Entangled states are often given as one of the most bizarre examples of “weirdness” described as inherent to quantum mechanics. The present work reinterprets entanglement as not being a property of states at all, but rather as a relationship between the reference frames in which the states reside, which proposes to reduce “weirdness” of interpretation. Using the geometric Algebra of Physical Space, it has been shown that a classical form of the Dirac equation can be satisfied by any eigenspinor, which is a Lorentz transformation operator describing the relative velocity and relative orientation of the rest frame of a system as seen from a particular lab frame from which it is described. The real linear nature of the Dirac equation means any real linear superposition of such eigenspinors are also solutions. Thus, with entanglement modelled as an operator consisting of a linear superposition of rotation operators describing the possible relative orientations of a particular particle frame and the frame from which it is observed, it too can satisfy a bipartite form of the Dirac equation. To investigate this model, the present work applies relativistic boost transformations to the entangling operator in various ways, including as an identical boost of both parts in the same direction, and also as equal and oppositely-directed boosts. The resulting “entangling eigenspinors” are then analyzed in various ways, including the application to specific spin states — only to discover that doing this results in a reduction of the information, which can be interpreted as a reduction in the amount of entanglement. By comparing this to the treatment of the Dirac equation in APS, it may be concluded that the application of the entangling eigenspinor to a state — which models the typical approach of simply boosting an entangled state — gives an incomplete account of what is happening. The full information is thus contained within the entangling eigenspinor, justifying the interpretation of the entanglement in terms of geometric information relating the reference frames, rather than as a property of the state.
Entangled states are often given as one of the most bizarre examples of “weirdness” described as inherent to quantum mechanics. The present work reinterprets entanglement as not being a property of states at all, but rather as a relationship between the reference frames in which the states reside, which proposes to reduce “weirdness” of interpretation. Using the geometric Algebra of Physical Space, it has been shown that a classical form of the Dirac equation can be satisfied by any eigenspinor, which is a Lorentz transformation operator describing the relative velocity and relative orientation of the rest frame of a system as seen from a particular lab frame from which it is described. The real linear nature of the Dirac equation means any real linear superposition of such eigenspinors are also solutions. Thus, with entanglement modelled as an operator consisting of a linear superposition of rotation operators describing the possible relative orientations of a particular particle frame and the frame from which it is observed, it too can satisfy a bipartite form of the Dirac equation. To investigate this model, the present work applies relativistic boost transformations to the entangling operator in various ways, including as an identical boost of both parts in the same direction, and also as equal and oppositely-directed boosts. The resulting “entangling eigenspinors” are then analyzed in various ways, including the application to specific spin states — only to discover that doing this results in a reduction of the information, which can be interpreted as a reduction in the amount of entanglement. By comparing this to the treatment of the Dirac equation in APS, it may be concluded that the application of the entangling eigenspinor to a state — which models the typical approach of simply boosting an entangled state — gives an incomplete account of what is happening. The full information is thus contained within the entangling eigenspinor, justifying the interpretation of the entanglement in terms of geometric information relating the reference frames, rather than as a property of the state.
The spin is the prime example of a qubit. Encoding and decoding information in the spin qubit is operationally well defined through the Stern-Gerlach setup in the nonrelativistic (i.e., low velocity) limit. However, an operational definition of the spin in the relativistic regime is missing. The origin of this difficulty lies in the fact that, on the one hand, the spin gets entangled with the momentum in Lorentz-boosted reference frames, and on the other hand, for a particle moving in a superposition of velocities, it is impossible to "jump" to its rest frame, where spin is unambiguously defined. Here, we find a quantum reference frame transformation corresponding to a "superposition of Lorentz boosts," allowing us to transform to the rest frame of a particle that is in a superposition of relativistic momenta with respect to the laboratory frame. This enables us to first move to the particle's rest frame, define the spin measurements there (via the Stern-Gerlach experimental procedure), and then move back to the laboratory frame. In this way, we find a set of "relativistic Stern-Gerlach measurements" in the laboratory frame, and a set of observables satisfying the spin su(2) algebra. This operational procedure offers a concrete way of testing the relativistic features of the spin, and opens up the possibility of devising quantum information protocols for spin in the special-relativistic regime.
