Related papers: Knot invariants and indefinite causal order

Classically the causal order of two timelike separated events A and B is fixed -- either A before B or B before A. This is no longer true in quantum theory, where it is possible to encounter superpositions of causal orders. The quantum…

Quantum causality extends the conventional notion of fixed causal structure by allowing channels and operations to act in an indefinite causal order. The importance of such an indefinite causal order ranges from the foundational---e.g.…

In this work, we give rigorous operational meaning to superposition of causal orders. This fits within a recent effort to understand how the standard operational perspective on quantum theory could be extended to include indefinite…

Researchers have long been aiming to understand how the characteristics of Quantum Theory and General Relativity combine to account for regimes in their interface. One reason why this is a hard task is how differently the theories approach…

In quantum mechanics events can happen in no definite causal order: in practice this can be verified by measuring a causal witness, in the same way that an entanglement witness verifies entanglement. Indefinite causal order can be observed…

Quantum theory allows for the superposition of causal orders between operations, i.e., for an indefinite causal order; an implication of the principle of quantum superposition. Since a higher theory might also admit this feature, an…

The idea that events obey a definite causal order is deeply rooted in our understanding of the world and at the basis of the very notion of time. But where does causal order come from, and is it a necessary property of nature? We address…

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…

Recently, the possible existence of quantum processes with indefinite causal order has been extensively discussed, in particular using the formalism of process matrices. Here we give a new perspective on this question, by establishing a…

Investigating the role of causal order in quantum mechanics has recently revealed that the causal distribution of events may not be a-priori well-defined in quantum theory. While this has triggered a growing interest on the theoretical…

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…

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…

In this "map" we are going to present the concept of indefinite causal order and make a quick journey through its different flavours. We will start with a broad conceptual motivation for studying indefinite causal order, based on the…

In the past decade, the toolkit of quantum information has been expanded to include processes in which the basic operations do not have definite causal relations. Originally considered in the context of the unification of quantum mechanics…

It was recently found that the indefinite causal order in the quantum switch can be certified device-independently when assuming the impossibility of superluminal influences. Here we strengthen this result in two ways. First, we give a…

We study emerging notions of quantum correlations in compound systems. Based on different definitions of quantumness in individual subsystems, we investigate how they extend to the joint description of a composite system. Especially, we…

A causal set is a partially ordered set on a countably infinite ground-set such that each element is above finitely many others. A natural extension of a causal set is an enumeration of its elements which respects the order. We bring…

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…

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…

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…