{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,16]],"date-time":"2025-09-16T17:26:42Z","timestamp":1758043602086,"version":"3.44.0"},"reference-count":68,"publisher":"Verein zur Forderung des Open Access Publizierens in den Quantenwissenschaften","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,5]],"date-time":"2025-09-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757030400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["quantum-journal.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Quantum"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Local Friendliness (LF) inequalities follow from seemingly reasonable assumptions about reality: (i) ``absoluteness of observed events&amp;apos;&amp;apos; (e.g., every observed event happens for all observers) and (ii) ``local agency&amp;apos;&amp;apos; (e.g., free choices can be made uncorrelated with other events outside their future light cone). Extended Wigner&amp;apos;s Friend Scenario (EWFS) thought experiments show that textbook quantum mechanics violates these inequalities. Thus, experimental evidence of these violations would make these two assumptions incompatible. In [Nature Physics 16, 1199 (2020)], the authors experimentally implemented an EWFS, using a photonic qubit to play the role of each of the ``friends&amp;apos;&amp;apos; and measured violations of LF. One may question whether a photonic qubit is a physical system that counts as an ``observer&amp;apos;&amp;apos; and thereby question whether the experiment&amp;apos;s outcome is significant. Intending to measure increasingly meaningful violations, we propose using a statistical measure called the ``branch factor&amp;apos;&amp;apos; to quantify the ``observerness&amp;apos;&amp;apos; of the system. We then encode the EWFS as a quantum circuit such that the components of the circuit that define the friend are quantum systems of increasing branch factor. We run this circuit on quantum simulators and hardware devices, observing LF violations as the system sizes scale. As errors in quantum computers reduce the significance of the violations, better quantum computers can produce better violations. Our results extend the state of the art in proof-of-concept experimental violations from branch factor 0.0 to branch factor 16.0. This is an initial result in an experimental program for measuring LF violations at increasingly meaningful branch factors using increasingly more powerful quantum processors and networks. We introduce this program as a fundamental science application for near-term and developing quantum technology.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.22331\/q-2025-09-05-1851","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,5]],"date-time":"2025-09-05T11:05:33Z","timestamp":1757070333000},"page":"1851","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.22331\/q-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Towards violations of Local Friendliness with quantum computers"],"prefix":"10.22331","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"William J.","family":"Zeng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Unitary Foundation"},{"name":"Quantonation"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Farrokh","family":"Labib","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unitary Foundation"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vincent","family":"Russo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unitary Foundation"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"9598","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"0","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Abner Shimony. ``Search for a worldview which can accommodate our knowledge of microphysics&apos;&apos;. Philosophical consequences of quantum theoryPages 25\u201337 (1989).","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511621147"},{"key":"1","unstructured":"Eric G Cavalcanti. ``Reality, locality and all that:\" experimental metaphysics\" and the quantum foundations&apos;&apos; (2008)."