With the help of a new experiment, researchers have succeeded in confirming a ten-year-old theoretical study, which connects one of the most fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics -- the complementarity principle -- with information theory.
Their study provides a piece of the puzzle for understanding future quantum communication, metrology, and cryptography.
The theory dates back to the 17th century when Isaac Newton suggested that light is composed of particles. Other contemporary scholars believed that light consists of waves. Newton finally suggested that it might be both, without being able to prove it. In the 19th century, several physicists in various experiments showed that light actually consists of waves.
In 2014, a research team from Singapore demonstrated mathematically a direct connection between the complementarity principle and the degree of unknown information in a quantum system, the so-called entropic uncertainty. This connection means that no matter what combination of wave or particle characteristic of a quantum system is looked at, the amount of unknown information is a least one bit of information, i.e. the unmeasurable wave or particle.
In their new experiment set-up, the Linköping researchers used photons moving forward in a circular motion, called orbital angular momentum, unlike the more common oscillating motion, which is up and down. The choice of orbital angular momentum allows for future practical applications of the experiment, because it can contain more information.
According to the researchers, the findings could have many future applications in quantum communication, metrology, and cryptography. But there is also much more to explore at a basic level.
Physics Optics Albert Einstein Quantum Computers Computers And Internet Encryption Spintronics Research
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