Mathematicians found there are only seven possible ways the 'laws of physics' could work to allow for stable teleportation.
March 24, 2026
Original Paper
Probabilistic theories stable under teleportation
arXiv · 2603.21347
The Takeaway
Teleportation is a real phenomenon in quantum mechanics, but physicists wanted to know if other hypothetical versions of reality could support it too. They proved that across every mathematically possible way a universe could work, only seven specific frameworks—including the one we live in—allow for teleportation that doesn't immediately fall apart.
From the abstract
A long-standing problem in the foundations of quantum mechanics is to identify a physical principle that explains why algebraically maximal violations of Bell inequalities can generally not be achieved in Nature. One recently proposed approach considers iterated Bell tests, where a Bell test is performed on a state that has undergone several rounds of entanglement swapping. Obtaining large violations in this scenario is more demanding, because it requires a theory to have both highly entangled s