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arXiv:2003.04669 · Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

Test of nonlocal hidden variable theory by the Leggett inequality in high energy physics

Abdul Sattar Khan, Jun‐Li Li, Cong‐Feng Qiao

Published May 26, 2020• 37 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The Leggett inequality is a constraint on the bipartite correlation that admits certain types of nonlocalities. Existing tests mainly focused on the electromagnetic systems where measurement apparatus are assumed to be projective and sharp. However, in nature there are interactions that do not obey the same conservation laws for photon, and the actual measurements may subject to unavoidable uncertainties due to the fundamental physical principles. In this work, we generalize the Leggett inequality to incorporate the measurements that are unsharp and/or biased. It is found that the parity violation in nature provides a spontaneous implementation of an unsharp measurement for the spin of hyperon. A fine structured Leggett inequality for hyperon decays characterized by the asymmetry parameters is obtained and its violation is found which could be observed with the yet obtained data in experiment, like BESIII and Belle.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.101.096016

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The Leggett inequality is a constraint on the bipartite correlation that admits certain types of nonlocalities. Existing tests mainly focused on the electromagnetic systems where measurement apparatus are assumed to be projective and sharp. However, in nature there are interactions that do not obey the same conservation laws for photon, and the actual measurements may subject to unavoidable uncertainties due to the fundamental physical principles. In this work, we generalize the Leggett inequality to incorporate the measurements that are unsharp and/or biased. It is found that the parity violation in nature provides a spontaneous implementation of an unsharp measurement for the spin of hyperon. A fine structured Leggett inequality for hyperon decays characterized by the asymmetry parameters is obtained and its violation is found which could be observed with the yet obtained data in experiment, like BESIII and Belle.
Leggett inequality states that nonlocal hidden-variable models might still be incompatible with the predictions of quantum physics. However, its theoretical and experimental demonstration is only in the scenario of 2-dimensional maximally entangled systems. An open question remains as to whether the Leggett inequality can be violated by nonmaximally entangled states. Here, we answer this question both in theory and experiment. Specifically, from the point of view of geometry, we theoretically map the problem of maximizing the correlation measure in the Leggett inequality to maximizing the sum of an ellipse’s diameter and semi-diameter axes, accordingly, demonstrating that the violation of the Leggett inequality requires a more robust entanglement than that of Bell’s theory. Experimentally, by leveraging the controllable photonic orbital angular momentum entanglement, we demonstrate the violation of Leggett-type inequalities by more than 8.7 and 4.5 standard deviations under concurrence C = 0.95 and 0.9, respectively. Our observations indicate that, the requirement for quantum correlation should be increased to exclude a particular class of non-local hidden variable theories that abide by Leggett’s model, providing insights into the boundaries of quantum correlation and the limitations imposed by non-local hidden variables.
Abstract The non-locality of quantum correlations is a fundamental feature of quantum theory. The Bell inequality serves as a benchmark for distinguishing between predictions made by quantum theory and local hidden variable theory (LHVT). Recent advancements in photon-entanglement experiments have addressed potential loopholes and have observed significant violations of variants of Bell inequality. However, these violations do not completely disprove LHVT. To further rule out LHVT, experiments involving massive-entangled particles are necessary, in addition to those conducted with massless photons, which interact electromagnetically. In this study, we utilize (10.087±0.044)×10^{9} J/ψ events collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. We present the first non-local correlation test of spin entanglement using a massive Λ -Λ bipartite system, which is formed and decays through strong and weak interactions, respectively. Through measurements of the angular distribution of p anti-p in J/ψ→ γηc and subsequent ηc→Λ(pπ-)-Λ(-pπ+) cascade decays, a significant violation of LHVT predictions is observed in a loophole-free test of a variant of the Bell inequality, which is given by the Clauser-Horne inequality. The exclusion of LHVT is determined to be significant at a level of 5.2σ.
