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A Causal and Local Interpretation of Experimental Realization of Wheeler's Delayed-choice Gedanken Experiment

J. E. F. Araújo, João L. Cordovil, Croca, Técnica de Lisboa

Published Jan 1, 2009• 4 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Abstract: Recently the experimental group of A. Aspect published a very interesting experimental realization of the well known Wheeler’s delayed-choice Gedanken Experiment. In the paper the authors refer to the usual, non causal linear explanation of the experiment. In the present work we show how it is possible, and furthermore desirable, to explain the same experiment in terms of the modern local causal and nonlinear quantum theory, inspired in the work of the great physicist Louis de Broglie. In this way we are able to get rid of the mysteries and of the weird features of the orthodox interpretation, like retractions in time, and therefore recover causality and rationality once more.

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arXiv:1710.07323•Physical Review Letters•May 7, 2018•44 citations
Abstract: Recently the experimental group of A. Aspect published a very interesting experimental realization of the well known Wheeler’s delayed-choice Gedanken Experiment. In the paper the authors refer to the usual, non causal linear explanation of the experiment. In the present work we show how it is possible, and furthermore desirable, to explain the same experiment in terms of the modern local causal and nonlinear quantum theory, inspired in the work of the great physicist Louis de Broglie. In this way we are able to get rid of the mysteries and of the weird features of the orthodox interpretation, like retractions in time, and therefore recover causality and rationality once more.
Wave-particle duality constitutes one of the most intriguing features in quantum physics. A well-known gedanken experiment that provides evidence for this is Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer [J. A. Wheeler, in Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Theory, edited by A. R. Marlow (Academic, New York, 1978), pp. 9--48; in Quantum Theory and Measurement, edited by J. A. Wheeler and W. H. Zurek (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1984), pp. 182--213]. Many different versions of delayed-choice experiments have been conducted with both classical and quantum detecting devices. Recently, it was proposed that the delayed-choice experiment could be devised from the perspective of a device-independent prepare-and-measure scenario [R. Chaves et al., Causal Modeling the Delayed-Choice Experiment, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 190401 (2018)]. In our work, we experimentally realize this modified version with a deterministic single-photon source and examine the wave-particle objective in a causal-modeled scheme without the assistance of entanglement, which is achieved by violating the dimension-witness inequalities. Our experiment also provides an intriguing perspective and exhibits the benefits of studying quantum theory from the casual model point of view.
The publication in Science in 2007 of Jacques et al ``Experimental realization of Wheeler's delayed-choice gedanken experiment,'' appears to demonstrate many counter-intuitive ideas. The solidity of those conclusions depends on whether quantum mechanics (QM) provides the ONLY available explanation of the experiment. By thinking outside the box we have arrived at a different explanation of that experiment. QM is the box outside of which we think, not because of criticism of QM, but in order to explore an unconventional viewpoint. Our explanation is based on elementary waves. We find no delayed choice. What appears to be delayed choice is an illusion. We also find local cause and effect. This does not prove that our way of thinking is correct. It simply means that we propose an alternative explanation of the experiment that does not lead to all those counter-intuitive ideas.
Abstract In this article, we present a detailed analysis of two famous delayed choice experiments: Wheeler’s classic gedanken-experiment and the delayed quantum eraser. Our analysis shows that the outcomes of both experiments can be fully explained on the basis of the information collected during the experiments using textbook quantum mechanics only. At no point in the argument, information from the future is needed to explain what happens next. In fact, more is true: for both experiments, we show, in a strictly mathematical way, that a modified version in which the time-ordering of the steps is changed to avoid the delayed choice leads to exactly the same final state. In this operational sense, the scenarios are completely equivalent in terms of conclusions that can be drawn from their outcomes.
Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment investigates the indeterminacy of wave-particle duality and the role played by the measurement apparatus in quantum theory. Due to the inconsistency with classical physics, it has been generally believed that it is not possible to reproduce the delayed-choice experiment using a hidden-variable theory. Recently, it was shown that Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment can be explained by a causal two-dimensional hidden-variable theory [R. Chaves, G. B. Lemos, and J. Pienaar, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 190401 (2018)]. Here, we carry out a delayed-choice experiment by using photon states that are spacelike separated and demonstrate that the experiment is consistent with quantum theory but inconsistent with any causal two-dimensional hidden-variable theory in a device-independent manner. This demonstrates that causality can be used to test quantum theory in a complementary way to the Bell and Leggett-Garg tests.
Wave-particle duality has become one of the flagships of quantum mechanics. This counterintuitive concept is highlighted in a delayed-choice experiment, where the experimental setup that reveals either the particle or wave nature of a quantum system is decided after the system has entered the apparatus. Here we consider delayed-choice experiments from the perspective of device-independent causal models and show their equivalence to a prepare-and-measure scenario. Within this framework, we consider Wheeler's original proposal and its variant using a quantum control and show that a simple classical causal model is capable of reproducing the quantum mechanical predictions. Nonetheless, among other results, we show that, in a slight variant of Wheeler's gedanken experiment, a photon in an interferometer can indeed generate statistics incompatible with any nonretrocausal hidden variable model, whose dimensionality is the same as that of the quantum system it is supposed to mimic. Our proposal tolerates arbitrary losses and inefficiencies, making it specially suited to loophole-free experimental implementations.