Entanglement-based quantum communication complexity beyond Bell nonlocality

Efficient distributed computing offers a scalable strategy for solving resource-demanding tasks, such as parallel computation and circuit optimisation. Crucially, the communication overhead introduced by the allotment process should be minimised-a key motivation behind the communication complexity problem (CCP). Quantum resources are well-suited to this task, offering clear strategies that can outperform classical counterparts. Furthermore, the connection between quantum CCPs and non-locality provides an information-theoretic insight into fundamental quantum mechanics. Here we connect quantum CCPs with a generalised non-locality framework-beyond Bell's paradigmatic theorem-by incorporating the underlying causal structure, which governs the distributed task, into a so-called non-local hidden-variable model. We prove that a new class of communication complexity tasks can be associated with Bell-like inequalities, whose violation is both necessary and sufficient for a quantum gain. We experimentally implement a multipartite CCP akin to the guess-your-neighbour-input scenario, and demonstrate a quantum advantage when multipartite Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states are shared among three users.