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Purely Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger–like Entanglement is Forbidden in Holography

Vijay Balasubramanian1,2,3,*, Monica Jinwoo Kang4,†, Charlie Cummings1,‡, Chitraang Murdia1,§, and Simon F. Ross5,∥

  • *Contact author: vijay@physics.upenn.edu
  • †Contact author: monicak@tamu.edu
  • ‡Contact author: charlie5@sas.upenn.edu
  • §Contact author: murdia@sas.upenn.edu
  • ∥Contact author: s.f.ross@durham.ac.uk

Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 031602 – Published 20 January, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/g5rw-nvnr

Abstract

We provide evidence that three-party entanglement signals in holography obey a relation that is not satisfied by generalized Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states. Using proposed holographic duals for these entanglement signals, we provide a geometric argument establishing this relation. This is the first known inequality on the structure of pure three-party holographic states, and shows that time-symmetric holographic states can never have purely GHZ-like entanglement. We also discuss similar relations for four parties.

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