Frame dependence of Spekkens' contextuality for relativistic spin systems
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We show that the operational definition of contextuality introduced by Spekkens is, in general, not Lorentz invariant. Specifically, we consider an explicit example with particle states consisting of both spin and momentum, we apply a Lorentz transformation to obtain the states in a new inertial frame, and then trace out the momentum degrees of freedom in both frames. We find that, while an observer in the first inertial frame describes a contextual ontological model with respect to spin states and all possible spin measurements, an observer in the boosted frame describes a noncontextual model with respect to the transformed spin states and all transformed spin measurements. Hence, the Spekkens' notion of contextuality, when restricted to spin degress of freedom only, is a frame-dependent concept. We apply our results to predict a relativistic effect concerning the task of discriminating between two quantum states. We show that the probability of success for a moving observer exceeds that of an observer at rest.
Source: Physical Review A
DOI: 10.1103/crqz-jcsh
Author: Ruben Campos Delgado
Institution: Leibniz University Hannover
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,675
OpenAlex ID: W4417440130