Multipartite quantum states over time from two fundamental assumptions

TL;DR

This paper develops a unique framework for extending quantum states over time to multipartite systems, linking it to quasiprobability distributions and enabling experimental verification of temporal quantum correlations.

Contribution

It introduces a canonical multipartite extension of quantum states over time based on two fundamental assumptions, connecting it to Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobabilities.

Findings

Unique multipartite extension characterized by linearity and conditionability.

Establishes a correspondence with Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobability distributions.

Proposes experimental verification via quantum snapshotting.

Abstract

The theory of quantum states over time extends the density operator formalism into the temporal domain, providing a unified of treatment of timelike and spacelike separated systems in quantum theory. Although recent results have characterized quantum states over time involving two timelike separated systems, it remains unclear how to consistently extend the notion of quantum states over time to multipartite temporal scenarios, such as those considered in studies of Leggett-Garg inequalities. In this Letter, we show that two simple assumptions uniquely single out the Markovian multipartite extension of bipartite quantum states over time, namely, linearity in the initial state and a quantum analog of conditionability for multipartite probability distributions. As a direct consequence of our result, we establish a canonical correspondence between multipartite QSOTs and Kirkwood-Dirac type quasiprobability distributions, which we show opens up the possibility of experimentally verifying the temporal correlations encoded in QSOTs via the recent experimental technique of simulating quasiprobability known as quantum snapshotting.