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The problem of computing the local hidden variable (LHV) value of a Bell inequality plays a central role in the study of quantum nonlocality. In particular, this problem is the first step towards characterizing the LHV polytope of a given scenario. In this work, we establish a relation between the LHV value of bipartite Bell inequalities and the mathematical notion of excess of a matrix. Inspired by the well developed theory of excess, we derive several results that directly impact the field of quantum nonlocality. We show infinite families of bipartite Bell inequalities for which the LHV value can be computed exactly, without needing to solve any optimization problem, for any number of measurement settings. We also find tight Bell inequalities for a large number of measurement settings., Comment: 14 pages. Comments are very welcome! Accepted in Quantum (January 9, 2023)

It is known that a real symmetric circulant matrix with diagonal entries $d\geq0$, off-diagonal entries $\pm1$ and orthogonal rows exists only of order $2d+2$ (and trivially of order $1$) [Turek and Goyeneche 2019]. In this paper we consider a complex Hermitian analogy of those matrices. That is, we study the existence and construction of Hermitian circulant matrices having orthogonal rows, diagonal entries $d\geq0$ and any complex entries of absolute value $1$ off the diagonal. As a particular case, we consider matrices whose off-diagonal entries are 4th roots of unity; we prove that the order of any such matrix with $d$ different from an odd integer is $n=2d+2$. We also discuss a similar problem for symmetric circulant matrices defined over finite rings $\mathbb{Z}_m$. As an application of our results, we show a close connection to mutually unbiased bases, an important open problem in quantum information theory., Comment: 16 pages, revised version: text partly rewritten, several new results added

The paper deals with best one--sided (lower or upper) Diophantine approximations of the $\ell$-th kind ($\ell\in\mathbb{N}$). We use the ordinary continued fraction expansions to formulate explicit criteria for a fraction $\frac{p}{q}\in\mathbb{Q}$ to be a best lower or upper Diophantine approximation of the $\ell$-th kind to a given $\alpha\in\mathbb{R}$. The sets of best lower and upper approximations are examined in terms of their cardinalities and metric properties. Applying our results in spectral analysis, we obtain an explanation for the rarity of so-called Bethe--Sommerfeld quantum graphs., Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures; revised version

The paper discusses quantum graphs with a vertex coupling which interpolates between the common one of the $\delta$ type and a coupling introduced recently by two of the authors which exhibits a preferred orientation. Describing the interpolation family in terms of circulant matrices, we analyze the spectral and scattering property of such vertices, and investigate the band spectrum of the corresponding square lattice graph., Comment: revised version; 24 pages, 5 figures

We locate gaps in the spectrum of a Hamiltonian on a periodic cuboidal (and generally hyperrectangular) lattice graph with $\delta$ couplings in the vertices. We formulate sufficient conditions under which the number of gaps is finite. As the main result, we find a connection between the arrangement of the gaps and the coefficients in a continued fraction associated with the ratio of edge lengths of the lattice. This knowledge enables a straightforward construction of a periodic quantum graph with any required number of spectral gaps and---to some degree---to control their positions; i.e., to partially solve the inverse spectral problem., Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures; revised version

The paper is concerned with the number of open gaps in spectra of periodic quantum graphs. The well-known conjecture by Bethe and Sommerfeld (1933) says that the number of open spectral gaps for a system periodic in more than one direction is finite. To the date its validity is established for numerous systems, however, it is known that quantum graphs do not comply with this law as their spectra have typically infinitely many gaps, or no gaps at all. These facts gave rise to the question about the existence of quantum graphs with the `Bethe-Sommerfeld property', that is, featuring a nonzero finite number of gaps in the spectrum. In this paper we prove that the said property is impossible for graphs with the vertex couplings which are either scale-invariant or associated to scale-invariant ones in a particular way. On the other hand, we demonstrate that quantum graphs with a finite number of open gaps do indeed exist. We illustrate this phenomenon on an example of a rectangular lattice with a $\delta$ coupling at the vertices and a suitable irrational ratio of the edges. Our result allows to find explicitly a quantum graph with any prescribed exact number of gaps, which is the first such example to the date., Comment: 33 pages, 1 figure; revised version, text partly rewritten, explanations added

