Detection of Bohmian trajectories for mixed states
Alfredo Luis, Ángel S. Sanz
it is shown that this assertion is in general incorrect, unless the context of the system is properly specified. To prove it, without loss of generality, a simple numerical implementation of Young’s paradigmatic two-slit experiment is considered, introducing some degree of incoherence between the two diffracted beams (the lack of interference here usually involves a classical interpretation in terms of path or which-way knowledge). The analysis is carried out with the aid of Bohmian mechanics, more suitable for this task than other conventional pictures of quantum mechanics due to the nonlinearity of its guidance equation. It is found that strong nonlocal quantum signatures still persist even under conditions of maximal mixedness, this being related to the fact that mixed states contain relevant contextual information from a dynamical viewpoint. A simple, realistic experiment based on the use of the weak-measurement technique is proposed to test this puzzling behavior, which would bring in important consequences concerning our understanding of mixed states and the concept of classicality.
•Nov 11, 2013•2 citations