Trio wins Physics Nobel for unraveling quantum science mysteries

New York: France-born Alain Aspect, American John Clauser, and Austrian scientist Anton Zeilinger were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics “for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of John Stewart Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science”.

They each conducted groundbreaking experiments using entangled quantum states, where two particles behave like a single unit even when they are separated. Their results have cleared the way for new technology based on quantum information.

“The ineffable effects of quantum mechanics are starting to find applications. There is now a large field of research that includes quantum computers, quantum networks, and secure quantum encrypted communication,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.

One key factor in this development is how quantum mechanics allows two or more particles to exist in what is called an entangled state. What happens to one of the particles in an entangled pair determines what happens to the other particle, even if they are far apart.

For a long time, the question was whether the correlation was because the particles in an entangled pair contained hidden variables, instructions that tell them which result they should give in an experiment.

In the 1960s, John Stewart Bell developed the mathematical inequality that is named after him. This states that if there are hidden variables, the correlation between the results of a large number of measurements will never exceed a certain value.

However, quantum mechanics predicts that a certain type of experiment will violate Bell’s inequality, thus resulting in a stronger correlation than would otherwise be possible.

“Clauser developed John Bell’s ideas, leading to a practical experiment. When he took the measurements, they supported quantum mechanics by clearly violating a Bell inequality. This means that quantum mechanics cannot be replaced by a theory that uses hidden variables,” said the Academy.

Aspect developed the setup, using it in a way that closed an important loophole. He was able to switch the measurement settings after an entangled pair had left its source, so the setting that existed when they were emitted could not affect the result.

The prize amount of 10 million Swedish kronor will be shared equally between the winners.

Image courtesy of (Graphic courtesy: Twitter@NobelPrize)

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