An invitation to quantum incompatibility
: Heinosaari T, Miyadera T, Ziman M
Publisher: IOP PUBLISHING LTD
: 2016
: Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
: JOURNAL OF PHYSICS A-MATHEMATICAL AND THEORETICAL
: J PHYS A-MATH THEOR
: ARTN 123001
: 49
: 12
: 34
: 1751-8113
: 1751-8121
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1751-8113/49/12/123001
In the context of a physical theory, two devices, A and B, described by the theory are called incompatible if the theory does not allow the existence of a third device C that would have both A and B as its components. Incompatibility is a fascinating aspect of physical theories, especially in the case of quantum theory. The concept of incompatibility gives a common ground for several famous impossibility statements within quantum theory, such as 'nocloning' and 'no information without disturbance'; these can be all seen as statements about incompatibility of certain devices. The purpose of this paper is to give a concise overview of some of the central aspects of incompatibility.