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Gleason's Theorem for a Qubit as Part of a Composite System

Quantum Physics 2025-11-20 v1

Abstract

We extend Gleason's theorem to the two-dimensional Hilbert space of a qubit by invoking the standard axiom that describes composite quantum systems. The tensor-product structure allows us to derive density matrices and Born's rule for d=2d=2 from a simple requirement: the probabilities assigned to measurement outcomes must not depend on whether a system is considered on its own or as a subsystem of a larger one. In line with Gleason's original theorem, our approach assigns probabilities only to projection-valued measures, while other known extensions rely on considering more general classes of measurements.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.2511.15607,
  title  = {Gleason's Theorem for a Qubit as Part of a Composite System},
  author = {Vincenzo Fiorentino and Stefan Weigert},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.15607},
  year   = {2025}
}

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8 pages