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arXiv:2001.08867

Relating quantum incoherence, entanglement and superluminal signalling

Stanislav Filatov, Marcis P. Auzinsh

Published Jan 24, 2020• 0 citations
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Abstract

Hereby we inspect two-partite entanglement using thought experiment that relates properties of incoherently mixed states to the impossibility of faster-than-light (FTL) signalling. We show that if there appears a way to distinguish ensembles of particles that are described by the same density matrix, but are generated using different pure states - properties of entanglement (namely, non-classical correlations) could be employed to create an FTL signalling device. We do not claim FTL signalling is possible, rather, we establish the logical connection between the aforementioned properties of current physical theory which has not so far been evident.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2001.08867

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Hereby we inspect two-partite entanglement using thought experiment that relates properties of incoherently mixed states to the impossibility of faster-than-light (FTL) signalling. We show that if there appears a way to distinguish ensembles of particles that are described by the same density matrix, but are generated using different pure states - properties of entanglement (namely, non-classical correlations) could be employed to create an FTL signalling device. We do not claim FTL signalling is possible, rather, we establish the logical connection between the aforementioned properties of current physical theory which has not so far been evident.
Two statements in physics are frequently conflated: that nothing can travel faster than light, and that two entangled particles behave as if "instantaneously" connected regardless of their separation. This paper addresses both questions together: whether a faster-than-light particle could exist and, if so, whether it would count as matter; and whether quantum entanglement actually violates the light-speed limit. Starting from the energy–velocity relation of special relativity, it is shown that massive particles cannot reach the speed of light, and the properties of hypothetical tachyons (imaginary mass, absence of a rest frame and violation of causality) are examined. Using the singlet state, the non-separability, reduced state and correlation properties of entanglement are derived, and the quantum violation of the CHSH inequality up to 2√2 is computed. Finally, via the no-signaling theorem, it is shown that entanglement produces non-local correlations without permitting superluminal communication. In conclusion, nature accommodates non-local correlations without allowing any object to travel faster than light.
It has been claimed in the literature that impossibility of faster-than-light quantum communication has an origin of indistinguishability of ensembles with the same density matrix. We show that the two concepts are not related. We argue that even with an ideal single-atom-precision measurement, it is generally impossible to produce two ensembles with exactly the same density matrix; or to produce ensembles with the same density matrix, classical communication is necessary. Hence the impossibility of faster-than-light communication does not imply the indistinguishability of ensembles with the same density matrix.
A recently proposed gedanken experiment involving the (gravitational or electromagnetic) interaction between two objects---one placed in a state of quantum superposition of two locations---seems to allow for faster-than-light communication. However, it has been argued that, if the mediating fields are endowed with quantum properties, then the possibility for superluminal signaling is fully avoided. Moreover, in the gravitational case, this conclusion has been used to argue for the view that the gravitational field must be quantized. In this work, we clarify and complement some aspects of the discussion. In particular, by focusing on the way in which entanglement spreads across the components of the system, we offer some insights into the fundamental quantum features behind the impossibility of superluminal signaling and we provide a more general proof of such an impossibility in this and related protocols.
We propose a thought experiment for classical superluminal signal transmission based on the quantum nonlocal influence of photons on their momentum entangled EPR twins. The signal sender measures either position or momentum of particles in a pure ensemble of the entangled pairs, leaving their twins as localized particles or plane waves. The signal receiver distinguishes these outcomes interferometrically using a double slit interferometer modified by a system of optical filters. Since the collapse of the wavefunction is postulated to be instantaneous, this signal can be transmitted superluminally. We show that the method circumvents the no-signalling theorem because the receiver is able to modify the disentangled wavefunction before his measurement. We propose a plan for the possible practical realization of a superluminal quantum telegraph based on the thought experiment.
It is possible to use two particles (A and B) with entangled properties to transmit information at faster than light speeds. This can be done, not by trying to modulate the results of how particle A is measured, but by modulating whether particle A is measured or not measured. The effect of this modulating method is to place particle B in either a single value (but arbitrary) state or leave it in a superposition of states. It is then possible for the reciever of particle B to distinguish between these two states by the use of an appropriately designed interferometer. Such a device can be designed to produce an interference pattern only when particle B is in a superposition of values and a straight simple image when particle B has a single (arbitrary) defined value. Under the Copenhagen interpretation and existing experimental results, this method will produce a way of signalling fater than light. It will require the use of multiple entangled pairs of particles to effectively transmit a single bit of information. Under the Multi-Worlds Interpretation, it will not be so easy to communicate faster than light by this mechanism, as detector B will be detecting photon B as a superposition of values in both cases.
Present understanding of non-possibility of Quantum communication rests on analysis of possibility of signalling within a Quantum system. Is it possible to achieve signalling by a setup where the system is changed from one to another where the act of change serves as the signal and the change in the measurement probabilities would be detected and deciphered at the receiver end? A proposal is made where a variant of Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser experiment setup of Kim et al is used to achieve the same. The setup is also designed such that the speed of communication can be faster than light. NonLocality and Quantum communication Nonlocality is a feature of Quantum Mechanics that has been firmly established through experiments [Aspect et al, 1981] and well accepted now. Entangled particles separated by a distance still are part of one entity and when that entity changes state by a measurement in one part of it the change happens instantaneously across the domain the entity pervades. Is it possible to use this instantaneous state change to transmit information across at high speeds, faster than light (FTL)? This issue has been dealt with from the time the Einstein raised the EPR paradox [Einstein et al,1935] and has been claimed to be impossible and shown to be so by Peres, [Peres and Tenko, 2004] through the no-communication theorem which shows that any amount of signalling by Alice through measurements done at one end of the quantum system would not be sufficient for Bob to detect and decipher at the other end of the system. However the discussions in literature (as above) always deal with information transfer within a stable quantum system by making measurements at one end and analysing the possibility of detecting it at the other end. Peres and Tenko analyse a Quantum System S of mixed-state where Alice and Bob make measurements at their ends of the system. The authors derive the probability that Bob’s outcome is ν as