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In classical physics, events follow a definite causal order: the past influences the future, but not the reverse. Quantum theory, however, permits superpositions of causal orders -- so-called indefinite causal orders -- which can provide…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-04-29 Carla M. D. Richter , Michael Antesberger , Huan Cao , Philip Walther , Lee A. Rozema

Treating the time of an event as a quantum variable, we derive a scheme in which superpositions in time are used to perform operations in an indefinite causal order. We use some aspects of a recently developed space-time-symmetric formalism…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-07-13 David Felce , Nicetu Tibau Vidal , Vlatko Vedral , Eduardo O. Dias

We report an experimental certification of indefinite causal order that relies only on the characterization of the operations of a single party. We do so in the semi-device-independent scenario with the fewest possible assumptions of…

Causal reasoning is essential to science, yet quantum theory challenges it. Quantum correlations violating Bell inequalities defy satisfactory causal explanations within the framework of classical causal models. What is more, a theory…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-03-05 Jonathan Barrett , Robin Lorenz , Ognyan Oreshkov

Indefinite causal order is a key feature involved in the study of quantum higher order transformations. Recently, intense research has been focused on possible advantages related to the lack of definite causal order of quantum processes.…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-06-12 Matheus Capela , Harshit Verma , Fabio Costa , Lucas Chibebe Céleri

The study of causal relations has recently been applied to the quantum realm, leading to the discovery that not all physical processes have a definite causal structure. While indefinite causal processes have previously been experimentally…

Bell non-local correlations cannot be naturally explained in a fixed causal structure. This serves as a motivation for considering models where no global assumption is made beyond logical consistency. The assumption of a fixed causal order…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-04-06 Ämin Baumeler , Stefan Wolf

We propose a novel approach to qubit thermometry using a quantum switch, that introduces an indefinite causal order in the probe-bath interaction, to significantly enhance the thermometric precision. The resulting qubit probe shows improved…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2018-12-19 Chiranjib Mukhopadhyay , Manish K. Gupta , Arun Kumar Pati

In theories of communication, it is usually presumed that the involved parties perform actions in a fixed causal order. However, practical and fundamental reasons can induce uncertainties in the causal order. Here we show that a maximal…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2019-11-20 Ding Jia , Fabio Costa

Quantum theory is in principle compatible with scenarios where physical processes occur in an indefinite order, potentially yielding advantages in a broad range of information processing tasks. However, advantages in communication, the most…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-03-26 Xuanqiang Zhao , Benchi Zhao , Cyril Branciard , Giulio Chiribella

Recent developments in the formalisation of quantum causal structures have made it possible to test and compare hypotheses about causal structure empirically, rather than being a-priori assumptions. Such differences in causal structure may…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-05-28 Declan Maguire , Fabio Costa

It was recently suggested that causal structures are both dynamical, because of general relativity, and indefinite, due to quantum theory. The process matrix formalism furnishes a framework for quantum mechanics on indefinite causal…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2018-03-28 Esteban Castro-Ruiz , Flaminia Giacomini , Časlav Brukner

In all our well-established theories, it is assumed that events are embedded in a global causal structure such that, for every pair of events, the causal order between them is always fixed. However, the possible interplay between quantum…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-11-22 Flaminia Giacomini , Esteban Castro-Ruiz , Časlav Brukner

Existing work on quantum causal structure assumes that one can perform arbitrary operations on the systems of interest. But this condition is often not met. Here, we extend the framework for quantum causal modelling to situations where a…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-06-07 Nick Ormrod , Augustin Vanrietvelde , Jonathan Barrett

We show a method of describing processes with indefinite causal order (ICO) by a definite causal order. We do so by relabeling the processes that take place in the circuit in accordance with the basis of measurement of control qubit. Causal…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-03-04 Stanislav Filatov , Marcis Auzinsh

Quantum processes can exhibit scenarios beyond a fixed order of events. We propose information inequalities that, when violated, constitute sufficient conditions to certify quantum processes without a fixed causal order -- causally…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-05-21 Matheus Capela , Kaumudibikash Goswami

We study the notion of causal orders for the cases of (classical and quantum) circuits and spacetime events. We show that every circuit can be immersed into a classical spacetime, preserving the compatibility between the two causal…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2020-06-08 Nikola Paunkovic , Marko Vojinovic

Quantum theory is consistent with a computational model permitting black-box operations to be applied in an indefinite causal order, going beyond the standard circuit model of computation. The quantum switch -- the simplest such example --…

Quantum mechanics allows for coherent control over the order in which different processes take place on a target system, giving rise to a new feature known as indefinite causal order. Indefinite causal order provides a resource for quantum…

Causal inequalities are bounds on correlations obtained when operations take place in a causal sequence, i.e. in which the background time or definite causal structure pre-exists such that every operation is either in the future, in the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-09-22 Caslav Brukner