Hiding Ignorance Using High Dimensions

M. J. Kewming, S. Shrapnel, A. G. White, and J. Romero
Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 250401 – Published 22 June 2020
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Abstract

The absence of information—entirely or partly—is called ignorance. Naturally, one might ask if some ignorance of a whole system will imply some ignorance of its parts. Our classical intuition tells us yes, however quantum theory tells us no: it is possible to encode information in a quantum system so that despite some ignorance of the whole, it is impossible to identify the unknown part [T. Vidick and S. Wehner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 030402 (2011).]. Experimentally verifying this counterintuitive fact requires controlling and measuring quantum systems of high dimension (d>9). We provide this experimental evidence using the transverse spatial modes of light, a powerful resource for testing high-dimensional quantum phenomena.

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  • Received 1 July 2019
  • Revised 17 November 2019
  • Accepted 20 May 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.250401

© 2020 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Quantum Information, Science & TechnologyAtomic, Molecular & OpticalGeneral Physics

Authors & Affiliations

M. J. Kewming*, S. Shrapnel, A. G. White, and J. Romero

  • Centre for Engineered Quantum Systems, School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

  • *michael.kewming@gmail.com
  • jacq.romero@gmail.com

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Issue

Vol. 124, Iss. 25 — 26 June 2020

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