Unveiling the curtain of superposition: Recent gedanken and laboratory experiments

[摘要] What is the true meaning of quantum superposition? Can a particle genuinely reside in several places simultaneously? These questions lie at the heart of this paper which presents an updated survey of some important stages in the evolution of the three-boxes paradox, as well as novel conclusions drawn from it. We begin with the original thought experiment of Aharonov and Vaidman, and proceed to its non-counterfactual version. The latter was recently realized by Okamoto and Takeuchi using a quantum router. We then outline a dynamic version of this experiment, where a particle is shown to "disappear" and "re-appear" during the time evolution of the system. This surprising prediction based on self-cancellation of weak values is directly related to our notion of Quantum Oblivion. Finally, we present the non-counterfactual version of this disappearing-reappearing experiment. Within the near future, this last version of the experiment is likely to be realized in the lab, proving the existence of exotic hitherto unknown forms of superposition. With the aid of Bell's theorem, we prove the inherent nonlocality and nontemporality underlying such pre- and post-selected systems, rendering anomalous weak values ontologically real.

[发布机构] H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol; BS8 1TL, United Kingdom^1;Iyar, Israeli Institute for Advanced Research, POB 651, Zichron Ya'akov; 3095303, Israel^2

[效力级别] 力学 [学科分类] 力学，机械学

[关键词] Bell's theorem;Laboratory experiments;Nonlocalities;Prediction-based;Quantum superpositions;Self cancellation;Thought experiments;Time evolutions