Physics (Internal)

“Testing Bell’s Inequality with Astrophysical Observations”

This event is part of the Physics Department Colloquia Series.

Albert Einstein once dubbed quantum entanglement “spooky action at a distance,” and the concept remains one of the starkest examples of how quantum theory differs from our usual intuitions about space, time, and matter. Physicists have tested Bell’s inequality experimentally over four decades and have always found the results consistent with quantum theory; today entanglement is at the heart of next-generation devices like quantum computers and quantum encryption. Yet every experimental test to date has been subject to one or more “loopholes,” which could possibly account for the results even in the absence of genuine quantum entanglement. This talk describes the latest experimental tests of quantum entanglement, including a new series of experiments that uses some of the oldest light in the universe to address the last major loophole and pave the way for a genuinely loophole-free test of Bell’s inequality.