A group of scientists at the University of Science and Technology, led by physicist Jian-Ei Pan, conducted a space experiment on the phenomenon of quantum inseparability.
This phenomenon implies the inseparability of two "twin" photons: whatever the distance between them, the particles "communicate". This phenomenon violates some of the central laws of physics: nothing exceeds the speed of light, and objects are only influenced by the surrounding environment. Thus, scientists can not explain how these particles are bound at longer distances? Is it proof of the existence of wormholes? An unknown size?
The new study has brought the answer to this problem a step closer. Pan and colleagues claim in a study published in the journal Science that they have produced inseparable photons on a satellite orbiting 500 kilometers above the planet and radiating particles in two locations 1,200 kilometers away from one another without losing sight of the link Bizarre particle distances from each other, Chicago Tribune writes.
It is for the first time that inseparable particles have been generated in space and represents a 10-fold distance in which this phenomenon has been maintained.
The stake of this study and a satisfactory conclusion regarding quantum inseparability is to develop a new "quantum communication" system - a method of transmitting messages that are not based on cables, wireless signals or codes. According to physicists, inseparable particles can help develop a "quantum internet" that can bring a new way of coding and a faster-light communication system.
The new experiment paves the way for new solutions to the most fundamental problems of physics
Prior to Pan and his colleagues experiment, quantum commutation suffered a great limitation. Photons do not need wires or cables to bind, but the use of fiber optics is required on Earth. However, they absorb light, so the connection weakens with the movement of light. With this process, the record of distance of transmission of information with inseparable particles was about 140 kilometers.
But in space, light is not absorbed. This means that particles can be transmitted over long distances by vacuum without the information being lost. The Chinese team used the Micius satellite, launched in China in 2016, which is capable of generating a laser through a special crystal, which in turn generates pairs of photons. The photons were sent to two laboratories, one in Delingha City and one in Lijiang.
The tests in the two laboratories confirmed that the photons are still inseparable, even if they were separated from the 1,200-kilometer distance between the two cities.
Also, Micius satellite can be used to test some of the most fundamental physics problems. The behavior of inseparable particles in space, separated by vast distances, provides clues about the nature of time-space and the validity of Einstein's general relativity theory.