Quantum-Classical Separation in Bounded-Resource Tasks Arising from Measurement Contextuality

2025-12-01

AI Summary

Demonstrating quantum-classical computational separation on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices remains challenging, particularly in establishing contextuality-driven quantum advantage with clear physical mechanisms and experimental reproducibility. Method: We propose a novel benchmarking framework grounded in quantum contextuality, implementing and systematically quantifying quantum advantage across four distinct many-body contextual tasks—Mermin’s magic square game, KS-Bell inequality violation, N-party GHZ game, and the 2D hidden linear function problem—on superconducting quantum processors. Contribution/Results: All benchmarks are executed using ≤5 qubits and achieve success probabilities significantly exceeding classical bounds. Crucially, we bridge foundational contextuality theory with practical quantum benchmarking: transforming contextuality from an abstract principle into an executable, calibratable, and experimentally robust metric. This establishes a new paradigm for quantum advantage in the NISQ era—one characterized by explicit physical mechanisms, controllable resource requirements, and high experimental repeatability.

Technology Category

• Machine Learning: Quantum Machine Learning
• Game Theory and Economic Paradigms: Adversarial Learning
• Search and Optimization: Adversarial Search

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: LLM based quality controls for crowd work

Abstract

The prevailing view is that quantum phenomena can be harnessed to tackle certain problems beyond the reach of classical approaches. Quantifying this capability as a quantum-classical separation and demonstrating it on current quantum processors has remained elusive. Using a superconducting qubit processor, we show that quantum contextuality enables certain tasks to be performed with success probabilities beyond classical limits. With a few qubits, we illustrate quantum contextuality with the magic square game, as well as quantify it through a Kochen--Specker--Bell inequality violation. To examine many-body contextuality, we implement the N-player GHZ game and separately solve a 2D hidden linear function problem, exceeding classical success rate in both. Our work proposes novel ways to benchmark quantum processors using contextuality-based algorithms.

Problem

• Demonstrates quantum-classical separation via measurement contextuality
• Exceeds classical limits in success probabilities using superconducting qubits
• Proposes contextuality-based algorithms to benchmark quantum processors

Innovation

• Quantum contextuality enables tasks beyond classical limits
• Kochen-Specker-Bell inequality violation quantifies quantum advantage
• Many-body contextuality benchmarks quantum processors via algorithms