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International Journal of Modern Physics A

Historical origins of quantum entanglement in particle physics: C. S. Wu, T. D. Lee, C. N. Yang and other predecessors

Yu Shi

Published Nov 7, 2025• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this paper, the historical origins of quantum entanglement in particle physics are systematically and thoroughly investigated. 1957, Bohm and Aharonov noted that the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen correlation had been experimentally realized in the 1949 experiment of Chien-Shiung Wu and Shaknov. This was the first time in history that spatially separated quantum entanglement was explicitly realized in a controlled experiment. Wheeler first proposed such an experiment as a test of quantum electrodynamics, but his calculation was in error; the correct theoretical calculations came from Ward and Price, as well as from Snyder, Pasternack and Hornbostel, and the result was in accordance with Yang’s 1949 selection rule. After the publication of Bell’s inequality in 1964, it was considered whether it could be tested by using the Wu–Shaknov experiment. This gave an impetus to the field, and a new experiment was done by Wu’s group, though it was not successful as a test of Bell inequality violation. In 1957, Tsung-Dao Lee, Reinhard Oehme and Chen Ning Yang established the quantum mechanical description of the kaons and found that the neutral kaon is a two-state system. In 1958, based on an approach similar to Yang’s 1949 selection rule, Goldhaber, Lee and Yang were the first to write down the entangled states of kaon pairs, in which a single kaon can be charged or neutral. This gave, for the first time, quantum entanglement of internal degrees of freedom of high-energy particles other than photons. In 1960, as unpublished work, Lee and Yang discussed the consequences of quantum entanglement of neutral kaon pairs. We also describe several physicists in the past, especially Ward.

DOI
10.1142/s0217751x25460029

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In this paper, the historical origins of quantum entanglement in particle physics are systematically and thoroughly investigated. 1957, Bohm and Aharonov noted that the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen correlation had been experimentally realized in the 1949 experiment of Chien-Shiung Wu and Shaknov. This was the first time in history that spatially separated quantum entanglement was explicitly realized in a controlled experiment. Wheeler first proposed such an experiment as a test of quantum electrodynamics, but his calculation was in error; the correct theoretical calculations came from Ward and Price, as well as from Snyder, Pasternack and Hornbostel, and the result was in accordance with Yang’s 1949 selection rule. After the publication of Bell’s inequality in 1964, it was considered whether it could be tested by using the Wu–Shaknov experiment. This gave an impetus to the field, and a new experiment was done by Wu’s group, though it was not successful as a test of Bell inequality violation. In 1957, Tsung-Dao Lee, Reinhard Oehme and Chen Ning Yang established the quantum mechanical description of the kaons and found that the neutral kaon is a two-state system. In 1958, based on an approach similar to Yang’s 1949 selection rule, Goldhaber, Lee and Yang were the first to write down the entangled states of kaon pairs, in which a single kaon can be charged or neutral. This gave, for the first time, quantum entanglement of internal degrees of freedom of high-energy particles other than photons. In 1960, as unpublished work, Lee and Yang discussed the consequences of quantum entanglement of neutral kaon pairs. We also describe several physicists in the past, especially Ward.
In 1950, Wu and her student published a coincidence experiment on entangled photon pairs that were created in electron–positron annihilation. This experiment precisely verified the prediction of quantum electrodynamics. Additionally, it was also the first instance of a precisely controlled quantum entangled state of spatially separated particles, although Wu did not know about this at the time. In 1956, Wu initiated and led the so-called Wu experiment, which discovered parity nonconservation, becoming one of the greatest experiments of the 20th century. As Yang said, Wu’s experiments were well known for their precision and accuracy. Experimental precision and accuracy manifested Wu’s scientific spirit, which we investigate here in some details. This paper is the transcript of the speech the author made at the International Symposium Commemorating the 110th Anniversary of the Birth of Wu, on May 31, 2022. The above abstract is just the original abstract of the speech.
In 1935, Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR) argued that (then new) quantum mechanics was incomplete. At the heart of EPR’s paradox was the strange non-local nature of an entangled state which allowed EPR to simultaneously assign local values for position and momentum of a particle. In 1964, John Bell proposed an inequality (Bell’s inequality) that must be satisfied by any local realistic theory. The experimental confirmation of quantum physics, i.e., the experimental test of Bell’s inequality, required a pair of particles in an entangled state. The experiments first performed in the early 1970s, followed by a series of experiments until now, have confirmed the violation of Bell’s inequality, strongly implying that local realistic descriptions of nature are not consistent with experimental observations. The early simplistic view of entanglement has now been significantly expanded to include mixed states and multiple particles. Moreover, theoretical and experimental studies on the nature of entanglement have led to quantum information science where entanglement is an essential resource. In this article, we briefly review the early experiments on Bell’s inequality and experimental attempts to close “loopholes” as well as some key experiments on quantum information.
Expository paper providing a historical survey of the gradual transformation of the "philosophical discussions" between Bohr, Einstein and Schrödinger on foundational issues in quantum mechanics into a quantitative prediction of a new quantum effect, its experimental verification and its proposed (and loudly advertised) applications. The basic idea of the 1935 paper of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) was reformulated by David Bohm for a finite dimensional spin system. This allowed John Bell to derive his inequalities that separate the prediction of quantum entanglement from its possible classical interpretation. We reproduce here their later (1971) version, reviewing on the way the generalization (and mathematical derivation) of Heisenberg's uncertainty relations (due to Weyl and Schrödinger) needed for the passage from EPR to Bell. We also provide an improved derivation of the quantum theoretic violation of Bell's inequalities. Soon after the experimental confirmation of the quantum entanglement (culminating with the work of Alain Aspect) it was Feynman who made public the idea of a quantum computer based on the observed effect.
The experimental origin of quantum mechanics is highlighted, and essential features of the photon are described. The philosophical path to quantum entanglement, as defined by the works of EPR–Bohm and Aharonov–Bell, and the physics path to quantum entanglement, as defined by the works of Dirac–Wheeler–Pryce and Ward, are introduced and discussed. The probability amplitude for quantum Entanglement, discovered in 1947, is then introduced prior to a high-level overview of the field. This introduction then concludes with a chapter-by- chapter description of the book and its purpose.