Quantum entanglement and topology are interconnected, study says

Recent research published in the journal Nature Photonics has brought significant advances and new insights into the workings of quantum entanglement. two particles created together remain “connected” even after being separated by large distances.

In the study, a group of physicists from China, the United Kingdom and Mexico report the world’s first experimental demonstration of the nonlinear transformation of optical skyrmions. Extension of the concept of topological spin-textured particles (like tiny magnetic vortices), where they are generated using the electric field of electromagnetic waves.

Challenging the conventional belief that the topological charges of light change with frequency conversion, the new nonlinear frequency conversion mechanism of arbitrary vector structured light allows optical skyrmions to maintain their topological structure within the process of nonlinear interaction.

Testing topological maintenance of optical skyrmions

To prove that skyrmions can maintain their topology even in nonlinear interaction, the authors entwined two identical photons and specialized their “shared wave functions, topologies, or structures such that they only become apparent when the photons are treated as a single entity.” Lead author Pedro Ornelas, of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, explains in a statement:

Established The connection between these photons through quantum entanglement allowed the particles to continue influencing each other’s measurement results.Same separated by great distances, or as the authors put it, “spooky action from afar”.

To demonstrate the role of the topology in this work and its ability to preserve its properties, the team makes a comparison with: How to turn a coffee mug into a donut shape. “The entanglement between our photons can be shaped like clay in the potter’s hand, but some properties are retained during the molding process,” compares co-author André Forbes, also from Wits.

What are the applications of the new discovery in quantum physics?

The new work promises significant advances, as applications with Skyrmion are often limited by the supposed fragility of interacting with non-linear media. Now “optical skyrmions are being encouraged to be used as next-generation supercapacity optical information carriers in long-distance communications,” says project leader Bao-Sen Shi of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Additionally, the researchers examined how the light frequency could be varied to maintain the topological structure of skyrmions. This was done based on a non-degenerate frequency sum generation, that is, the two original light waves retained their different frequencies.

The results made it possible to convert optical skyrmions from the infrared region to the visible region of the spectrum without changing their entire spatial structure. Therefore, this work can serve as a practical guide for the construction of a device that can change the frequency of structured light while maintaining its unique configuration.

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