In contrast to the usual quantum systems which have at most a finite number of open spectral gaps if they are periodic in more than one direction, periodic quantum graphs may have gaps arbitrarily high in the spectrum. This property of graph Hamiltonians, being generic in a sense, inspires the question about the existence of graphs with a finite and nonzero number of spectral gaps. We show that the answer depends on the vertex couplings together with commensurability of the graph edges. A finite and nonzero number of gaps is excluded for graphs with scale invariant couplings; on the other hand, we demonstrate that graphs featuring a finite nonzero number of gaps do exist, illustrating the claim on the example of a rectangular lattice with a suitably tuned $\delta$-coupling at the vertices., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure

In this work, we show that a complex equiangular tight frame (ETF) composed by $N$ vectors in dimension $d$ exists if and only if a certain bistochastic matrix, univocally determined by $N$ and $d$, belongs to a special class of unistochastic matrices. This connection allows us to find new complex ETF in infinitely many dimensions and to derive a method to introduce non-trivial free parameters in ETF. We derive a 6-parametric family of complex ETF(6,16), which defines a family of symmetric POVM. Minimal and maximal possible average entanglement of the vectors within this qubit-qutrit family are presented. Furthermore, we propose an efficient numerical procedure to find the unitary matrix underlying a unistochastic matrix, which we apply to find all existing classes of complex ETF containing up to 19 vectors., Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures. Comments are very welcome!

We study the existence and construction of circulant matrices $C$ of order $n\geq2$ with diagonal entries $d\geq0$, off-diagonal entries $\pm1$ and mutually orthogonal rows. These matrices generalize circulant conference ($d=0$) and circulant Hadamard ($d=1$) matrices. We demonstrate that matrices $C$ exist for every order $n$ and for $d$ chosen such that $n=2d+2$, and we find all solutions $C$ with this property. Furthermore, we prove that if $C$ is symmetric, or $n-1$ is prime, or $d$ is not an odd integer, then necessarily $n=2d+2$. Finally, we conjecture that the relation $n=2d+2$ holds for every matrix $C$, which generalizes the circulant Hadamard conjecture. We support the proposed conjecture by computing all the existing solutions up to $n=50$., Comment: 21 pages; revised version, text partly rewritten, exposition improved, mistakes and typos corrected

We examine transmission through a quantum graph vertex to which auxiliary edges with constant potentials are attached. We find a characterization of vertex couplings for which the transmission probability from a given "input" line to a given "output" line shows a flat passband. The bandwidth is controlled directly by the potential on the auxiliary edges. Vertices with such couplings can thus serve as controllable band-pass filters. The paper extends earlier works on the topic. The result also demonstrates the effectivity of the $ST$-form of boundary conditions for a study of scattering in quantum graph vertices., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures

Abelian complexity of a word $\mathbf{u}$ is a function that counts the number of pairwise non-abelian-equivalent factors of $\mathbf{u}$ of length $n$. We prove that for any $c$-balanced Parry word $\mathbf{u}$, the values of the abelian complexity function can be computed by a finite-state automaton. The proof is based on the notion of relative Parikh vectors. The approach works for any function $F(n)$ that can be expressed in terms of the set of relative Parikh vectors corresponding to the length $n$. For example, we show that the balance function of a $c$-balanced Parry word is computable by a finite-state automaton as well., Comment: 19 pages

We analyze spectrum of Laplacian supported by a periodic honeycomb lattice with generally unequal edge lengths and a $\delta$ type coupling in the vertices. Such a quantum graph has nonempty point spectrum with compactly supported eigenfunctions provided all the edge lengths are commensurate. We derive conditions determining the continuous spectral component and show that existence of gaps may depend on number-theoretic properties of edge lengths ratios. The case when two of the three lengths coincide is discussed in detail., Comment: 21 pages, one figure

According to a result of Richomme, Saari and Zamboni, the abelian complexity of the Tribonacci word satisfies $\rho^{\mathrm{ab}}(n)\in\{3,4,5,6,7\}$ for each $n\in\mathbb{N}$. In this paper we derive an automaton that evaluates the function $\rho^{\mathrm{ab}}(n)$ explicitly. The automaton takes the Tribonacci representation of $n$ as its input; therefore, $(\rho^{\mathrm{ab}}(n))_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ is an automatic sequence in a generalized sense. Since our evaluation of $\rho^{\mathrm{ab}}(n)$ uses $\mathcal{O}(\log n)$ operations, it is fast even for large values of $n$. Our result also leads to a solution of an open problem proposed by Richomme et al. concerning the characterization of those $n$ for which $\rho^{\mathrm{ab}}(n)=c$ with $c$ belonging to $\{4,5,6,7\}$. In addition, we apply the same approach on the $4$-bonacci word. In this way we find a description of the abelian complexity of the $4$-bonacci word, too., Comment: Revised version, 29 pages. Text rewritten, new results added (including results on the 4-bonacci word)

