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Science

'Spooky Action' Passes a Relativistic Test

Charles Seife

Published Mar 17, 2000• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

QUANTUM MECHANICSThe most unnerving idea in quantum mechanics may be spooky at a distance--the notion that certain particles can affect one another almost instantly across vast reaches of space. Recently in Geneva, that aspect of quantum surreality survived the most cunning trap so far, a series of experiments that pitted it against basic principles of Einstein's relativity. The results gave the most accurate estimate yet of how rapidly the spooky action might operate.

DOI
10.1126/science.287.5460.1909

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What is space? It isn't a question that most of us normally stop to ask. Space is the venue of physics; it's where things exist, where they move and take shape. Yet over the past few decades, physicists have discovered a phenomenon that operates outside the confines of space and time. The phenomenon, the ability of one particle to affect another instantly across the vastness of space appears to be almost magical. Einstein grappled with this oddity and couldn't quite resolve it, describing it as "spooky action at a distance." But this strange occurrence has direct connections to black holes, particle collisions, and even the workings of gravity. If space isn't what we thought it was, then what is it? In Spooky Action at a Distance, George Musser sets out to answer that question, offering a provocative exploration of non locality and a celebration of the scientists who are trying to understand it. Musser guides us on an epic journey of scientific discovery into the lives of experimental physicists observing particles acting in tandem, astronomers discovering galaxies that look statistically identical, and cosmologists hoping to unravel the paradoxes surrounding the big bang. Their conclusions challenge our understanding not only of space and time but of the origins of the universe and their insights are spurring profound technological innovation and suggesting a new grand unified theory of physics.

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Spooky Action at a Distance In the context of correlation experiments involving pairs of experiments performed at very nearly the same time in very far-apart experimental regions, Einstein famously said [1], But on one supposition we should in my opinion hold absolutely fast: “The real factual situation of the system S2 is independent of what is done with system S1 which is spatially separated from the former.” This demand is incompatible with the basic ideas of standard (Copenhagen/orthodox) quantum mechanics, which makes two relevant claims: (1) Experimenters in the two labs make “local free choices” that determine which experiments will be performed in their respective labs. These choices are free in the sense of not being predetermined by the prior history of the physically described aspects of the universe, and they are localized in the sense that the physical effects of these free choices are inserted into the physically described aspects of the universe only within the laboratory in which the associated experiment is being performed. (2) These choices of what is done with the system being measured in one lab can (because of a measurement-induced global collapse of the quantum state) influence the outcome of the experiment performed at very close to the same time in the very faraway lab. This influence of what is done with the system being measured in one region upon the outcome appearing at very nearly the same time in a very faraway lab was called “spooky action at a distance” by Einstein, and was rejected by him as a possible feature of “reality.” John Bell's Quasi-classical Statistical Theory Responding to the seeming existence in the quantum world of “spooky actions,” John Bell [2] proposed a possible alternative to the standard approach that might conceivably be able to reconcile quantum spookiness with “reality.” This alternative approach rests on the fact that quantum mechanics is a statistical theory.We already have in physics a statistical theory called “classical statistical mechanics.”

