Fiorentino, Vincenzo and Weigert, Stefan orcid.org/0000-0002-6647-3252 (Accepted: 2026) Gleason's Theorem for a Qubit as Part of a Composite System. Physical Review A. ISSN: 1094-1622 (In Press)
Abstract
We extend Gleason’s theorem to the two-dimensional Hilbert space of a qubit by invoking the standard axiom that describes composite quantum systems. The tensor-product structure allows us to derive density matrices and Born’s rule for d=2 from a simple requirement: the probabilities assigned to measurement outcomes must not depend on whether a system is considered on its own or as a subsystem of a larger one. In line with Gleason’s original theorem, our approach assigns probabilities only to projection-valued measures, while other known extensions rely on considering more general classes of measurements. This extension of Gleason’s theorem to two-dimensional systems is shown to remain valid for some foil theories of quantum theory.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Authors/Creators: |
|
| Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the University’s Research Publications and Open Access policy. |
| Dates: |
|
| Institution: | The University of York |
| Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Mathematics (York) |
| Date Deposited: | 29 May 2026 09:00 |
| Last Modified: | 29 May 2026 09:00 |
| Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2511.15607 |
| Status: | In Press |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Identification Number: | 10.48550/arXiv.2511.15607 |
| Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:241535 |

CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)