Detecting nonlocality in many-body quantum states

Testing nonlocality for many particles Distant parts of a quantum-mechanical system can be correlated in ways that cannot be described classically—a concept known as nonlocality. Tura et al. propose a simple test for nonlocality in systems with multiple particles. The test involves quantities that should readily be measurable in, for example, cold atom experiments. This is an improvement over currently available tests, which are difficult to implement experimentally. Science, this issue p. 1256 A simplified, experimentally accessible form of Bell inequalities is derived for systems with many particles. Intensive studies of entanglement properties have proven essential for our understanding of quantum many-body systems. In contrast, much less is known about the role of quantum nonlocality in these systems because the available multipartite Bell inequalities involve correlations among many particles, which are difficult to access experimentally. We constructed multipartite Bell inequalities that involve only two-body correlations and show how they reveal the nonlocality in many-body systems relevant for nuclear and atomic physics. Our inequalities are violated by any number of parties and can be tested by measuring total spin components, opening the way to the experimental detection of many-body nonlocality, for instance with atomic ensembles.