Paper
Adversarial Stress Tests for Quantum Certification
Authors
Veronica Sanz, Augusto Smerzi
Abstract
We develop a practical framework for semi-device-independent (SDI) certification under operational deviations from the ideal protocol model. Apparent violations of classical benchmarks need not signal genuinely non-classical behaviour; they can arise from misalignment between (i) the scoring rule, (ii) the finite-sample statistical bound applied to that score, and (iii) the operational model realised in the experiment, including bias, memory, drift, and selection effects. We formalise a protocol-agnostic alignment principle based on a martingale-safe lower confidence bound and an operationally consistent effective classical ceiling. This yields a quantitative diagnostic, the \emph{robustness gap} $Δ_{\mathrm{rob}} = S_{\mathrm{low}} - S_{C,\mathrm{eff}}$, which separates statistical fluctuations from structural modelling errors. Statistical deviations vanish asymptotically, whereas model misalignment can produce persistent false certification unless the benchmark is corrected. Using the $2\!\to\!1$ random access code as a minimal SDI testbed, we show that postselection can inflate conditional scores, whereas unconditional scoring restores the correct operational meaning of the witness. We further show that adaptive learning-based classical agents do not enlarge the admissible classical set; rather, they recover the effective classical ceiling implied by the operational model. The resulting framework provides a systematic diagnostic for certification in realistic quantum communication and measurement settings with embedded classical control, adaptive processing, and nonideal data acquisition.
Metadata
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Raw Data (Debug)
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"raw_xml": "<entry>\n <id>http://arxiv.org/abs/2603.12622v1</id>\n <title>Adversarial Stress Tests for Quantum Certification</title>\n <updated>2026-03-13T03:49:58Z</updated>\n <link href='https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.12622v1' rel='alternate' type='text/html'/>\n <link href='https://arxiv.org/pdf/2603.12622v1' rel='related' title='pdf' type='application/pdf'/>\n <summary>We develop a practical framework for semi-device-independent (SDI) certification under operational deviations from the ideal protocol model. Apparent violations of classical benchmarks need not signal genuinely non-classical behaviour; they can arise from misalignment between (i) the scoring rule, (ii) the finite-sample statistical bound applied to that score, and (iii) the operational model realised in the experiment, including bias, memory, drift, and selection effects.\n We formalise a protocol-agnostic alignment principle based on a martingale-safe lower confidence bound and an operationally consistent effective classical ceiling. This yields a quantitative diagnostic, the \\emph{robustness gap} $Δ_{\\mathrm{rob}} = S_{\\mathrm{low}} - S_{C,\\mathrm{eff}}$, which separates statistical fluctuations from structural modelling errors. Statistical deviations vanish asymptotically, whereas model misalignment can produce persistent false certification unless the benchmark is corrected.\n Using the $2\\!\\to\\!1$ random access code as a minimal SDI testbed, we show that postselection can inflate conditional scores, whereas unconditional scoring restores the correct operational meaning of the witness. We further show that adaptive learning-based classical agents do not enlarge the admissible classical set; rather, they recover the effective classical ceiling implied by the operational model.\n The resulting framework provides a systematic diagnostic for certification in realistic quantum communication and measurement settings with embedded classical control, adaptive processing, and nonideal data acquisition.</summary>\n <category scheme='http://arxiv.org/schemas/atom' term='quant-ph'/>\n <published>2026-03-13T03:49:58Z</published>\n <arxiv:primary_category term='quant-ph'/>\n <author>\n <name>Veronica Sanz</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Augusto Smerzi</name>\n </author>\n </entry>"
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