},{"key":"2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Kok-Wei Bong, An\u00edbal Utreras-Alarc\u00f3n, Farzad Ghafari, Yeong-Cherng Liang, Nora Tischler, Eric G Cavalcanti, Geoff J Pryde, and Howard M Wiseman. ``A strong no-go theorem on the Wigner\u2019s friend paradox&apos;&apos;. Nature Physics 16, 1199\u20131205 (2020).","DOI":"10.1038\/s41567-020-0990-x"},{"key":"3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Eugene P Wigner. ``Remarks on the mind-body question&apos;&apos;. In The Scientist Speculates. Pages 284\u2013302. Heinemann (1961).","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-78374-6_20"},{"key":"4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Marwan Haddara and Eric G Cavalcanti. ``A possibilistic no-go theorem on the Wigner&apos;s friend paradox&apos;&apos; (2022).","DOI":"10.1088\/1367-2630\/aceea3"},{"key":"5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Howard M Wiseman. ``The two Bell&apos;s theorems of John Bell&apos;&apos;. Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical 47, 424001 (2014).","DOI":"10.1088\/1751-8113\/47\/42\/424001"},{"key":"6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Howard M Wiseman and Eric G Cavalcanti. ``Causarum investigatio and the two Bell\u2019s theorems of John Bell&apos;&apos;. Quantum [Un] Speakables II: Half a Century of Bell&apos;s TheoremPages 119\u2013142 (2017).","DOI":"10.48550\/arXiv.1503.06413"},{"key":"7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"David Deutsch. ``Quantum theory as a universal physical theory&apos;&apos;. International Journal of Theoretical Physics 24, 1\u201341 (1985).","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00670071"},{"key":"8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Eric G Cavalcanti. ``The view from a Wigner bubble&apos;&apos;. Foundations of Physics 51, 39 (2021).","DOI":"10.1007\/s10701-021-00417-0"},{"key":"9","unstructured":"Nick Ormrod and Jonathan Barrett. ``Quantum influences and event relativity&apos;&apos; (2024)."},{"key":"10","unstructured":"Laurens Walleghem, Rui Soares Barbosa, Matthew Pusey, and Stefan Weigert. ``A refined Frauchiger\u2013Renner paradox based on strong contextuality&apos;&apos; (2024)."},{"key":"11","unstructured":"V Vilasini and Mischa P Woods. ``A general quantum circuit framework for extended Wigner&apos;s friend scenarios: Logically and causally consistent reasoning without absolute measurement events&apos;&apos; (2022)."},{"key":"12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Eric G Cavalcanti, Andrea Di Biagio, and Carlo Rovelli. ``On the consistency of relative facts&apos;&apos;. European Journal for Philosophy of Science 13, 55 (2023).","DOI":"10.1007\/s13194-023-00551-8"},{"key":"13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Emily Adlam and Carlo Rovelli. ``Information is physical: Cross-perspective links in relational quantum mechanics&apos;&apos; (2022).","DOI":"10.31389\/pop.8"},{"key":"14","unstructured":"Marcin Markiewicz and Marek \u017bukowski. ``Relational quantum mechanics with cross-perspective links postulate: an internally inconsistent scheme&apos;&apos; (2023)."},{"key":"15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Carlo Rovelli. ``Relational quantum mechanics&apos;&apos;. International journal of theoretical physics 35, 1637\u20131678 (1996).","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02302261"},{"key":"16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Stefan Teufel and Detlef D\u00fcrr. ``Bohmian mechanics: The physics and mathematics of quantum theory&apos;&apos;. Springer. (2009).","DOI":"10.1007\/b99978_8"},{"key":"17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"\u010caslav Brukner. ``On the quantum measurement problem&apos;&apos;. Quantum [un] speakables II: half a century of Bell&apos;s theoremPages 95\u2013117 (2017).","DOI":"10.48550\/arXiv.1507.05255"},{"key":"18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"\u010caslav Brukner. ``A no-go theorem for observer-independent facts&apos;&apos;. Entropy 20, 350 (2018).","DOI":"10.3390\/e20050350"},{"key":"19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Daniela Frauchiger and Renato Renner. ``Quantum theory cannot consistently describe the use of itself&apos;&apos;. Nature communications 9, 3711 (2018).","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-018-05739-8"},{"key":"20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Nuriya Nurgalieva. ``Multi-agent epistemic paradoxes in physical theories&apos;&apos;. PhD thesis. ETH Zurich. (2023).","DOI":"10.3929\/ethz-b-000649851"},{"key":"21","unstructured":"Jochen Szangolies. ``The quantum Rashomon effect: A strengthened Frauchiger-Renner argument&apos;&apos; (2020)."