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Updated: Mar 14, 2026
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A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference
Published on: September 5, 2019
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Quantum entanglement: facts and fiction - how wrong was Einstein after all?
1Chair Professor of Physical Chemistry, Chalmers University of Technology,SE-41296 Gothenburg,Sweden.
Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics
|September 24, 2016
Summary
Einstein
Area of Science:
- Quantum mechanics
- Quantum entanglement
- Biophysics
Background:
- Einstein's 1927 claim on quantum mechanics' incompleteness and the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox are revisited.
- Quantum entanglement in molecules underlies chemical bonding and biophysical excitonic states.
- The non-local character of single photons and quantum entanglement over distances remain subjects of debate.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether atomic or photonic systems can demonstrate long-range quantum entanglement and immediate communication.
- To re-evaluate Einstein's paradox in light of modern experimental evidence and theoretical interpretations.
- To propose and test a hypothesis regarding the conditions for long-range photon entanglement.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of quantum entanglement in dissociating hydrogen molecules as a model system.
- Review of experimental evidence for single-particle diffraction and photon entanglement.
- Consideration of Einstein's interpretation of wave functions for ensembles versus single particles.
Main Results:
- Einstein was incorrect about single-particle diffraction, as proven by non-local character observations.
- Unambiguous evidence for long-range photon entanglement with superluminal communication remains elusive.
- Spins in entangled systems tend to randomize due to environmental interactions.
Conclusions:
- Einstein's paradox may stem from a probabilistic interpretation of wave functions for ensembles, not single particles.
- Long-range photon entanglement might require interactions mediated by fields not exceeding light speed.
- Further experiments are proposed to test the 'interaction hypothesis' for photon entanglement.
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