Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Corfu Summer Institute School and Workshops on Elementary Particle Physics and Gravity (CORFU)

Entanglement properties of the scattering amplitudes

Kamila Kowalska, Enrico Maria Sessolo

Published Aug 24, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We review recent progress in understanding quantum entanglement generated by $2\to 2$ scattering processes in quantum field theory. Starting from the final-state density matrix, we discuss two complementary approaches to quantifying entanglement: projection onto fixed final-state momenta and tracing out the momentum degrees of freedom. We present analytic results for the concurrence of a mixed two-qubit final state and identify the role of quantum coherences, showing that the real part of the inelastic forward scattering amplitude constitutes a subleading correction to the linearized entropy connected to the relative entropy of coherence. Our framework is illustrated through two phenomenologically relevant examples: high-energy scattering of two flavored scalars in the two-Higgs doublet model and high-energy electron-positron annihilation in QED.

DOI
10.22323/1.509.0099

Related papers

Qubit entanglement from forward scattering

Kamila Kowalska, Enrico Maria Sessolo

A bstract In the context of entanglement in relativistic 2 → 2 scattering described by a perturbative S -matrix, we derive analytically the concurrence for a mixed final state of two qubits corresponding to a discrete quantum number of the scattered particles. The qubit density matrix is obtained by tracing the momentum degrees of freedom out of the full density matrix of the scattered system. Given an initial product state, the derived concurrence depends at the leading order on the real part of the inelastic forward amplitude and the initial state only. We also point out that the real part of the forward amplitude provides a subleading correction to the linearized entropy, reducing it by an amount that, for a computational-basis state, is equivalent to the relative entropy of coherence. We illustrate our findings with two examples of phenomenological interest: high-energy scattering of two scalar fields in the two-Higgs doublet model, and high-energy electron-positron annihilation.

arXiv:2510.04200•Journal of High Energy Physics•Apr 1, 2026•4 citations

Entanglement in flavored scalar scattering

Enrico Maria Sessolo, Kamila Kowalska

We investigate quantum entanglement in high-energy $2\to 2$ scalar scattering, where the scalars are characterized by an internal flavor quantum number acting like a qubit. Working at the 1-loop order in perturbation theory, we build the final-state density matrix as a function of the scattering amplitudes connecting the initial to the outgoing state. In this construction, the unitarity of the $S$-matrix is guaranteed at the required order by the optical theorem. We consider the post-scattering entanglement between the momentum and flavor degrees of freedom of the final-state particles, as well as the entanglement of the two-qubit flavor subsystem. In each case we identify the couplings of the scalar potential that can generate, destroy, or transfer entanglement between different bipartite subspaces of the Hilbert space.

Corfu Summer Institute School and Workshops on Elementary Particle Physics and Gravity (CORFU)•Dec 9, 2025•0 citations

Entanglement in flavored scalar scattering

Kamila Kowalska, Enrico Maria Sessolo

A bstract We investigate quantum entanglement in high-energy 2 → 2 scalar scattering, where the scalars are characterized by an internal flavor quantum number acting like a qubit. Working at the 1-loop order in perturbation theory, we build the final-state density matrix as a function of the scattering amplitudes connecting the initial to the outgoing state. In this construction, the unitarity of the S -matrix is guaranteed at the required order by the optical theorem. We consider the post-scattering entanglement between the momentum and flavor degrees of freedom of the final-state particles, as well as the entanglement of the two-qubit flavor subsystem. In each case we identify the couplings of the scalar potential that can generate, destroy, or transfer entanglement between different bipartite subspaces of the Hilbert space.

arXiv:2404.13743•Journal of High Energy Physics•Jul 18, 2024•34 citations

Variation of entanglement entropy and mutual information in fermion-fermion scattering