},{"key":"22","unstructured":"David Schmid, Y\u00ecl\u00e8 Y\\=\\ing, and Matthew Leifer. ``A review and analysis of six extended Wigner&apos;s friend arguments&apos;&apos; (2023)."},{"key":"23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Marwan Haddara and Eric G. Cavalcanti. ``Local friendliness polytopes in multipartite scenarios&apos;&apos; (2024).","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevA.111.012206"},{"key":"24","unstructured":"Veronika Baumann and Caslav Brukner. ``Observers in superposition and the no-signaling principle&apos;&apos; (2023)."},{"key":"25","unstructured":"Roger Colbeck. ``Quantum and relativistic protocols for secure multi-party computation&apos;&apos; (2009)."},{"key":"26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Stefano Pironio, Antonio Ac\u00edn, Serge Massar, A Boyer de La Giroday, Dzmitry N Matsukevich, Peter Maunz, Steven Olmschenk, David Hayes, Le Luo, T Andrew Manning, et al. ``Random numbers certified by Bell\u2019s theorem&apos;&apos;. Nature 464, 1021\u20131024 (2010).","DOI":"10.1038\/nature09008"},{"key":"27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Antonio Ac\u00edn and Lluis Masanes. ``Certified randomness in quantum physics&apos;&apos;. Nature 540, 213\u2013219 (2016).","DOI":"10.1038\/nature20119"},{"key":"28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Erik Woodhead. ``Imperfections and self testing in prepare-and-measure quantum key distribution&apos;&apos;. PhD thesis. Ph. D. thesis, Universit\u00e9 libre de Bruxelles. (2014).","DOI":"10.22331\/q-2021-04-26-443"},{"key":"29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Howard M Wiseman, Eric G Cavalcanti, and Eleanor G Rieffel. ``A thoughtful Local Friendliness no-go theorem: a prospective experiment with new assumptions to suit&apos;&apos;. Quantum 7, 1112 (2023).","DOI":"10.22331\/q-2023-09-14-1112"},{"key":"30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Yaakov Y Fein, Philipp Geyer, Patrick Zwick, Filip Kia\u0142ka, Sebastian Pedalino, Marcel Mayor, Stefan Gerlich, and Markus Arndt. ``Quantum superposition of molecules beyond 25 kDa&apos;&apos;. Nature Physics 15, 1242\u20131245 (2019).","DOI":"10.1038\/s41567-019-0663-9"},{"key":"31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Uro\u0161 Deli\u0107, Manuel Reisenbauer, Kahan Dare, David Grass, Vladan Vuleti\u0107, Nikolai Kiesel, and Markus Aspelmeyer. ``Cooling of a levitated nanoparticle to the motional quantum ground state&apos;&apos;. Science 367, 892\u2013895 (2020).","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aba3993"},{"key":"32","unstructured":"Alexei Grinbaum. ``Quantum observer and Kolmogorov complexity: A model that can be tested&apos;&apos; (2010)."},{"key":"33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Markus P M\u00fcller. ``Law without law: From observer states to physics via algorithmic information theory&apos;&apos;. Quantum 4, 301 (2020).","DOI":"10.22331\/q-2020-07-20-301"},{"key":"34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Diana A Chisholm, Guillermo Garc\u00eda-P\u00e9rez, Matteo AC Rossi, Sabrina Maniscalco, and G Massimo Palma. ``Witnessing objectivity on a quantum computer&apos;&apos;. Quantum Science and Technology 7, 015022 (2021).","DOI":"10.1088\/2058-9565\/ac40f3"},{"key":"35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Wojciech Hubert Zurek. ``Quantum Darwinism&apos;&apos;. Nature physics 5, 181\u2013188 (2009).","DOI":"10.1038\/nphys1202"},{"key":"36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Sreenath K Manikandan, Cyril Elouard, and Andrew N Jordan. ``Fluctuation theorems for continuous quantum measurements and absolute irreversibility&apos;&apos;. Physical Review A 99, 022117 (2019).","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevA.99.022117"},{"key":"37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Maitreyi Jayaseelan, Sreenath K Manikandan, Andrew N Jordan, and Nicholas P Bigelow. ``Quantum measurement arrow of time and fluctuation relations for measuring spin of ultracold atoms&apos;&apos;. Nature communications 12, 1\u20137 (2021).","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-021-22094-3"},{"key":"38","unstructured":"Emanuel Schwarzhans, Felix C Binder, Marcus Huber, and Maximilian PE Lock. ``Quantum measurements and equilibration: The emergence of objective reality via entropy maximisation&apos;&apos; (2023)."