We compute, for massive particles, the explicit Wigner rotations of one-particle states for arbitrary Lorentz transformations; and the explicit Hermitian generators of the infinite-dimensional unitary representation. For a pair of spin 1/2 particles, Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–ell entangled states and their behaviour under the Lorentz group are analyzed in the context of quantum field theory. Group theoretical considerations suggest a convenient definition of the Bell states which is slightly different from the conventional assignment. The behaviour of Bell states under arbitrary Lorentz transformations can then be described succinctly. Reduced density matrices applicable to systems of identical particles are defined through Yang's prescription. The von Neumann entropy of each of the reduced density matrix is Lorentz invariant; and its relevance as a measure of entanglement is discussed, and illustrated with an explicit example. A regularization of the entropy in terms of generalized zeta functions is also suggested.
We compute, for massive particles, the explicit Wigner rotations of one-particle states for arbitrary Lorentz transformations; and the explicit Hermitian generators of the infinite-dimensional unitary representation. For a pair of spin 1/2 particles, Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–ell entangled states and their behaviour under the Lorentz group are analyzed in the context of quantum field theory. Group theoretical considerations suggest a convenient definition of the Bell states which is slightly different from the conventional assignment. The behaviour of Bell states under arbitrary Lorentz transformations can then be described succinctly. Reduced density matrices applicable to systems of identical particles are defined through Yang's prescription. The von Neumann entropy of each of the reduced density matrix is Lorentz invariant; and its relevance as a measure of entanglement is discussed, and illustrated with an explicit example. A regularization of the entropy in terms of generalized zeta functions is also suggested.
We study the transformation of maximally entangled states under the action of Lorentz transformations in a fully relativistic setting. By explicit calculation of the Wigner rotation, we describe the relativistic analog of the Bell states as viewed from two inertial frames moving with constant velocity with respect to each other. Though the finite dimensional matrices describing the Lorentz transformations are non-unitary, each single particle state of the entangled pair undergoes an effective, momentum dependent, local unitary rotation, thereby preserving the entanglement fidelity of the bipartite state. The details of how these unitary transformations are manifested are explicitly worked out for the Bell states comprised of massive spin 1/2 particles and massless photon polarizations. The relevance of this work to non-inertial frames is briefly discussed.
In this thesis, entanglement under fully relativistic settings are discussed. The thesis starts with a brief review of the relativistic quantum mechanics. In order to describe the effects of Lorentz transformations on the entangled states, quantum mechanics and special relativity are merged by construction of the unitary irreducible representations of Poincar{é} group on the infinite dimensional Hilbert space of state vectors. In this framework, the issue of finding the unitary irreducible representations of Poincar{é} group is reduced to that of the little group. Wigner rotation for the massive particles plays a crucial role due to its effect on the spin polarization directions. Furthermore, the physical requirements for constructing the correct relativistic spin operator is also studied. Then, the entanglement and Bell type inequalities are reviewed. Special attention has been devoted to two historical papers, by EPR in 1935 and by J.S. Bell in 1964. The main part of the thesis is based on the Lorentz transformation of the Bell states and the Bell inequalities on these transformed states. It is shown that entanglement is a Lorentz invariant quantity. That is, no inertial observer can see the entangled state as a separable one. However, it was shown that the Bell inequality may be satisfied for the Wigner angle dependent transformed entangled states. Since the Wigner rotation changes the spin polarization direction with the increased velocity, initial dichotomous operators can satisfy the Bell inequality for those states. By choosing the dichotomous operators taking into consideration the Wigner angle, it is always possible to show that Bell type inequalities can be violated for the transformed entangled states.
One of the most fundamental phenomena of quantum physics is entanglement. It describes an inseparable connection between quantum systems, and properties thereof. In a quantum mechanical description even systems far apart from each other can share a common state. This entanglement of the subsystems, although arising from mathematical principles, is no mere abstract concept, but can be tested in experiment, and be utilized in modern quantum information theory procedures, such as quantum teleportation. In particular, entangled states play a crucial role in testing our understanding of reality, by violating Bell inequalities. While the role of entanglement is well studied in the realm of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, its significance in a relativistic quantum theory is a relatively new field of interest. In this work the consequences of a relativistic description of quantum entanglement are discussed. We analyze the representations of the symmetry groups of special relativity, i.e. of the Lorentz group, and the Poincaré group, on the Hilbert space of states. We describe how unitary, irreducible representations of the Poincaré group for massive spin 1/2 particles are constructed from representations of Wigner's little group. We then proceed to investigate the role of the Wigner rotations in the transformation of quantum states under a change of inertial reference frame. Considering different partitions of the Hilbert space of 2 particles, we find that the entanglement of the quantum states appears different in different inertial frames, depending on the form of the states, the chosen inertial frames, and the particular choice of partition. It is explained, how, despite of this, the maximally possible violation of Bell inequalities is frame independent, when using appropriate spin observables, which are related to the Pauli-Ljubanski vector, a Casimir operator of the Poincaré group.
Lorentz boosts applied to particles with spin and momentum degrees of freedom induce momentum-dependent rotations. As, in general, different particles have different momenta, the transformation of the whole state is not a representation of the rotation group. Here we identify the group that acts on a two-particle system and, for the case where the momenta of the particles are correlated, find invariant subspaces that have interesting properties for quantum information processes in relativistic scenarios. A basis of states for the study of transformations of spin states under Lorentz boosts is proposed, which is a good candidate for use in building quantum communication protocols in relativistic scenarios.
In this thesis, entanglement under fully relativistic settings are discussed. The thesis starts with a brief review of the relativistic quantum mechanics. In order to describe the effects of Lorentz transformations on the entangled states, quantum mechanics and special relativity are merged by construction of the unitary irreducible representations of Poincaré group on the infinite dimensional Hilbert space of state vectors. In this framework, the issue of finding the unitary irreducible representations of Poincaré group is reduced to that of the little group. Wigner rotation for the massive particles plays a crucial role due to its effect on the spin polarization directions. Furthermore, the physical requirements for constructing the correct relativistic spin operator is also studied. Then, the entanglement and Bell type inequalities are reviewed. The special attention has been devoted to two historical papers, by EPR in 1935 and by J.S. Bell in 1964. The main part of the thesis is based on the Lorentz transformation of the Bell states and the Bell inequalities on these transformed states. It is shown that entanglement is a Lorentz invariant quantity. That is, no inertial observer can see the entangled state as a separable one. However, it was shown that the Bell inequality may be satisfied for the Wigner angle dependent transformed entangled states. Since the Wigner rotation changes the spin polarization direction with the increased velocity, initial dichotomous operators can satisfy the Bell inequality for those states. By choosing the dichotomous operators taking into consideration the Wigner angle, it is always possible to show that Bell type inequalities can be violated for the transformed entangled states.
In this work we study the entanglement properties under a Lorentz boost of a pair of spin- 1 massive particles, with spin and momentum as the sole degrees of freedom of the system. Different cases for entanglement between spins and momenta are considered as initial states and it is shown that entanglement between the different degrees of freedom is, in general, not invariant. We analyze the entanglement change in terms of the Wigner rotation induced by the transformation and show that, for the case of spin-1 particles, the relative entanglement change between different states depends strongly on the boost velocity.