Jinbo Fan, Yanbin Deng, Yong-Chang Huang

We study the behavior of entanglement between different degrees of freedom of scattering fermions, based on an exemplary QED scattering process ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$. The variation of entanglement entropy between two fermions from an initial state to the final state was computed, with respect to different entanglement between the ingoing particles. This variation of entanglement entropy is found to be proportional to an area quantity, the total cross section. We also study the spin-momentum and helicity-momentum entanglements within one particle in the aforementioned scattering process. The calculations of the relevant variations of mutual information in the same inertial frame reveals that, for a maximally entangled initial state, the scattering between the particles does not affect the degree of both of these entanglements of one particle in the final state. It is also found that the increasing degree of entanglement between two ingoing particles would restrict the generation of entanglement between spin (helicity) and momentum of one outgoing particle. And the entanglement between spin and momentum within one particle in the final state is shown to always be stronger than that for helicity-momentum for a general initial entanglement state, implying significantly distinct properties of entanglement for the helicity and spin perceived by an inertial observer.

arXiv:1703.07911•Physical review. D/Physical review. D.•Mar 21, 2017•29 citations

Momentum correlations of scattered particles in quantum field theory: one-loop entanglement generation

Ricardo Faleiro, R. Pavao, Alexander, Helder +3 more

We compute the entanglement entropy variation between initial (separable or entangled in the momenta) and final states $ΔS_E$ in an elastic scattering of a bipartite system composed by two interacting scalar particles. We perform a quantum field theoretical calculation to one loop order and verify that $ΔS_E $ changes as we vary the energy of incoming particles and the coupling strength in a non-trivial way.

arXiv:1607.01715•Jul 6, 2016•2 citations

Higgs scattering and entanglement in SMEFT

Hyun Min Lee, Rojalin Padhan

A bstract We regard the weak isospin of the Higgs doublet as a qubit and classify the entanglement measures for the Higgs scattering in the Standard Model Effective Field Theories (SMEFT) and their Ultra-Violet complete models. We consider Higgs scattering in the unbroken phase of electroweak symmetry. Treating the final state as a momentum-isospin bipartite system, we obtain von Neumann and linear entropies to quantify momentum-isospin correlation. From the momentum reduced state, we calculate the concurrence, which measures the entanglement between the two isospins. Both quantities are set by the isospin singlet and triplet scattering amplitudes, and hence by the Wilson coefficients of the dimension-6 and dimension-8 Higgs operators. We find that the von Neumann entropy grows as a function of the total energy in SMEFT as compared to the SM case, but it undergoes a cancellation in the medium energy below the cut-off scale due to the interference effects between the dimension-4 and dimension-8 operators, in particular, when the effective interactions stem dominantly from a massive graviton. Assuming the dominance of dimension-8 operators, we find the conditions for entanglement suppression/generation in the forward or backward scatterings or across all the kinematics. We also show the correlations between the entanglement suppression and the positivity bounds in the forward limit.