We study a family of closed quantum graphs described by one singular vertex of order n=4. By suitable choice of the parameters specifying the singular vertex, we can construct a closed sequence of paths in the parameter space that physically corresponds to the smooth interpolation of different topologies - a ring, separate two lines, separate two rings, two rings with a contact point. We find that the spectrum of a quantum particle on this family of graphs shows the quantum anholonomy., Comment: 6 pages, 10 figures

The $m$-bonacci word is a generalization of the Fibonacci word to the $m$-letter alphabet $\mathcal{A} = {0,...,m-1}$. It is the unique fixed point of the Pisot--type substitution $ \varphi_m: 0\to 01, 1\to 02, ..., (m-2)\to0(m-1), and (m-1)\to0$. A result of Adamczewski implies the existence of constants $c^{(m)}$ such that the $m$-bonacci word is $c^{(m)}$-balanced, i.e., numbers of letter $a$ occurring in two factors of the same length differ at most by $c^{(m)}$ for any letter $a\in \mathcal{A}$. The constants $c^{(m)}$ have been already determined for $m=2$ and $m=3$. In this paper we study the bounds $c^{(m)}$ for a general $m\geq2$. We show that the $m$-bonacci word is $(\lfloor \kappa m \rfloor +12)$-balanced, where $\kappa \approx 0.58$. For $m\leq 12$, we improve the constant $c^{(m)}$ by a computer numerical calculation to the value $\lceil\frac{m+1}{2}\rceil$.

We study the transmission of a quantum particle along a straight input--output line to which a graph $\Gamma$ is attached at a point. In the point of contact we impose a singularity represented by a certain properly chosen scale-invariant coupling with a coupling parameter $\alpha$. We show that the probability of transmission along the line as a function of the particle energy tends to the indicator function of the energy spectrum of $\Gamma$ as $\alpha\to\infty$. This effect can be used for a spectral analysis of the given graph $\Gamma$. Its applications include a control of a transmission along the line and spectral filtering. The result is illustrated with an example where $\Gamma$ is a loop exposed to a magnetic field. Two more quantum devices are designed using other special scale-invariant vertex couplings. They can serve as a band-stop filter and as a spectral separator, respectively., Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures. Copyright (2013) American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics

We study the scattering in a quantum star graph with a F\"ul\"op--Tsutsui coupling in its vertex and with external potentials on the lines. We find certain special couplings for which the probability of the transmission between two given lines of the graph is strongly influenced by the potential applied on another line. On the basis of this phenomenon we design a tunable quantum band-pass spectral filter. The transmission from the input to the output line is governed by a potential added on the controlling line. The strength of the potential directly determines the passband position, which allows to control the filter in a macroscopic manner. Generalization of this concept to quantum devices with multiple controlling lines proves possible. It enables the construction of spectral filters with more controllable parameters or with more operation modes. In particular, we design a band-pass filter with independently adjustable multiple passbands. We also address the problem of the physical realization of F\"ul\"op--Tsutsui couplings and demonstrate that the couplings needed for the construction of the proposed quantum devices can be approximated by simple graphs carrying only $\delta$ potentials., Comment: 41 pages, 17 figures

We propose a technique for exploring the abelian complexity of recurrent infinite words, focusing particularly on infinite words associated with Parry numbers. Using that technique, we give the affirmative answer to the open question posed by Richomme, Saari and Zamboni, whether the abelian complexity of the Tribonacci word attains each value in $\{4,5,6\}$ infinitely many times., Comment: 23 pages

We design two simple quantum devices applicable as an adjustable quantum spectral filter and as a flux controller. Their function is based upon the threshold resonance in a F\"ul\"op-Tsutsui type star graph with an external potential added on one of the lines. Adjustment of the potential strength directly controls the quantum flow from the input to the output line. This is the first example to date in which the quantum flow control is achieved by addition of an external field not on the channel itself, but on other lines connected to the channel at a vertex., Comment: ReVTeX format, 4 pages, 6 figures

