How Likely Are You to Observe Non-locality with Imperfect Detection Efficiency and Random Measurement Settings?

Abstract

Imperfect detection efficiency remains one of the major obstacles in achieving loophole-free Bell tests over long distances. At the same time, the challenge of establishing a common reference frame for measurements becomes more pronounced as the separation between parties increases. In this work, we tackle both of these issues by examining the impact of limited detection efficiency on the probability of Bell inequality violation with Haar random measurement settings. We derive analytical lower bounds on the violation probability for a two-qubit maximally entangled state, which is tight for correlation inequalities and perfect detection efficiencies. We further investigate it numerically for more qubits and settings using two detection efficiency models and an original method based on linear programming. Beyond that, we show that the so-called typicality of Bell inequality violation, i.e., almost certain violation of local realism with sufficiently many particles or random measurement directions, holds even if the detection efficiency is limited. Our findings reveal that increasing the number of measurement settings can compensate for efficiency losses above the critical threshold. We determine critical detection efficiencies for both two-party and three-party scenarios. For two parties, we recover previously established results, while for three parties, we derive a symmetric critical efficiency of $η_{crit} = 2/3$ for the W and GHZ states within the binning model. In cases involving the no-detection outcome, we present a modified inequality using a pair of orthogonal observables for each party with $η_{crit} \approx 0.7208$, which is notably less than 0.75 for the GHZ state. These results offer deeper insights into the limitations and possibilities for certifying non-locality in the presence of limited detection efficiency, shedding light on its robustness in practical Bell tests.