Bosonic indistinguishability-dependent contextuality

Producing contextual correlations in sequences of measurements on single quantum systems faces two major problems. One is the experimental difficulty of performing sequences of ideal measurements on high-dimensional quantum systems, a problem that also affects other forms of quantum temporal correlations. The other is the simulability with classical light of existing contextuality experiments with photons. Here, we introduce a scheme that solves both problems. We show that, by encoding quantum information in n >= 2 indistinguishable bosons in m >= 2 modes, targeting observables exploiting the bunching-antibunching of bosons, and performing ideal measurements by dispersively coupling these systems with auxiliary qubits, it is possible to realize sequential quantum measurements on high-dimensional quantum systems and produce contextuality which cannot be simulated by classical light, as it relies on indistinguishability and higher-order interference.

Automated summary

This article introduces a scheme to address the problem of producing contextual correlations in sequences of measurements on single quantum systems. By encoding quantum information in indistinguishable bosons in multiple modes and performing ideal measurements with auxiliary qubits, the authors were able to realize sequential quantum measurements on high-dimensional quantum systems and generate contextuality that cannot be simulated by classical light.