Psychophysical interactions with entangled photons

Objective: Four laboratory studies and an online experiment explored psychophysical (mind-matter) interactions with quantum entangled photons. Method: Entanglement correlation strength measured in real-time was presented via a graph or dynamic images displayed on a computer monitor or web browser. Participants were tasked with mentally influencing that metric. Results: A statistically significant increase in entanglement strength was obtained in experimental conditions in the four lab studies (p < 0.02), with particularly strong results observed in three studies conducted at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (p < 0.0002). Modest results (p < 0.05) were observed in a high-quality subset of entanglement samples in an online experiment. Control experiments using the same equipment and protocols, but without observers present, showed results consistent with chance expectation in both the lab and online studies. Conclusion: These outcomes suggest that the fidelity of entangled states and the nonlocal resource they entail may be mutable in systems that include conscious awareness. This is potentially of interest for quantum information technologies such as quantum computation, encryption, key distribution, and teleportation. The results are also relevant for interpretations of quantum theory, especially if future studies show that entanglement strength can be mentally modulated above the Tsirelson Bound – the upper limit predicted by quantum theory. Such an outcome would suggest that quantum theory in its present form does not hold when physical systems interact with certain mental states. The results of these exploratory experiments justify continued investigation of entangled photons as targets of mind-matter interaction.

Psychophysical interactions with entangled photons: Five exploratory experiments

Objective: Four laboratory studies and an online experiment explored psychophysical (mind-matter) interactions with quantum entangled photons. Method: Entanglement correlation strength measured in real-time was presented via a graph or dynamic images displayed on a computer monitor or web browser. Participants were tasked with mentally influencing that metric. Results: A statistically significant increase in entanglement strength was obtained in experimental conditions in the four lab studies (p &lt; 0.02), with particularly strong results observed in three studies conducted at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (p &lt; 0.0002). Modest results (p &lt; 0.05) were observed in a high-quality subset of entanglement samples in an online experiment. Control experiments using the same equipment and protocols, but without observers present, showed results consistent with chance expectation in both the lab and online studies. Conclusion: These outcomes suggest that the fidelity of entangled states and the nonlocal resource they entail may be mutable in systems that include conscious awareness. This is potentially of interest for quantum information technologies such as quantum computation, encryption, key distribution, and teleportation. The results are also relevant for interpretations of quantum theory, especially if future studies show that entanglement strength can be mentally modulated above the Tsirelson Bound – the upper limit predicted by quantum theory. Such an outcome would suggest that quantum theory in its present form does not hold when physical systems interact with certain mental states. The results of these exploratory experiments justify continued investigation of entangled photons as targets of mind-matter interaction.

Quantum Violation of the Suppes-Zanotti Inequalities and “Contextuality”

The Suppes-Zanotti inequalities involving the joint expectations of just three binary quantum observables are (re-)derived by the hull computation of the respective correlation polytope. A min-max calculation reveals its maximal quantum violations correspond to a generalized Tsirelson bound. Notions of “contextuality” motivated by such violations are critically reviewed.

Approaching the Tsirelson bound with a Sagnac source of polarization-entangled photons

High-fidelity polarization-entangled photons are a powerful resource for quantum communication, distributing entanglement and quantum teleportation. The Bell-CHSH inequality S\leq2S≤2 is violated by bipartite entanglement and only maximally entangled states can achieve S=2\sqrt{2}S=22, the Tsirelson bound. Spontaneous parametric down-conversion sources can produce entangled photons with correlations close to the Tsirelson bound. Sagnac configurations offer intrinsic stability, compact footprint and high collection efficiency, however, there is often a trade off between source brightness and entanglement visibility. Here, we present a Sagnac polarization-entangled source with 2\sqrt{2}-S=(5.65\pm0.57\times10^{-3})22−S=(5.65±0.57×10−3), on-par with the highest SS parameters recorded, while generating and detecting (4660\pm70)pairs/s/mW(4660±70)pairs/s/mW, which is a substantially higher brightness than previously reported for Sagnac sources and around two orders of magnitude brighter than for traditional cone sources with the highest SS parameters. Our source records 0.9953\pm0.00030.9953±0.0003 concurrence and 0.99743\pm0.000140.99743±0.00014 fidelity to an ideal Bell state. By studying systematic errors in Sagnac sources, we identify that the precision of the collection focal point inside the crystal plays the largest role in reducing the SS parameter in our experiment. We provide a pathway that could enable the highest SS parameter recorded with a Sagnac source to-date while maintaining very high brightness.

Beyond Causal Explanation: Einstein’s Principle Not Reichenbach’s

Our account provides a local, realist and fully non-causal principle explanation for EPR correlations, contextuality, no-signalling, and the Tsirelson bound. Indeed, the account herein is fully consistent with the causal structure of Minkowski spacetime. We argue that retrocausal accounts of quantum mechanics are problematic precisely because they do not fully transcend the assumption that causal or constructive explanation must always be fundamental. Unlike retrocausal accounts, our principle explanation is a complete rejection of Reichenbach’s Principle. Furthermore, we will argue that the basis for our principle account of quantum mechanics is the physical principle sought by quantum information theorists for their reconstructions of quantum mechanics. Finally, we explain why our account is both fully realist and psi-epistemic.

Why superquantum, no-signaling correlations cannot exist

The idea that nonlocal correlations stronger than quantum correlations between two no-signaling systems could “theoretically” exist is based on an incorrect statistical interpretation of the no-signaling condition. This article shows that any physically realizable no-signaling “box” involving local incompatible observables indeed requires to be described in a noncommutative, quantum-like language of operators, which leads to the derivation of the Tsirelson bound and then contradicts this idea.