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Observation of quantum entanglement with top quarks at the ATLAS detector

Nuno Filipe Castro, A. Onofre, ATLAS Collaboration

Published Jan 1, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Entanglement is a key feature of quantum mechanics\(^{1,2,3}\), with applications in fields such as metrology, cryptography, quantum information and quantum computation\(^{4,5,6,7,8}\). It has been observed in a wide variety of systems and length scales, ranging from the microscopic\(^{9,10,11,12,13}\) to the macroscopic\(^{14,15,16}\). However, entanglement remains largely unexplored at the highest accessible energy scales. Here we report the highest-energy observation of entanglement, in top–antitop quark events produced at the Large Hadron Collider, using a proton–proton collision dataset with a centre-of-mass energy of \(\sqrt{s} = 13\text{ TeV}\) and an integrated luminosity of \(140\text{ inverse femtobarns (fb)}^{-1}\) recorded with the ATLAS experiment. Spin entanglement is detected from the measurement of a single observable \(D\), inferred from the angle between the charged leptons in their parent top- and antitop-quark rest frames. The observable is measured in a narrow interval around the top–antitop quark production threshold, at which the entanglement detection is expected to be significant. It is reported in a fiducial phase space defined with stable particles to minimize the uncertainties that stem from the limitations of the Monte Carlo event generators and the parton shower model in modelling top-quark pair production. The entanglement marker is measured to be \(D = -0.537 \pm 0.002 \text{ (stat.)} \pm 0.019 \text{ (syst.)}\) for . The observed result is more than five standard deviations from a scenario without entanglement and hence constitutes the first observation of entanglement in a pair of quarks and the highest-energy observation of entanglement so far.