Test of local realism via entangled ΛΛˉ\Lambda \bar{\Lambda }ΛΛˉ system
Abstract The non-locality of quantum correlations is a fundamental feature of quantum theory. The Bell inequality serves as a benchmark for distinguishing between predictions made by quantum theory and local hidden variable theory (LHVT). Recent advancements in photon-entanglement experiments have addressed potential loopholes and have observed significant violations of variants of Bell inequality. However, these violations do not completely disprove LHVT. To further rule out LHVT, experiments involving massive-entangled particles are necessary, in addition to those conducted with massless photons, which interact electromagnetically. In this study, we utilize (10.087±0.044)×109 J/ψ events collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. We present the non-local correlation test of spin entanglement using a massive ΛΛbar bipartite system, which is formed and decays through strong and weak interactions, respectively. Through measurements of the angular distribution of p pbar in J/ψ→ γηc and subsequent ηc→Λ(pπ-)Λbar(pbar π+) cascade decays, a significant violation of LHVT predictions is observed in a loophole-free test of a variant of the Bell inequality, which is given by the Clauser-Horne inequality. The exclusion of LHVT is determined to be significant at a level of 5.2σ.
Abstract It has been well established that quantum mechanics (QM) violates Bell inequalities (BI), which are consequences of local realism (LR). Remarkably QM also violates Leggett inequalities (LI), which are consequences of a class of nonlocal realism called crypto-nonlocal realism (CNR). Both LR and CNR assume that measurement outcomes are determined by preexisting objective properties, as well as hidden variables (HV) not considered in QM. We extend CNR and LI to include the case that the measurement settings are not externally fixed, but determined by HV. We derive a new version of LI, which is then shown to be violated by entangled BdB_dBd​ B d mesons, if charge–conjugation–parity (CP) symmetry is indirectly violated, as indeed established. The experimental result is quantitatively estimated by using the indirect CP violation parameters, and the maximum of a suitably defined relative violation is about 2.7%2.7\%2.7% 2.7 % . Our work implies that particle physics violates CNR. Our LI can also be tested in other systems such as photon polarizations.
Bell's theorem states that no local hidden-variable model is compatible with quantum mechanics. Surprisingly, even if we release the locality constraint, certain nonlocal hidden-variable models, such as the one proposed by Leggett, may still be at variance with the predictions of quantum physics. Here, we report an experimental test of Leggett's nonlocal model with solid-state spins in a diamond nitrogen-vacancy center. We entangle an electron spin with a surrounding weakly coupled 13C^{13}\mathrm{C}13C nuclear spin and observe that the entangled states violate Leggett-type inequalities by more than four and seven standard deviations for six and eight measurement settings, respectively. Our experimental results are in full agreement with quantum predictions and violate Leggett's nonlocal hidden-variable inequality with a high level of confidence.
Abstract Bell inequalities are consequences of local realism while violated by quantum mechanics. In particle physics, entangled high energy particles can be produced from a common source, and the decay of each particle plays the role of measurement. However, in a hidden variable theory, the decay could be determined by hidden variables. This loophole killed such approaches to Bell test in particle physics. It is a special form of measurement-setting or free-will loophole, which also exists in other systems. Using entangled baryons, we present new inequalities of local realism with the explicit assumption of the dependence of the decays on hidden variables, as well as the consideration of the statistical mixture of polarizations and the separation of local hidden variables for objects with spacelike distances. These violations closes the measurement-setting loophole once and for all. We propose to use the processes ηc→ΛΛˉ\eta _c\rightarrow \varLambda {\bar{\varLambda }}ηc​→ΛΛˉ ηc→ΛΛ¯ and χc0→ΛΛˉ\chi _{c0} \rightarrow \varLambda {\bar{\varLambda }}χc0​→ΛΛˉ χc0→ΛΛ¯ to test our inequalities, and show that their violations are likely to be observed with the data already collected in BESIII.