Experimental demonstration of optimal unambiguous two-out-of-four quantum state elimination

A core principle of quantum theory is that non-orthogonal quantum states cannot be perfectly distinguished with single-shot measurements. However, it is possible to exclude a subset of non-orthogonal states without error in certain circumstances. Here we implement a quantum state elimination measure...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2022-06
Main Authors: Webb, Jonathan W, Puthoor, Ittoop V, Ho, Joseph, Crickmore, Jonathan, Blakely, Emma, Fedrizzi, Alessandro, Andersson, Erika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Quantum theory
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Summary:A core principle of quantum theory is that non-orthogonal quantum states cannot be perfectly distinguished with single-shot measurements. However, it is possible to exclude a subset of non-orthogonal states without error in certain circumstances. Here we implement a quantum state elimination measurement which unambiguously rules out two of four pure, non-orthogonal quantum states -- ideally without error and with unit success probability. This is a generalised quantum measurement with six outcomes, where each outcome corresponds to excluding a pair of states. Our experimental realisation uses single photons, with information encoded in a four-dimensional state using optical path and polarisation degrees of freedom. The prepared state is incorrectly ruled out up to \(3.3(2)\%\) of the time.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2207.00019