},{"key":"39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Abner Shimony. ``Role of the observer in quantum theory&apos;&apos;. American Journal of Physics 31, 755\u2013773 (1963).","DOI":"10.1119\/1.1969073"},{"key":"40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Henry P Stapp. ``Attention, intention, and will in quantum physics&apos;&apos;. Journal of Consciousness studies 6, 143\u2013143 (1999).","DOI":"10.48550\/arXiv.quant-ph\/9905054"},{"key":"41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Stuart Hameroff and Roger Penrose. ``Consciousness in the universe: A review of the \u2018orch or\u2019theory&apos;&apos;. Physics of life reviews 11, 39\u201378 (2014).","DOI":"10.1016\/j.plrev.2013.08.002"},{"key":"42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Hartmut Neven, Peter Read, Kenneth S Kosik, Tjitse Van der Molen, Dirk Bouwmeester, Eve Bodnia, Luca Turin, and Christof Koch. ``Testing the conjecture that quantum processes create conscious experience&apos;&apos;. Preprints (2024).","DOI":"10.3390\/e26060460"},{"key":"43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Tim Bayne, Anil K Seth, Marcello Massimini, Joshua Shepherd, Axel Cleeremans, Stephen M Fleming, Rafael Malach, Jason B Mattingley, David K Menon, Adrian M Owen, et al. ``Tests for consciousness in humans and beyond&apos;&apos;. Trends in cognitive sciences (2024).","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2024.01.010"},{"key":"44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Vedran Dunjko, Jacob M Taylor, and Hans J Briegel. ``Quantum-enhanced machine learning&apos;&apos;. Physical review letters 117, 130501 (2016).","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.117.130501"},{"key":"45","unstructured":"Hartmut Neven, Peter Read, and Tobias Rees. ``Do robots powered by a quantum processor have the freedom to swerve?&apos;&apos; (2021)."},{"key":"46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Abhishek Sharma, D\u00e1niel Cz\u00e9gel, Michael Lachmann, Christopher P Kempes, Sara I Walker, and Leroy Cronin. ``Assembly theory explains and quantifies selection and evolution&apos;&apos;. Nature 622, 321\u2013328 (2023).","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-023-06600-9"},{"key":"47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Jordan K. Taylor and Ian P. McCulloch. ``Wavefunction branching: When you can&apos;t tell pure states from mixed states&apos;&apos;. Quantum 9, 1670 (2025).","DOI":"10.22331\/q-2025-03-25-1670"},{"key":"48","unstructured":"\u010caslav Brukner. ``Qubits are not observers\u2013a no-go theorem&apos;&apos; (2021)."},{"key":"49","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"John S Bell, C Isham, R Penrose, and D Sciama. ``Quantum mechanics for cosmologists&apos;&apos;. John S Bell On The Foundations Of Quantum Mechanics 99, 125 (2001).","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511815676.017"},{"key":"50","unstructured":"Rainer Kaltenbaek, Markus Arndt, Markus Aspelmeyer, Peter F Barker, Angelo Bassi, James Bateman, Alessio Belenchia, Joel Berg\u00e9, Sougato Bose, Claus Braxmaier, et al. ``MAQRO\u2013BPS 2023 research campaign whitepaper&apos;&apos; (2022)."},{"key":"51","unstructured":"Scott Aaronson, Yosi Atia, and Leonard Susskind. ``On the hardness of detecting macroscopic superpositions&apos;&apos; (2020)."},{"key":"52","unstructured":"E. Knill. ``Approximation by quantum circuits&apos;&apos; (1995). arXiv:quant-ph\/9508006."