On the foundations of quantum mechanics: entanglement, nonlocality, steering and contextuality

• Grant number: 16/09666-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2016
• End date: March 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - General Physics
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo de Oliveira Terra Cunha
• Grantee: Rafael Luiz da Silva Rabelo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Matemática, Estatística e Computação Científica (IMECC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The foundations of quantum mechanics have been gaining importance not only for answering primordial questions on the most controversial and well- succeeded physical theory ever developed, but also for leading to revolutionary applications within quantum information and computation theories. At the core of fundamental notions of quantum theory, four important concepts, intrincatedly related, have been gaining great notoriety: entanglement, nonlocality, steering and contextuality. By means of studying these four concepts, this project aims to investigate three important problems within the foundations of quantum mechanics: (I) Would exist a physical principle from which one could derive mathematical aspects of quantum theory through the optics of nonlocality theory? (II) How are the concepts of entanglement, nonlocality and steering related, as properties of quantum states? (III) How are the concepts of nonlocality and contextuality related, both from mathematical and physical viewpoints?