arXiv:2606.25233•Journal of High Energy Physics•Oct 16, 2026•0 citations
We review recent progress in understanding quantum entanglement generated by 2→22\to 22→2 scattering processes in quantum field theory. Starting from the final-state density matrix, we discuss two complementary approaches to quantifying entanglement: projection onto fixed final-state momenta and tracing out the momentum degrees of freedom. We present analytic results for the concurrence of a mixed two-qubit final state and identify the role of quantum coherences, showing that the real part of the inelastic forward scattering amplitude constitutes a subleading correction to the linearized entropy connected to the relative entropy of coherence. Our framework is illustrated through two phenomenologically relevant examples: high-energy scattering of two flavored scalars in the two-Higgs doublet model and high-energy electron-positron annihilation in QED.
A bstract In the context of entanglement in relativistic 2 → 2 scattering described by a perturbative S -matrix, we derive analytically the concurrence for a mixed final state of two qubits corresponding to a discrete quantum number of the scattered particles. The qubit density matrix is obtained by tracing the momentum degrees of freedom out of the full density matrix of the scattered system. Given an initial product state, the derived concurrence depends at the leading order on the real part of the inelastic forward amplitude and the initial state only. We also point out that the real part of the forward amplitude provides a subleading correction to the linearized entropy, reducing it by an amount that, for a computational-basis state, is equivalent to the relative entropy of coherence. We illustrate our findings with two examples of phenomenological interest: high-energy scattering of two scalar fields in the two-Higgs doublet model, and high-energy electron-positron annihilation.
We investigate quantum entanglement in high-energy 2→22\to 22→2 scalar scattering, where the scalars are characterized by an internal flavor quantum number acting like a qubit. Working at the 1-loop order in perturbation theory, we build the final-state density matrix as a function of the scattering amplitudes connecting the initial to the outgoing state. In this construction, the unitarity of the SSS-matrix is guaranteed at the required order by the optical theorem. We consider the post-scattering entanglement between the momentum and flavor degrees of freedom of the final-state particles, as well as the entanglement of the two-qubit flavor subsystem. In each case we identify the couplings of the scalar potential that can generate, destroy, or transfer entanglement between different bipartite subspaces of the Hilbert space.
A bstract We investigate quantum entanglement in high-energy 2 → 2 scalar scattering, where the scalars are characterized by an internal flavor quantum number acting like a qubit. Working at the 1-loop order in perturbation theory, we build the final-state density matrix as a function of the scattering amplitudes connecting the initial to the outgoing state. In this construction, the unitarity of the S -matrix is guaranteed at the required order by the optical theorem. We consider the post-scattering entanglement between the momentum and flavor degrees of freedom of the final-state particles, as well as the entanglement of the two-qubit flavor subsystem. In each case we identify the couplings of the scalar potential that can generate, destroy, or transfer entanglement between different bipartite subspaces of the Hilbert space.
We study the behavior of entanglement between different degrees of freedom of scattering fermions, based on an exemplary QED scattering process ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$. The variation of entanglement entropy between two fermions from an initial state to the final state was computed, with respect to different entanglement between the ingoing particles. This variation of entanglement entropy is found to be proportional to an area quantity, the total cross section. We also study the spin-momentum and helicity-momentum entanglements within one particle in the aforementioned scattering process. The calculations of the relevant variations of mutual information in the same inertial frame reveals that, for a maximally entangled initial state, the scattering between the particles does not affect the degree of both of these entanglements of one particle in the final state. It is also found that the increasing degree of entanglement between two ingoing particles would restrict the generation of entanglement between spin (helicity) and momentum of one outgoing particle. And the entanglement between spin and momentum within one particle in the final state is shown to always be stronger than that for helicity-momentum for a general initial entanglement state, implying significantly distinct properties of entanglement for the helicity and spin perceived by an inertial observer.
We compute the entanglement entropy variation between initial (separable or entangled in the momenta) and final states ΔSEΔS_EΔSE​ in an elastic scattering of a bipartite system composed by two interacting scalar particles. We perform a quantum field theoretical calculation to one loop order and verify that $ΔS_E $ changes as we vary the energy of incoming particles and the coupling strength in a non-trivial way.
A bstract We regard the weak isospin of the Higgs doublet as a qubit and classify the entanglement measures for the Higgs scattering in the Standard Model Effective Field Theories (SMEFT) and their Ultra-Violet complete models. We consider Higgs scattering in the unbroken phase of electroweak symmetry. Treating the final state as a momentum-isospin bipartite system, we obtain von Neumann and linear entropies to quantify momentum-isospin correlation. From the momentum reduced state, we calculate the concurrence, which measures the entanglement between the two isospins. Both quantities are set by the isospin singlet and triplet scattering amplitudes, and hence by the Wilson coefficients of the dimension-6 and dimension-8 Higgs operators. We find that the von Neumann entropy grows as a function of the total energy in SMEFT as compared to the SM case, but it undergoes a cancellation in the medium energy below the cut-off scale due to the interference effects between the dimension-4 and dimension-8 operators, in particular, when the effective interactions stem dominantly from a massive graviton. Assuming the dominance of dimension-8 operators, we find the conditions for entanglement suppression/generation in the forward or backward scatterings or across all the kinematics. We also show the correlations between the entanglement suppression and the positivity bounds in the forward limit.