Hyperentanglement-enhanced quantum networks with context morphing, causal indefiniteness and resource catalysis

Abstract Hyperentanglement enables a class of network capabilities inaccessible to conventional quantum networks. We establish that hyperentangled systems can encode causal indefiniteness across degrees-of-freedom (DoFs), enabling communication protocols that exploit superpositions of causal orders to outperform classical and definite-order quantum strategies. We further show that hyperentanglement facilitates resource catalysis, wherein entanglement in one DoF remotely induces entanglement in another without direct transmission within that space. Additionally, we introduce the concept of context morphing, where hyperentangled states enable coherent transduction between fundamentally incompatible network modalities, such as free-space orbital angular momentum channels and fiber-based time-bin links. These mechanisms position hyperentanglement as a foundational resource for future quantum networks characterized by enhanced interoperability, adaptivity, and non-classical communication advantages.