DOI
10.1038/s41586-024-07824-z

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Entanglement is a key feature of quantum mechanics(^{1,2,3}), with applications in fields such as metrology, cryptography, quantum information and quantum computation(^{4,5,6,7,8}). It has been observed in a wide variety of systems and length scales, ranging from the microscopic(^{9,10,11,12,13}) to the macroscopic(^{14,15,16}). However, entanglement remains largely unexplored at the highest accessible energy scales. Here we report the highest-energy observation of entanglement, in top–antitop quark events produced at the Large Hadron Collider, using a proton–proton collision dataset with a centre-of-mass energy of (\sqrt{s} = 13\text{ TeV}) and an integrated luminosity of (140\text{ inverse femtobarns (fb)}^{-1}) recorded with the ATLAS experiment. Spin entanglement is detected from the measurement of a single observable (D), inferred from the angle between the charged leptons in their parent top- and antitop-quark rest frames. The observable is measured in a narrow interval around the top–antitop quark production threshold, at which the entanglement detection is expected to be significant. It is reported in a fiducial phase space defined with stable particles to minimize the uncertainties that stem from the limitations of the Monte Carlo event generators and the parton shower model in modelling top-quark pair production. The entanglement marker is measured to be (D = -0.537 \pm 0.002 \text{ (stat.)} \pm 0.019 \text{ (syst.)}) for . The observed result is more than five standard deviations from a scenario without entanglement and hence constitutes the first observation of entanglement in a pair of quarks and the highest-energy observation of entanglement so far.
Abstract Entanglement is a key feature of quantum mechanics1–3, with applications in fields such as metrology, cryptography, quantum information and quantum computation4–8. It has been observed in a wide variety of systems and length scales, ranging from the microscopic9–13 to the macroscopic14–16. However, entanglement remains largely unexplored at the highest accessible energy scales. Here we report the highest-energy observation of entanglement, in top–antitop quark events produced at the Large Hadron Collider, using a proton–proton collision dataset with a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 140 inverse femtobarns (fb)−1 recorded with the ATLAS experiment. Spin entanglement is detected from the measurement of a single observable D, inferred from the angle between the charged leptons in their parent top- and antitop-quark rest frames. The observable is measured in a narrow interval around the top–antitop quark production threshold, at which the entanglement detection is expected to be significant. It is reported in a fiducial phase space defined with stable particles to minimize the uncertainties that stem from the limitations of the Monte Carlo event generators and the parton shower model in modelling top-quark pair production. The entanglement marker is measured to be D = −0.537 ± 0.002 (stat.) ± 0.019 (syst.) for 340 GeV<mttˉ<380 GeV340\,{\rm{GeV}} < {m}_{t\bar{t}} < 380\,{\rm{GeV}}340GeV<mttˉ​<380GeV 340 GeV < m t t ¯ < 380 GeV . The observed result is more than five standard deviations from a scenario without entanglement and hence constitutes the first observation of entanglement in a pair of quarks and the highest-energy observation of entanglement so far.
Entanglement is a key feature of quantum mechanics1–3, with applications in fields such as metrology, cryptography, quantum information and quantum computation4–8. It has been observed in a wide variety of systems and length scales, ranging from the microscopic9–13 to the macroscopic14–16. However, entanglement remains largely unexplored at the highest accessible energy scales. Here we report the highest-energy observation of entanglement, in top–antitop quark events produced at the Large Hadron Collider, using a proton–proton collision dataset with a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 140 inverse femtobarns (fb)−1 recorded with the ATLAS experiment. Spin entanglement is detected from the measurement of a single observable D, inferred from the angle between the charged leptons in their parent top- and antitop-quark rest frames. The observable is measured in a narrow interval around the top–antitop quark production threshold, at which the entanglement detection is expected to be significant. It is reported in a fiducial phase space defined with stable particles to minimize the uncertainties that stem from the limitations of the Monte Carlo event generators and the parton shower model in modelling top-quark pair production. The entanglement marker is measured to be D = −0.537 ± 0.002 (stat.) ± 0.019 (syst.) for 340GeV
Entanglement is an intrinsic property of quantum mechanics and is predicted to be exhibited in the particles produced at the Large Hadron Collider. A measurement of the extent of entanglement in top quark-antiquark (t¯t) events produced in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is performed with the data recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2016, and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb−1 . The events are selected based on the presence of two leptons with opposite charges and high transverse momentum. An entanglement-sensitive observable D is derived from the top quark spin-dependent parts of the t¯t production density matrix and measured in the region of the t¯t production threshold. Values of D < −1/3 are evidence of entanglement and D is observed (expected) to be −0.480+0.026 −0.029 (−0.467+0.026 −0.029) at the parton level. With an observed significance of 5.1 standard deviations with respect to the non-entangled hypothesis, this provides observation of quantum mechanical entanglement within t¯t pairs in this phase space. This measurement provides a new probe of quantum mechanics at the highest energies ever produced.
Abstract Entanglement is an intrinsic property of quantum mechanics and is predicted to be exhibited in the particles produced at the Large Hadron Collider. A measurement of the extent of entanglement in top quark-antiquark ( t t ¯ ) events produced in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is performed with the data recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2016, and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb −1 . The events are selected based on the presence of two leptons with opposite charges and high transverse momentum. An entanglement-sensitive observable D is derived from the top quark spin-dependent parts of the t t ¯ production density matrix and measured in the region of the t t ¯ production threshold. Values of D < − 1 / 3 are evidence of entanglement and D is observed (expected) to be − 0.480 − 0.029 + 0.026 ( − 0.467 − 0.029 + 0.026 ) at the parton level. With an observed significance of 5.1 standard deviations with respect to the non-entangled hypothesis, this provides observation of quantum mechanical entanglement within t t ¯ pairs in this phase space. This measurement provides a new probe of quantum mechanics at the highest energies ever produced.
Abstract Entanglement is a central subject in quantum mechanics. Due to its genuine relativistic behavior and fundamental nature, high-energy colliders are attractive systems for the experimental study of fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics. We propose the detection of entanglement between the spins of top–antitop–quark pairs at the LHC, representing the first proposal of entanglement detection in a pair of quarks, and also the entanglement observation at the highest energy scale so far. We show that entanglement can be observed by direct measurement of the angular separation between the leptons arising from the decay of the top–antitop pair. The detection can be achieved with high statistical significance, using the current data recorded during Run 2 at the LHC. In addition, we develop a simple protocol for the quantum tomography of the top–antitop pair. This experimental technique reconstructs the quantum state of the system, providing a new experimental tool to test theoretical predictions. Our work explicitly implements canonical experimental techniques in quantum information in a two-qubit high-energy system, paving the way to use high-energy colliders to also study quantum information aspects.