Boundary conditions in quantum graph vertices are generally given in terms of a unitary matrix $U$. Observing that if $U$ has at most two eigenvalues, then the scattering matrix $\mathcal{S}(k)$ of the vertex is a linear combination of the identity matrix and a fixed Hermitian unitary matrix, we construct vertex couplings with this property: For all momenta $k$, the transmission probability from the $j$-th edge to $\ell$-th edge is independent of $(j,\ell)$, and all the reflection probabilities are equal. We classify these couplings according to their scattering properties, which leads to the concept of generalized $\delta$ and $\delta'$ couplings., Comment: 9 pages, a few typographical errors corrected

We demonstrate how the inverse scattering problem of a quantum star graph can be solved by means of diagonalization of Hermitian unitary matrix when the vertex coupling is of the scale invariant (or F\"ul\H{o}p-Tsutsui) form. This enables the construction of quantum graphs with desired properties in a tailor-made fashion. The procedure is illustrated on the example of quantum vertices with equal transmission probabilities., Comment: ReVTeX, 4 pages, four figures

We study Hermitian unitary matrices $\mathcal{S}\in\mathbb{C}^{n,n}$ with the following property: There exist $r\geq0$ and $t>0$ such that the entries of $\mathcal{S}$ satisfy $|\mathcal{S}_{jj}|=r$ and $|\mathcal{S}_{jk}|=t$ for all $j,k=1,\ldots,n$, $j\neq k$. We derive necessary conditions on the ratio $d:=r/t$ and show that these conditions are very restrictive except for the case when $n$ is even and the sum of the diagonal elements of $\S$ is zero. Examples of families of matrices $\mathcal{S}$ are constructed for $d$ belonging to certain intervals. The case of real matrices $\mathcal{S}$ is examined in more detail. It is demonstrated that a real $\mathcal{S}$ can exist only for $d=\frac{n}{2}-1$, or for $n$ even and $\frac{n}{2}+d\equiv1\pmod 2$. We provide a detailed description of the structure of real $\mathcal{S}$ with $d\geq\frac{n}{4}-\frac{3}{2}$, and derive a sufficient and necessary condition of their existence in terms of the existence of certain symmetric $(v,k,\lambda)$-designs. We prove that there exist no real $\mathcal{S}$ with $d\in\left(\frac{n}{6}-1,\frac{n}{4}-\frac{3}{2}\right)$. A parametrization of Hermitian unitary matrices is also proposed, and its generalization to general unitary matrices is given. At the end of the paper, the role of the studied matrices in quantum mechanics on graphs is briefly explained., Comment: revised version, 21 pages

We derive an explicit formula for the Abelian complexity of infinite words associated with quadratic Parry numbers., Comment: 12 pages

We discuss formulations of boundary conditions in a quantum graph vertex and demonstrate that the so-called $ST$-form can be further reduced up to a form more effective in certain applications: In particular, in identifying the number of independent parameters for given ranks of two connection matrices, or in calculating the scattering matrix when both matrices are singular. The new form of boundary conditions, called the $PQRS$-form, also gives a natural scheme to design generalized low and high pass quantum filters., Comment: LaTeX Elsevier format, 10 pages, 2 figures

We examine scale invariant Fulop-Tsutsui couplings in a quantum vertex of a general degree $n$. We demonstrate that essentially same scattering amplitudes as for the free coupling can be achieved for two $(n-1)$-parameter Fulop-Tsutsui subfamilies if $n$ is odd, and for three $(n-1)$-parameter Fulop-Tsutsui subfamilies if $n$ is even. We also work up an approximation scheme for a general Fulop-Tsutsui vertex, using only $n$ $\delta$ function potentials., Comment: 14 pages elsevier format, new references added

We investigate a periodic quantum graph in form of a square lattice with a general self-adjoint coupling at the vertices. We analyze the spectrum, in particular, its high-energy behaviour. Depending on the coupling type, bands and gaps have different asymptotics. Bands may be flat even if the edges are coupled, and non-flat band widths may behave as $\mathcal{O}(n^j),\, j=1,0,-1,-2,-3$, as the band index $n\to\infty$. The gaps may be of asymptotically constant width or linearly growing with the latter case being generic., Comment: 28 pages, 1 figure; minor improvements, to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theor

