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Related papers: Indefinite causal order in boxworld theories

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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

A switched quantum channel with indefinite causal order is studied for the fundamental metrological task of phase estimation on a qubit unitary operator affected by quantum thermal noise. Specific capabilities are reported in the switched…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-11-04 Francois Chapeau-Blondeau

Our common understanding of the physical world deeply relies on the notion that events are ordered with respect to some time parameter, with past events serving as causes for future ones. Nonetheless, it was recently found that it is…

We provide an analysis of indefinite causal orders in relativistic quantum mechanics based on the electron-positron picture of Feynman involving negative energy electrons moving backward in time. We show that genuine implementations of the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-03-03 Aurélien Drezet

By studying the set of correlations that are theoretically possible between physical systems without allowing for signalling of information backwards in time, we here identify correlations that can only be achieved if the time ordering…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-01-22 Tom Holden-Dye , Sandu Popescu

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…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-06-06 Jorge Escandón-Monardes

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…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2024-07-22 Lee A. Rozema , Teodor Strömberg , Huan Cao , Yu Guo , Bi-Heng Liu , Philip Walther

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…

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…

In standard quantum theory, the causal relations between operations are fixed. One can relax this notion by allowing for dynamical arrangements, where operations may influence the causal relations of future operations, as certified by…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-10-23 Veronika Baumann , Ämin Baumeler , Eleftherios-Ermis Tselentis

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 find a process satisfying the axioms of hyper-decoherence which produces standard quantum theory from the theory of quantum boxes (higher-order quantum theory with the non-signalling tensor product). This hyper-decoherence map evades the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-04-16 James Hefford , Matt Wilson

Recent studies suggest that physical theories can exhibit indefinite causal structures, where the causal order of events is fundamentally undefined yet logically consistent. Beyond its foundational appeal, causal indefiniteness has also…

In order to better understand the structure of quantum theory, or speculate about theories that may supercede it, it can be helpful to consider alternative physical theories. ``Boxworld'' describes one such theory, in which all…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-08-17 Sabri W. Al-Safi , Anthony J. Short

The standard formulation of quantum theory assumes a predefined notion of time. This is a major obstacle in the search for a quantum theory of gravity, where the causal structure of space-time is expected to be dynamical and fundamentally…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-07-29 Ognyan Oreshkov , Nicolas J. Cerf

It is well-known that if one assumes quantum theory to hold locally, then processes with indefinite causal order and cyclic causal structures become feasible. Here, we study qualitative limitations on causal structures and correlations…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2024-01-09 Eleftherios-Ermis Tselentis , Ämin Baumeler

In an ordinary quantum algorithm the gates are applied in a fixed order on the systems. The introduction of indefinite causal structures allows to relax this constraint and control the order of the gates with an additional quantum state. It…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-06-15 Martin J. Renner , Časlav Brukner

Bidirectional devices are devices for which the roles of the input and output ports can be exchanged. Mathematically, these devices are described by bistochastic quantum channels, namely completely positive linear maps that are both…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-02-03 Luca Apadula , Alessandro Bisio , Giulio Chiribella , Paolo Perinotti , Kyrylo Simonov

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