of secure key distribution is generic), and a no-cloning theorem. Two particular theories are then investigated in detail, for the sake of comparison with the classical and quantum cases. One of these includes states that can give rise to arbitrary nonsignaling correlations, including the superquantum correlations that have become known in the literature as nonlocal machines or Popescu-Rohrlich boxes. By investigating these correlations in the context of a theory with well-defined dynamics, I hope to make further progress with a question raised by Popescu and Rohrlich, which is why does quantum theory not allow these strongly nonlocal correlations? The existence of such correlations forces much of the dynamics in this theory tomore » be, in a certain sense, classical, with consequences for teleportation, cryptography, and computation. I also investigate another theory in which all states are local. Finally, I raise the question of what further axiom(s) could be added to the framework in order to identify quantum theory uniquely, and hypothesize that quantum theory is optimal for computation.« less We present a protocol that transforms any quantum multi-prover interactive proof into a nonlocal game in which questions consist of logarithmic number of bits and answers of constant number of bits. As a corollary, it follows that the promise problem corresponding to the approximation of the nonlocal value to inverse polynomial accuracy is complete for QMIP*, and therefore NEXP-hard. This establishes that nonlocal games are provably harder than classical games without any complexity theory assumptions. Our result also indicates that gap amplification for nonlocal games may be impossible in general and provides a negative evidence for the feasibility of the gap amplification approach to the multi-prover variant of the quantum PCP conjecture.