High-dimensional entanglement witnessed by correlations in arbitrary bases

Abstract

Certifying entanglement is an important step in the development of many quantum technologies, especially for higher-dimensional systems, where entanglement promises increased capabilities for quantum communication and computation. A key feature distinguishing entanglement from classical correlations is the occurrence of correlations for complementary measurement bases. In particular, mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) are a paradigmatic example that is well-understood and routinely employed for entanglement certification. However, implementing unbiased measurements exactly is challenging and not generically possible for all physical platforms. Here, we extend the entanglement-certification toolbox from correlations in MUBs to arbitrary bases. This practically significant simplification paves the way for efficient characterizations of high-dimensional entanglement in a wide range of physical systems. Furthermore, we introduce a simple three-MUBs construction for all dimensions without using the Wootters–Fields construction, potentially simplifying experimental requirements when measurements in more than two MUBs are needed, especially in high-dimensional settings.