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•Jul 26, 2024•2 citations
QUANTUM MECHANICSThe most unnerving idea in quantum mechanics may be spooky at a distance--the notion that certain particles can affect one another almost instantly across vast reaches of space. Recently in Geneva, that aspect of quantum surreality survived the most cunning trap so far, a series of experiments that pitted it against basic principles of Einstein's relativity. The results gave the most accurate estimate yet of how rapidly the spooky action might operate.
What is space? It isn't a question that most of us normally stop to ask. Space is the venue of physics; it's where things exist, where they move and take shape. Yet over the past few decades, physicists have discovered a phenomenon that operates outside the confines of space and time. The phenomenon, the ability of one particle to affect another instantly across the vastness of space appears to be almost magical. Einstein grappled with this oddity and couldn't quite resolve it, describing it as "spooky action at a distance." But this strange occurrence has direct connections to black holes, particle collisions, and even the workings of gravity. If space isn't what we thought it was, then what is it? In Spooky Action at a Distance, George Musser sets out to answer that question, offering a provocative exploration of non locality and a celebration of the scientists who are trying to understand it. Musser guides us on an epic journey of scientific discovery into the lives of experimental physicists observing particles acting in tandem, astronomers discovering galaxies that look statistically identical, and cosmologists hoping to unravel the paradoxes surrounding the big bang. Their conclusions challenge our understanding not only of space and time but of the origins of the universe and their insights are spurring profound technological innovation and suggesting a new grand unified theory of physics.
Spooky Action at a Distance In the context of correlation experiments involving pairs of experiments performed at very nearly the same time in very far-apart experimental regions, Einstein famously said [1], But on one supposition we should in my opinion hold absolutely fast: “The real factual situation of the system S2 is independent of what is done with system S1 which is spatially separated from the former.” This demand is incompatible with the basic ideas of standard (Copenhagen/orthodox) quantum mechanics, which makes two relevant claims: (1) Experimenters in the two labs make “local free choices” that determine which experiments will be performed in their respective labs. These choices are free in the sense of not being predetermined by the prior history of the physically described aspects of the universe, and they are localized in the sense that the physical effects of these free choices are inserted into the physically described aspects of the universe only within the laboratory in which the associated experiment is being performed. (2) These choices of what is done with the system being measured in one lab can (because of a measurement-induced global collapse of the quantum state) influence the outcome of the experiment performed at very close to the same time in the very faraway lab. This influence of what is done with the system being measured in one region upon the outcome appearing at very nearly the same time in a very faraway lab was called “spooky action at a distance” by Einstein, and was rejected by him as a possible feature of “reality.” John Bell's Quasi-classical Statistical Theory Responding to the seeming existence in the quantum world of “spooky actions,” John Bell [2] proposed a possible alternative to the standard approach that might conceivably be able to reconcile quantum spookiness with “reality.” This alternative approach rests on the fact that quantum mechanics is a statistical theory.We already have in physics a statistical theory called “classical statistical mechanics.”
It is the tenet of quantum mechanics that Einstein rejected as “spooky action at a distance”: if two particles are entangled, then any tinkering with one can cause an instantaneous change in the other – no matter how far apart they may be. But what if quantum mechanics is not quite right – that the change is not instantaneous but instead prompted by a signal transmitted between the two entangled particles? Now an experiment in Switzerland has shown that if such a signal does exist, then it would have to travel at least at the speed of light, and probably thousands of times faster.
“Quantum entanglement” is a well-known phenomenon in quantum physics that refers to the ability of widely separated, subatomic objects to be mysteriously connected by sharing a common condition or state. Albert Einstein famously called quantum entanglement “spooky action at a distance.” In “Quantum Entanglement” (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Penguin Random House, 2020), author Jed Brody says, “Two particles are entangled if the measurement of one of them, for all practical purposes, instantly affects the other particle over any distance.” We will discuss a connection between random events that, although not on the quantum level, resemble quantum entanglement in some ways. We metaphorically call this connection “random entanglement.”
The term `spooky action at a distance' was coined by A. Einstein to show inconsistency of quantum mechanics with the principle of locality and reality. However, quantum mechanics is nonlocal and violates Bell's inequality. A quantum state measurement of a particle of an entangled pair collapses the total quantum state and the quantum state of the distant particle is immediately determined without making any interaction with it. The isolated collapsed quantum state of both particles remains unentangled in the future. An inertial frame of reference moving with a relativistic speed perceives these events differently is space and time and their simultaneity is relative. In this paper, it is shown that the quantum state collapse happens not only in the present but it also happens in the past of the collapse event.
Abstract Einstein introduced quantum entanglement in 1935 and referred to it as “spooky actions at a distance” because it seemed to conflict with his theory of special relativity. Today, some refer to it as “the greatest mystery in physics,” and the 2022 Physics Nobel Prize was even awarded for experimental confirmation of the “spookiness.” While the mystery is experimentally well established, its solution remains elusive because it is commonly believed that quantum entanglement entails one or more of the following: In this book, a rigorous solution to the mystery of quantum entanglement is provided that entails none of those things. The key to this seemingly impossible feat is—to use Einstein’s own language—a “principle” explanation that foregoes the need for any “constructive” explanation of quantum entanglement, such as those listed above. Ironically, the proposed principle explanation is Einstein’s own relativity principle as grounded in quantum information theory. So, contrary to popular belief, quantum mechanics and special relativity are far from inconsistent, as both are a consequence of the exact same relativity principle.