},{"key":"53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Andreas B\u00e4rtschi and Stephan Eidenbenz. ``Deterministic preparation of Dicke states&apos;&apos;. In International Symposium on Fundamentals of Computation Theory. Pages 126\u2013139. Springer (2019).","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-25027-0_9"},{"key":"54","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Frank Arute, Kunal Arya, Ryan Babbush, Dave Bacon, Joseph C Bardin, Rami Barends, Rupak Biswas, Sergio Boixo, Fernando GSL Brandao, David A Buell, et al. ``Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor&apos;&apos;. Nature 574, 505\u2013510 (2019).","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-019-1666-5"},{"key":"55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Andrea Mari. ``Counting collisions in random circuit sampling for benchmarking quantum computers&apos;&apos; (2023).","DOI":"10.1063\/5.0219266"},{"key":"56","unstructured":"Scott Aaronson and Yuxuan Zhang. ``On verifiable quantum advantage with peaked circuit sampling&apos;&apos; (2024)."},{"key":"57","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Ben W Reichardt, Falk Unger, and Umesh Vazirani. ``Classical command of quantum systems&apos;&apos;. Nature 496, 456\u2013460 (2013).","DOI":"10.1038\/nature12035"},{"key":"58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Ivan \u0160upi\u0107 and Joseph Bowles. ``Self-testing of quantum systems: A review&apos;&apos;. Quantum 4, 337 (2020).","DOI":"10.22331\/q-2020-09-30-337"},{"key":"59","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Ulysse Chabaud, Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Grosshans, Elham Kashefi, and Damian Markham. ``Efficient verification of boson sampling&apos;&apos;. Quantum 5, 578 (2021).","DOI":"10.22331\/q-2021-11-15-578"},{"key":"60","unstructured":"``Quantinuum H1-1&apos;&apos;. August 20-22, 2024."},{"key":"61","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Stephanie Wehner, David Elkouss, and Ronald Hanson. ``Quantum internet: A vision for the road ahead&apos;&apos;. Science 362, eaam9288 (2018).","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aam928"},{"key":"62","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Karen Wintersperger, Florian Dommert, Thomas Ehmer, Andrey Hoursanov, Johannes Klepsch, Wolfgang Mauerer, Georg Reuber, Thomas Strohm, Ming Yin, and Sebastian Luber. ``Neutral atom quantum computing hardware: Performance and end-user perspective&apos;&apos;. EPJ Quantum Technology 10, 32 (2023).","DOI":"10.1140\/epjqt\/s40507-023-00190-1"},{"key":"63","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Lo\u00efc Henriet, Lucas Beguin, Adrien Signoles, Thierry Lahaye, Antoine Browaeys, Georges-Olivier Reymond, and Christophe Jurczak. ``Quantum computing with neutral atoms&apos;&apos;. Quantum 4, 327 (2020).","DOI":"10.22331\/q-2020-09-21-327"},{"key":"64","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Marissa Giustina, Marijn AM Versteegh, S\u00f6ren Wengerowsky, Johannes Handsteiner, Armin Hochrainer, Kevin Phelan, Fabian Steinlechner, Johannes Kofler, Jan-\u00c5ke Larsson, Carlos Abell\u00e1n, et al. ``Significant-loophole-free test of Bell\u2019s theorem with entangled photons&apos;&apos;. Physical review letters 115, 250401 (2015).","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.115.250401"},{"key":"65","unstructured":"UnitaryFoundation. ``UnitaryFoundation Research&apos;&apos;. https:\/\/github.com\/unitaryfoundation\/research\/ (2024)."},{"key":"66","unstructured":"``Quantinuum TKET&apos;&apos;. https:\/\/tket.quantinuum.com\/. Accessed: 2024-09-03."},{"key":"67","unstructured":"``Quantinuum Nexus&apos;&apos; (2024)."}],"container-title":["Quantum"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/quantum-journal.org\/papers\/q-2025-09-05-1851\/pdf\/","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,12]],"date-time":"2025-09-12T07:24:10Z","timestamp":1757661850000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/quantum-journal.org\/papers\/q-2025-09-05-1851\/"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,5]]},"references-count":68,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.22331\/q-2025-09-05-1851","archive":["CLOCKSS"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["2521-327X"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2521-327X"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,5]]},"article-number":"1851"}}