Certification of two-qubit quantum systems with temporal inequality

Abstract

Self-testing of quantum devices based on observed measurement statistics is a method to certify quantum systems using minimal resources. In Irfan et al. [A. A. M. Irfan, K. Mayer, G. Ortiz, and E. Knill, Phys. Rev. A 101, 032106 (2020)] a scheme based on observing measurement statistics that demonstrate Kochen-Specker contextuality has been shown to certify two-qubit entangled states and measurements without the requirement of spatial separation between the subsystems. However, this scheme assumes a set of compatibility conditions on the measurements which are crucial to demonstrating Kochen-Specker contextuality. In this paper, we propose a self-testing protocol to certify the above two-qubit states and measurements without the assumption of the compatibility conditions, and at the same time without requiring the spatial separation between the subsystems. Our protocol is based on the observation of sequential correlations leading to the maximal violation of a temporal inequality derived from noncontextuality inequality. Moreover, our protocol is robust to small experimental errors or noise.