dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaOn the logical structure of Bell theorems without inequalities
| Authors | Anne Broadbent, Hilary A. Carteret, Andre Allan Methot, Jonathan Walgate |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0512201 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0512201 |
| DOI | 10.1088/1367-2630/8/12/302 |
| Journal | New Journal of Physics 8 302 (2006) |
Abstract
Bell theorems show how to experimentally falsify local realism. Conclusive falsification is highly desirable as it would provide support for the most profoundly counterintuitive feature of quantum theory - nonlocality. Despite the preponderance of evidence for quantum mechanics, practical limits on detector efficiency and the difficulty of coordinating space-like separated measurements have provided loopholes for a classical worldview; these loopholes have never been simultaneously closed. A number of new experiments have recently been proposed to close both loopholes at once. We show some of these novel designs fail in the most basic way, by not ruling out local hidden variable models, and we provide an explicit classical model to demonstrate this. They share a common flaw, which reveals a basic misunderstanding of how nonlocality proofs work. Given the time and resources now being devoted to such experiments, theoretical clarity is essential. Our explanation is presented in terms of simple logic and should serve to correct misconceptions and avoid future mistakes. We also show a nonlocality proof involving four participants which has interesting theoretical properties.
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"abstract": "Bell theorems show how to experimentally falsify local realism. Conclusive\nfalsification is highly desirable as it would provide support for the most\nprofoundly counterintuitive feature of quantum theory - nonlocality. Despite\nthe preponderance of evidence for quantum mechanics, practical limits on\ndetector efficiency and the difficulty of coordinating space-like separated\nmeasurements have provided loopholes for a classical worldview; these loopholes\nhave never been simultaneously closed. A number of new experiments have\nrecently been proposed to close both loopholes at once. We show some of these\nnovel designs fail in the most basic way, by not ruling out local hidden\nvariable models, and we provide an explicit classical model to demonstrate\nthis. They share a common flaw, which reveals a basic misunderstanding of how\nnonlocality proofs work. Given the time and resources now being devoted to such\nexperiments, theoretical clarity is essential. Our explanation is presented in\nterms of simple logic and should serve to correct misconceptions and avoid\nfuture mistakes. We also show a nonlocality proof involving four participants\nwhich has interesting theoretical properties.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0512201",
"authors": [
"Anne Broadbent",
"Hilary A. Carteret",
"Andre Allan Methot",
"Jonathan Walgate"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1088/1367-2630/8/12/302",
"journal_ref": "New Journal of Physics 8 302 (2006)",
"title": "On the logical structure of Bell theorems without inequalities",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0512201"
},
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