{
  "abstract": "Time-reversal symmetry is a fundamental principle of physics describing the invariance of physical laws under reversal of the direction of time. We formulate a Bell-inequality-like test of this antiunitary symmetry using only forward access and trusted quantum operations: entanglement converts temporal input--output relations into measurable spatial exchange symmetry. For $n$-qubit unitary dynamics, we prove that reliably distinguishing the time-reversal-symmetric circular ensembles from Haar-random dynamics requires $Ω(\\min\\{2^{n/2},2^{n-e}\\})$ queries for any classically adaptive protocol. Here, $e=\\min\\{e_{\\mathrm s},e_{\\mathrm m}\\}$ with $e_{\\mathrm s}$ and $e_{\\mathrm m}$ representing the probe and measurement logarithmic entanglement negativities, respectively. Maximally entangled probes and SWAP measurements reduce this cost to a constant number of queries. Furthermore, we develop a time-reversal symmetry test for arbitrary fixed, compatible probes and measurements, relate its query complexity to their logarithmic negativities, and match the lower-bound scaling in the high-entanglement regime by optimizing the probe and measurement. Our results establish a quantitative connection between entanglement and time-reversal symmetry, bridging two central concepts in quantum information science and fundamental physics.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.01555",
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Zhenhuan Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhenyu Du"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yifan Tang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zi-Wen Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jens Eisert"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ingo Roth"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9gxac4bknge7t.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.01555",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "9gxac4bknge7t",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.01555",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "quant-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1702|Quantum Information and Cryptography"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7216535403",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.01555",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9gxac4bknge7t.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:26:03Z",
      "native_id": "2610.01555",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.01555"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:quant-ph",
      "subfield": "quantum"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Efficient certification of time-reversal symmetry requires entanglement",
  "title_text": "Efficient certification of time-reversal symmetry requires entanglement",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:26:03Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9gxac4bknge7t",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}