A word $u$ defined over an alphabet $\mathcal{A}$ is $c$-balanced ($c\in\mathbb{N}$) if for all pairs of factors $v$, $w$ of $u$ of the same length and for all letters $a\in\mathcal{A}$, the difference between the number of letters $a$ in $v$ and $w$ is less or equal to $c$. In this paper we consider a ternary alphabet $\mathcal{A}=\{L,S,M\}$ and a class of substitutions $\phi_p$ defined by $\phi_p(L)=L^pS$, $\phi_p(S)=M$, $\phi_p(M)=L^{p-1}S$ where $p>1$. We prove that the fixed point of $\phi_p$, formally written as $\phi_p^\infty(L)$, is 3-balanced and that its Abelian complexity is bounded above by the value 7, regardless of the value of $p$. We also show that both these bounds are optimal, i.e. they cannot be improved., Comment: 26 pages

We examine scattering properties of singular vertex of degree $n=2$ and $n=3$, taking advantage of a new form of representing the vertex boundary condition, which has been devised to approximate a singular vertex with finite potentials. We show that proper identification of $\delta$ and $\delta'$ components in the connection condition between outgoing lines enables the designing of quantum spectral branch-filters., Comment: RevTeX JPSJ format, 7 pages, 10 figures

The longstanding open problem of approximating all singular vertex couplings in a quantum graph is solved. We present a construction in which the edges are decoupled; an each pair of their endpoints is joined by an edge carrying a $\delta$ potential and a vector potential coupled to the "loose" edges by a $\delta$ coupling. It is shown that if the lengths of the connecting edges shrink to zero and the potentials are properly scaled, the limit can yield any prescribed singular vertex coupling, and moreover, that such an approximation converges in the norm-resolvent sense., Comment: LaTeX Elsevier format, 36 pages, 1 PDF figure

We study Schr\"odinger operators on an infinite quantum graph of a chain form which consists of identical rings connected at the touching points by $\delta$-couplings with a parameter $\alpha\in\R$. If the graph is "straight", i.e. periodic with respect to ring shifts, its Hamiltonian has a band spectrum with all the gaps open whenever $\alpha\ne 0$. We consider a "bending" deformation of the chain consisting of changing one position at a single ring and show that it gives rise to eigenvalues in the open spectral gaps. We analyze dependence of these eigenvalues on the coupling $\alpha$ and the "bending angle" as well as resonances of the system coming from the bending. We also discuss the behaviour of the eigenvalues and resonances at the edges of the spectral bands., Comment: LaTeX, 23 pages with 7 figures; minor changes, references added; to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theor

We discuss approximations of the vertex coupling on a star-shaped quantum graph of $n$ edges in the singular case when the wave functions are not continuous at the vertex and no edge-permutation symmetry is present. It is shown that the Cheon-Shigehara technique using $\delta$ interactions with nonlinearly scaled couplings yields a $2n$-parameter family of boundary conditions in the sense of norm resolvent topology. Moreover, using graphs with additional edges one can approximate the ${n+1\choose 2}$-parameter family of all time-reversal invariant couplings., Comment: LaTeX source file, 33 pages, with 3 eps figures

We study arithmetical and combinatorial properties of $\beta$-integers for $\beta$ being the root of the equation $x^2=mx-n, m,n \in \mathbb N, m \geq n+2\geq 3$. We determine with the accuracy of $\pm 1$ the maximal number of $\beta$-fractional positions, which may arise as a result of addition of two $\beta$-integers. For the infinite word $u_\beta$ coding distances between consecutive $\beta$-integers, we determine precisely also the balance. The word $u_\beta$ is the fixed point of the morphism $A \to A^{m-1}B$ and $B\to A^{m-n-1}B$. In the case $n=1$ the corresponding infinite word $u_\beta$ is sturmian and therefore 1-balanced. On the simplest non-sturmian example with $n\geq 2$, we illustrate how closely the balance and arithmetical properties of $\beta$-integers are related., Comment: 15 pages

We consider boundary conditions at the vertex of a star graph which make Schroedinger operators on the graph self-adjoint, in particular, the two-parameter family of such conditions invariant with respect to permutations of graph edges. It is proved that the corresponding operators can be approximated in the norm-resolvent sense by elements of another Schroedinger operator family on the same graph in which the delta coupling is imposed at the vertex and an additional point interaction is placed at each edge provided the coupling parameters are properly chosen., Comment: 12 pages, AMSTeX, written for proceedings of the conference "Quantum Graphs and Their Applications", Snowbird 2005