Simplest Kochen-Specker Set
Kochen-Specker (KS) sets are fundamental in physics. Every time nature produces bipartite correlations attaining the nonsignaling limit, or two parties always win a nonlocal game impossible to always win classically, it is because the parties are measuring a KS set. The simplest quantum system in which all these phenomena occur is a pair of three-level systems. However, the simplest KS sets known in dimension three are asymmetrical and require a large number of bases (the current minimum is 16, set by Peres and Penrose). Here, we present a KS set that is much more symmetrical and easier to prove than any previous example. It sets a new record for minimum number of bases, 14, and enables us to refute Conjecture 2 in Cabello Simplest bipartite perfect quantum strategies, Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 010201 (2025)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.134.010201, setting a new record for qutrit-qutrit perfect strategies with a minimum number of inputs: 5-9. We establish the fundamental nature of this set in quantum theory.
Authors
- Adán Cabello (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4631-457X)
Institutions
- Universidad de Sevilla (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2025-11-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/fx9d-488z
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Quantum Mechanics and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.25