On statistical independence and no-correlation for a pair of random variables taking two values: Classical and quantum

Abstract

It is well known that when a pair of random variables is statistically independent, it has nocorrelation (zero covariance, E[XY]-E[X[E[Y] = 0), and that the converse is not true. However, if both of these random variables take only two values, no-correlation entails statistical independence.We provide here a general proof.We subsequently examine whether this equivalence property carries over to quantum mechanical systems.A counter-example is explicitly constructed to show that it does not. This observation provides yet another simple theorem separating classical and quantum theories.