An extended Wigner's friend no-go theorem inspired by generalized contextuality

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new no-go theorem inspired by generalized contextuality, extending the Local Friendliness theorem to demonstrate quantum theory's incompatibility with weaker assumptions.

Contribution

It presents the Noncontextual Friendliness no-go theorem, generalizing previous results and strengthening the incompatibility between quantum theory and certain realistic assumptions.

Findings

Demonstrates inconsistency of quantum theory with Absoluteness of Observed Events and Noncontextual Agency.

Generalizes the Local Friendliness no-go theorem to a broader context.

Shows the theorem is stronger than previous noncontextuality-based no-go theorems.

Abstract

The renowned Local Friendliness no-go theorem demonstrates the incompatibility of quantum theory with the combined assumptions of Absoluteness of Observed Events - the idea that observed outcomes are singular and objective - and Local Agency - the requirement that the only events correlated with a setting choice are in its future light cone. Granted that the Local Friendliness scenario can be realized, this result is stronger than Bell's theorem because the assumptions of Local Friendliness are weaker than those of Bell's theorem: Local Agency is less restrictive than local causality, and Absoluteness of Observed Events is encompassed within the notion of realism assumed in Bell's theorem. Drawing inspiration from the correspondence between nonlocality proofs in Bell scenarios and generalized contextuality proofs in prepare-and-measure scenarios, we present the Noncontextual Friendliness no-go theorem. This theorem demonstrates the inconsistency of quantum theory with the joint assumptions of Absoluteness of Observed Events and Noncontextual Agency, the latter being a weaker version of noncontextuality, in the same way that Local Agency is a weaker version of local causality. Our result generalizes the Local Friendliness no-go theorem and, granted that the scenario can be realized, is stronger than no-go theorems based on generalized noncontextuality.