Emergence of realism through quantum discord suppression in photonic weak measurements

TL;DR

This study experimentally shows that suppressing quantum discord through weak measurements promotes the emergence of classical realism in quantum systems, highlighting the role of quantum correlations in the quantum-classical transition.

Contribution

We experimentally demonstrate that weak measurement-induced suppression of quantum discord facilitates the emergence of realism, using Werner states and an irrealism measure.

Findings

Quantum discord suppression drives realism emergence.

Weak measurements induce a transition from quantum to classical behavior.

The irrealism measure remains robust in quantum correlation scenarios.

Abstract

The emergence of realism from the quantum domain, often associated with the suppression of quantum features, is a key aspect of the quantum-to-classical transition. In this work, we implement an experiment with Werner states subjected to weak measurements to investigate how quantum correlations influence the emergence of realism. Maximally entangled twin photons, generated via spontaneous parametric down-conversion, are used to prepare Werner states. We employ a monitoring model that smoothly transitions between weak and strong nonselective measurements, along with an irrealism measure. Our findings demonstrate that quantum discord suppression induced by weak measurements, known as weak quantum discord, drives the emergence of realism. Additionally, our findings highlight the robustness of the irrealism measure in quantum correlation-based scenarios.