Sustained state-independent quantum contextual correlations from a single ion

Abstract

We use a single trapped-ion qutrit to demonstrate the quantum-state-independent violation of noncontextuality inequalities using a sequence of randomly chosen quantum nondemolition projective measurements. We concatenate 53 × 106 sequential measurements of 13 observables, and unambiguously violate an optimal noncontextual bound. We use the same data set to characterize imperfections including signaling and repeatability of the measurements. The experimental sequence was generated in real time with a quantum random number generator integrated into our control system to select the subsequent observable with a latency below 50 μs, which can be used to constrain contextual hiddenvariable models that might describe our results. The state-recycling experimental procedure is resilient to noise and independent of the qutrit state, substantiating the fact that the contextual nature of quantum physics is connected to measurements and not necessarily to designated states. The use of extended sequences of quantum nondemolition measurements finds applications in the fields of sensing and quantum information.