Unifying Framework for Relaxations of the Causal Assumptions in Bell’s Theorem

R. Chaves, R. Kueng, J. B. Brask, and D. Gross
Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 140403 – Published 7 April 2015
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

Bell’s theorem shows that quantum mechanical correlations can violate the constraints that the causal structure of certain experiments impose on any classical explanation. It is thus natural to ask to which degree the causal assumptions—e.g., locality or measurement independence—have to be relaxed in order to allow for a classical description of such experiments. Here we develop a conceptual and computational framework for treating this problem. We employ the language of Bayesian networks to systematically construct alternative causal structures and bound the degree of relaxation using quantitative measures that originate from the mathematical theory of causality. The main technical insight is that the resulting problems can often be expressed as computationally tractable linear programs. We demonstrate the versatility of the framework by applying it to a variety of scenarios, ranging from relaxations of the measurement independence, locality, and bilocality assumptions, to a novel causal interpretation of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality violations.

  • Figure
  • Received 28 November 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.140403

© 2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

R. Chaves1, R. Kueng1, J. B. Brask2, and D. Gross1,3

  • 1Institute for Physics, University of Freiburg, Rheinstrasse 10, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
  • 2Département de Physique Théorique, Université de Genève, 1211 Genève, Switzerland
  • 3Freiburg Center for Data Analysis and Modeling, Eckerstrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 114, Iss. 14 — 10 April 2015

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
CHORUS

Article Available via CHORUS

Download Accepted Manuscript
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×