The foundations of quantum theory are closely tied to a formulation of classical relativistic physics. In Clifford's geometric algebra classical relativistic physics has a spinorial formulation that is closely related to the standard Dirac equation. The algebra of physical space, APS, gives clear insight into the quantum/classical interface. Here, APS is compared to other formulations of relativistic quantum theory, especially the Dirac equation. These formulations are shown to be effectively equivalent to each other and to the standard theory, as demonstrated by establishing several isomorphisms. Dirac spinors are four-component complex entities, and so must be represented by objects containing 8 real degrees of freedom in the standard treatment (or 7 if a normalization constant is added). The relation [special characters omitted]indicates that the 8-dimensional even subalgebra [special characters omitted] of the Space-time algebra, STA is isomorphic to APS Cl 3, which is isomorphic to complex quaternions [special characters omitted]. The complex quaternions should not be confused with the biquaternions, a name sometimes used for them. The biquaternions are more generally elements of the algebra [special characters omitted]. The algebras Cl1,3 and Cl 3,1 are not isomorphic but their even sub-algebras are[1]. The Klein paradox is resolved in APS by considering Feynman's picture of antiparticles as negative energy solutions traveling backward in time. It is also shown that the algebra of physical space can naturally describe an extended version of the De Broglie-Bohm approach to quantum theory. A relativistic causal account of a spin measurement in APS is given. The Stern-Gerlach magnet acts on the eigenspinor Λ field of a charged particle in a way that is analogous to the interaction of a birefringent medium acts on a beam of light. Then we introduce a covariant interpretation of complex algebra of physical space, CAPS, the complex extension of APS. This is done to solve a problem in that the space-time inversion, PT transformation, when P is parity inversion and T time reversal, although it is a proper transformation is not physical, yet, it has the form of a physical rotation in the traditional Dirac theory. The CAPS form of the PT transformation does not have the form of a physical rotation. A further problem is that the explicit form of the time inversion, T and charge conjugation, C transformations depends on the matrix representation chosen. A representation-independent form would be more fundamental. In CAPS, the complex extension of APS these problems are resolved.
Abstract Quantum reference frame as in the example of observing a quantum particle from another has been a topic of much recent interest. Quantum spatial translations, quantum rotations, and quantum Lorentz boosts in the sense have been studied to some extent. The article aims at using a consistent formulation of all that to give a full picture of what would be the symmetry of Special Quantum Relativity as special relativity as seen from quantum particles. We first look at a direct formulation of the mathematical quantum analog of any classical one-parameter Lie group of such transformations suggested by our Heisenberg picture thinking of quantum mechanics. A quantum rotation and a quantum Lorentz boost are presented. Analysis of the compositions of two such transformations shows unnatural results with various problems, especially with their commutators. From a physical point of view, we argue for a modified formulation. A quantum reference frame transformation, as the description of firstly the spacetime position of an object, idealized as a particle, as seen from another has to involve a full set of four-coordinate quantum quantities instead of one in a single coordinate only. Unlike the classical case, we illustrate that the analog of a change by the zero classical coordinate values has nontrivial effects in the transformation. A consistent full picture of the symmetry is then obtained. Results that could be interpreted essentially as the quantum analogs of the translation of a single coordinate observable, including angular ones for a rotation or a boost, can be retrieved from that but only as approximations. Under the traditional perspective of relativity symmetry being about spacetime reference frames, our task is then completed. We further look at the quantum version of Heisenberg–Weyl symmetry and perspectives on its relation with the subject matter and argue for the necessity of our background noncommutative geometric perspective for a conceptual consistent story.
