Theoretical Limits of Protocols for Distinguishing Different Unravelings

[2502.19268] Theoretical Limits of Protocols for Distinguishing Different Unravelings Skip to main content Search Submit Donate Log in Search arXiv Press Enter to search · Advanced search Quantum Physics arXiv:2502.19268 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 26 Feb 2025 ( v1 ), last revised 9 Apr 2026 (this version, v3)] Title: Theoretical Limits of Protocols for Distinguishing Different Unravelings Authors: J. L. Gaona-Reyes , D. G. A. Altamura , A. Bassi View a PDF of the paper titled Theoretical Limits of Protocols for Distinguishing Different Unravelings, by J. L. Gaona-Reyes and 2 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: Stochastic unravelings of Lindblad-type master equations, such as stochastic Schrödinger equations (SSEs), provide powerful tools to model open quantum systems and continuous measurement processes. The same master equation can be unraveled in different ways; while these unravelings differ at the level of quantum trajectories, by construction they all yield the same averaged dynamics for the density operator. A recent question of both foundational and practical relevance is whether such unravelings can be operationally distinguished, given that certain nonlinear quantities-such as covariances and higher-order moments of conditional expectation values-are unraveling-dependent. We show that these quantities cannot be accessed unless the measurement scheme (i.e., the unraveling) is known in advance. This renders any operational protocol to distinguish unravelings fundamentally unfeasible. We further establish that assuming access to such nonlinear quantities without prior knowledge of the unraveling would enable superluminal signaling, violating relativistic causality. Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2502.19268 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2502.19268v3 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2502.19268 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Journal reference: Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043295 (2025) Related DOI : https://doi.org/10.1103/6qnt-t3wl Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources Submission history From: Davide Giordano Ario Altamura [ view email ] [v1] Wed, 26 Feb 2025 16:24:32 UTC (233 KB) [v2] Fri, 21 Mar 2025 12:27:24 UTC (233 KB) [v3] Thu, 9 Apr 2026 21:56:32 UTC (470 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Theoretical Limits of Protocols for Distinguishing Different Unravelings, by J. L. Gaona-Reyes and 2 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph < prev | next > new | recent | 2025-02 References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer ( What is the Explorer? ) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers ( What is Connected Papers? ) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps ( What is Litmaps? ) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations ( What are Smart Citations? ) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv ( What is alphaXiv? ) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers ( What is CatalyzeX? ) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub ( What is DagsHub? ) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub ( What is GotitPub? ) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face ( What is Huggingface? ) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast ( What is ScienceCast? ) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate ( What is Replicate? ) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces ( What is Spaces? ) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI ( What is TXYZ.AI? ) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower ( What are Influence Flowers? ) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender ( What is CORE? ) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs . Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax ( What is MathJax? ) We gratefully acknowledge support from our major funders , member institutions , , and all contributors. About · Help · Contact · Subscribe · Copyright · Privacy · Accessibility · Operational Status (opens in new tab) Major funding support from

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