Coherence Equality and Communication in a Quantum Superposition

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a "coherence equality" that is satisfied by any classical communication -- i.e., conveyed by a localized carrier traveling along well defined directions. In contrast, this equality is violated when the carrier is prepared in a quantum superposition of communication directions. This is phrased in terms of the success probability of a certain communication task, which results to be always constant and equal to 1/2 in the classical case. On the other hand, we develop two simple quantum schemes that deviate systematically from the classical value, thus violating the coherence equality. Such a violation can also be exploited as an operational way to witness spatial quantum superpositions without requiring the use of an interferometer, but only by means of spatially separated local measurements.