One of the most fundamental phenomena of quantum physics is entanglement. It describes an inseparable connection between quantum systems, and properties thereof. In a quantum mechanical description even systems far apart from each other can share a common state. This entanglement of the subsystems, although arising from mathematical principles, is no mere abstract concept, but can be tested in experiment, and be utilized in modern quantum information theory procedures, such as quantum teleportation. In particular, entangled states play a crucial role in testing our understanding of reality, by violating Bell inequalities. While the role of entanglement is well studied in the realm of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, its significance in a relativistic quantum theory is a relatively new field of interest. In this work the consequences of a relativistic description of quantum entanglement are discussed. We analyze the representations of the symmetry groups of special relativity, i.e. of the Lorentz group, and the Poincaré group, on the Hilbert space of states. We describe how unitary, irreducible representations of the Poincaré group for massive spin 1/2 particles are constructed from representations of Wigner's little group. We then proceed to investigate the role of the Wigner rotations in the transformation of quantum states under a change of inertial reference frame. Considering different partitions of the Hilbert space of 2 particles, we find that the entanglement of the quantum states appears different in different inertial frames, depending on the form of the states, the chosen inertial frames, and the particular choice of partition. It is explained, how, despite of this, the maximally possible violation of Bell inequalities is frame independent, when using appropriate spin observables, which are related to the Pauli-Ljubanski vector, a Casimir operator of the Poincaré group.
In this thesis, entanglement under fully relativistic settings are discussed. The thesis starts with a brief review of the relativistic quantum mechanics. In order to describe the effects of Lorentz transformations on the entangled states, quantum mechanics and special relativity are merged by construction of the unitary irreducible representations of Poincar{é} group on the infinite dimensional Hilbert space of state vectors. In this framework, the issue of finding the unitary irreducible representations of Poincar{é} group is reduced to that of the little group. Wigner rotation for the massive particles plays a crucial role due to its effect on the spin polarization directions. Furthermore, the physical requirements for constructing the correct relativistic spin operator is also studied. Then, the entanglement and Bell type inequalities are reviewed. Special attention has been devoted to two historical papers, by EPR in 1935 and by J.S. Bell in 1964. The main part of the thesis is based on the Lorentz transformation of the Bell states and the Bell inequalities on these transformed states. It is shown that entanglement is a Lorentz invariant quantity. That is, no inertial observer can see the entangled state as a separable one. However, it was shown that the Bell inequality may be satisfied for the Wigner angle dependent transformed entangled states. Since the Wigner rotation changes the spin polarization direction with the increased velocity, initial dichotomous operators can satisfy the Bell inequality for those states. By choosing the dichotomous operators taking into consideration the Wigner angle, it is always possible to show that Bell type inequalities can be violated for the transformed entangled states.
One of the defining features of quantum theory is entanglement, the notion that quantum systems can display correlations that are impossible from the classical \npoint of view. In quantum information theory entanglement has come to be recognised as a physical resource that enables new technologies that perform information \nprocessing tasks which are beyond the limits of the classical realm. It has been realised only recently that entanglement is dependent on the frame of reference in \nboth inertial and accelerated systems. In this thesis, we investigate the relativistic entanglement of massive spin-1=2 particles in inertial frames by focussing on the \ndependence of entanglement on the geometry of the underlying boost scenario. We first explore the ‘qubit’ of the relativistic setting: a single particle with spin and momentum, with momentum given by a Gaussian distribution. We study the system in a variety of different boost scenarios, analysing the behaviour of entanglement \nfrom a geometric point of view. The spin-spin entanglement of two particle systems is then surveyed for many different discrete product and entangled momenta, with the spins in the Werner state. We also extend the analysis to continuous momentum states and study them in a variety of geometries. The results obtained from the analysis of discrete states are applied to continuous states, leading to a better \nunderstanding of the behaviour of entanglement. We lastly discuss the common view according to which Lorentz boosts leave the total entanglement of the state invariant.