Experimental Transmission of Quantum Information Using a Superposition of Causal Orders

Yu Guo, Xiao-Min Hu, Zhi-Bo Hou, Huan Cao, Jin-Ming Cui, Bi-Heng Liu, Yun-Feng Huang, Chuan-Feng Li, Guang-Can Guo, and Giulio Chiribella
Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 030502 – Published 24 January 2020
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

Communication in a network generally takes place through a sequence of intermediate nodes connected by communication channels. In the standard theory of communication, it is assumed that the communication network is embedded in a classical spacetime, where the relative order of different nodes is well defined. In principle, a quantum theory of spacetime could allow the order of the intermediate points between sender and receiver to be in a coherent superposition. Here we experimentally realize a tabletop simulation of this exotic possibility on a photonic system, demonstrating high-fidelity transmission of quantum information over two noisy channels arranged in a superposition of two alternative causal orders.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 21 November 2018
  • Revised 27 March 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.030502

© 2020 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Quantum Information, Science & Technology

Authors & Affiliations

Yu Guo1,2, Xiao-Min Hu1,2, Zhi-Bo Hou1,2, Huan Cao1,2, Jin-Ming Cui1,2, Bi-Heng Liu1,2,*, Yun-Feng Huang1,2, Chuan-Feng Li1,2,†, Guang-Can Guo1,2, and Giulio Chiribella3,4,‡

  • 1CAS Key Laboratory of Quantum Information, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, People’s Republic of China
  • 2CAS Center For Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
  • 3Department of Computer Science, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong 999077, People’s Republic of China
  • 4Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QD, United Kingdom

  • *bhliu@ustc.edu.cn
  • cfli@ustc.edu.cn
  • giulio.chiribella@cs.ox.ac.uk

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 124, Iss. 3 — 24 January 2020

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
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
×