Quantum operations with indefinite time direction

Abstract: The fundamental dynamics of quantum particles is neutral with respect to the arrow of time. And yet, our experiments are not: we observe quantum systems evolving from the past to the future, but not the other way round. A fundamental question is whether it is possible to conceive a broader set of operations that probe quantum processes in the backward direction, from the future to the past, or more generally, in a combination of the forward and backward directions. Here we introduce a mathematical framework for these operations, showing that some of them cannot be interpreted as random mixtures of operations that probe processes in a definite direction. As a concrete example, we construct an operation, called the quantum time flip, that probes an unknown dynamics in a quantum superposition of the forward and backward directions. This operation exhibits an information-theoretic advantage over all operations with definite direction. It can be realised probabilistically using quantum teleportation, and can be reproduced experimentally with photonic systems. More generally, we introduce a set of multipartite operations that include indefinite time direction as well as indefinite causal order, providing a framework for potential extensions of quantum theory.