Paper detail

Linearity of quantum probability measure and Hardy's model

We re-examine d=4 hidden-variables-models for a system of two spin-$1/2$ particles in view of the concrete model of Hardy, who analyzed the criterion of entanglement without referring to inequality. The basis of our analysis is the linearity of the probability measure related to the Born probability interpretation, which excludes non-contextual hidden-variables models in $d\geq 3$. To be specific, we note the inconsistency of the non-contextual hidden-variables model in $d=4$ with the linearity of the quantum mechanical probability measure in the sense $\langleψ|{\bf a}\cdot {\bf σ}\otimes{\bf b}\cdot {\bf σ}|ψ\rangle+\langleψ|{\bf a}\cdot {\bf σ}\otimes{\bf b}^{\prime}\cdot {\bf σ}|ψ\rangle=\langleψ|{\bf a}\cdot {\bf σ}\otimes ({\bf b}+{\bf b}^{\prime})\cdot {\bf σ}|ψ\rangle$ for non-collinear ${\bf b}$ and ${\bf b}^{\prime}$. It is then shown that Hardy's model in $d=4$ does not lead to a unique mathematical expression in the demonstration of the discrepancy of local realism (hidden-variables model) with entanglement and thus his proof is incomplete. We identify the origin of this non-uniqueness with the non-uniqueness of translating quantum mechanical expressions into expressions in hidden-variables models, which results from the failure of the above linearity of the probability measure. In contrast, if the linearity of the probability measure is strictly imposed, which is tantamount to asking that the non-contextual hidden-variables model in $d=4$ gives the CHSH inequality $|\langle B\rangle|\leq 2$ uniquely, it is shown that the hidden-variables model can describe only separable quantum mechanical states; this conclusion is in perfect agreement with the so-called Gisin's theorem which states that $|\langle B\rangle|\leq 2$ implies separable states.