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Filozofia Nauki

Nielokalne przesyłanie informacji a zasada przyczynowości

Piotr Bułka

Published Jun 1, 2014• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The quantum mechanical tunneling effect was theoretically described in the first half of the last century, which witnessed the rise of quantum theory and groundbreaking experimental results in nuclear physics. A similar tunneling effect also takes place in the case of EM waves. The wave account (in the case of evanescent waves), the quantum-mechanical formalism, as well as the electrodynamical one, revealed a phenomenon that is counterintuitive and possibly even inconsistent with the special relativity theory paradigm. In the quantum formalism, the time of wave propagation within a photonic barrier is expressed as an imaginary number, which can be interpreted as the zero speed of propagation. In the nineties, scientists offered further experimental proofs of the theory; in experimental systems constructed for testing EM-waves tunneling, superluminal speed of propagation has been recorded. In the article, I introduce the problem of photon tunneling in the experimental context of the possibility of nonlocal wave propagation and superluminal transmission of information.

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Zeitschrift für Naturforschung A•Feb 19, 2021•3 citations
The quantum mechanical tunneling effect was theoretically described in the first half of the last century, which witnessed the rise of quantum theory and groundbreaking experimental results in nuclear physics. A similar tunneling effect also takes place in the case of EM waves. The wave account (in the case of evanescent waves), the quantum-mechanical formalism, as well as the electrodynamical one, revealed a phenomenon that is counterintuitive and possibly even inconsistent with the special relativity theory paradigm. In the quantum formalism, the time of wave propagation within a photonic barrier is expressed as an imaginary number, which can be interpreted as the zero speed of propagation. In the nineties, scientists offered further experimental proofs of the theory; in experimental systems constructed for testing EM-waves tunneling, superluminal speed of propagation has been recorded. In the article, I introduce the problem of photon tunneling in the experimental context of the possibility of nonlocal wave propagation and superluminal transmission of information.
Evanescent modes or the tunnelling process are characterized by an imaginary wave number. These special solutions of the Helmholtz and of the Schrödinger equations first noticed in connection with the total reflection were said to have no physical meaning about 200 years ago. Last century the tunnelling problem in quantum mechanics has been described by the phase time approach. The phase time approach yields the group velocity of a wave packet (see e.g. Hartman, 1962). Nowadays the phase time approach is used in network analyzers to determine the group velocity of an electromagnetic wave in devices. We have reported about superluminal signal velocities in photonic tunnelling. It was observed that the superluminal photonic tunnelling time data measured in the time domain are in agreement with the calculated phase time data. This result is also in agreement with the definition of the barrier transition time given in the Federal Standard 1037 C (NTIA, USA 2000). Thus we have added further credibility to the assumption that the photonic tunnelling results are representative for quantum mechanical tunnelling of particles.
Though both theoretical and experimental investigations have revealed the superluminal behavior of evanescent electromagnetic waves, there are many disputes about the physical meaning and validity of such superluminal phenomenon, which is due to the fact that the traditional investigations are based on the theory of tunneling time and concerned with the problem of what the group velocity of evanescent waves means. In this paper, by studying the quantum probability amplitude for photons to propagate over a spacelike interval along an undersized waveguide, we present theoretical evidence for such superluminality.
Contrary to mechanical waves, the two-slit interference experiment of single photons shows that the behavior of classical electromagnetic waves corresponds to the quantum mechanical one of single photons, which is also different from the quantum-field-theory behavior such as the creations and annihilations of photons, the vacuum fluctuations, etc. Owing to a purely quantum effect, quantum tunneling particles including tunneling photons (evanescent modes) can propagate over a spacelike interval without destroying causality. With this picture we conclude that the superluminality of evanescent modes is a quantum mechanical rather than a classical phenomenon.
Three cases of wave propagation involving possible superluminal speeds are discussed. The picture that emerges is that the actual propagation velocity of the wave front never exceeds the speed of light in vacuum. However, once the wave front has reached some distant point in space, then propagation may actually seem to take place along this wave with superluminal speed, yet involving no conflict with special relativity. Quantum entanglement – Einstein’s “spooky action at a distance” – is one famous, and now experimentally verified example of propagation at such apparent superluminal speed, but which is here explained within the framework of special relativity. This then at the same time also leads to a deeper understanding of the limitation of the recently proposed clock-hypothesis in special relativity, and also provides an illustration of the mechanism involved in wave-particle duality.
Abstract Contrary to mechanical waves, the two‐slit interference experiment of single photons shows that the behavior of classical electromagnetic waves corresponds to the quantum mechanical one of single photons, which is also different from the quantum‐field‐theory behavior such as the creations and annihilations of photons, the vacuum fluctuations, etc. Owing to a purely quantum effect, quantum tunneling particles including tunneling photons (evanescent modes) can propagate over a spacelike interval. With this picture we conclude that the superluminality of evanescent modes is a quantum mechanical rather than a classical phenomenon.
Abstract Zero tunneling time and thereby a faster than light traversal velocity was calculated nearly a hundred years ago and has been observed recently. We report about experimental results and estimations, which confirm the zero time tunneling for elastic as well as for electromagnetic and Schrödinger waves. Zero time tunneling was first observed with microwaves 1992 (H. Aichmann and G. Nimtz, Found. Phys., vol. 44, p. 678, 2014; A. Enders and G. Nimtz, J. Phys. I, vol. 2, p. 169, 1992). In 2008, zero time was also observed for tunneling electrons (P. Eckle, A. N. Pfeiffer, C. Cirelli, et al., Science, vol. 322, p. 1525, 2008). Presumably, this effect took place with atoms quite recently (R. Ramos, D. Spierings, I. Racicot, and A. M. Steinberg, Nature, vol. 583, p. 529, 2020). The Einstein relation E 2 = (ħk)2 c 2 is not satisfied in the tunneling process, since the wave number k is imaginary (E is the total energy, ħ the Planck constant, and c the vacuum velocity of light), Zero time tunneling is described by virtual photons (A. Stahlhofen and G. Nimtz, Europhys. Lett., vol. 76, p. 189, 2006). The tunneling process itself violates the Special Theory of Relativity. Remarkably, Brillouin conjectured that wave mechanics is valid for all waves independent of their field (L. Brillouin, Wave Propagation in Periodic Structures, Chap. VIII, New York, Dover Publications, 1953).