Is prior information lost during/after entanglement?

In summary, during entanglement, photons can enter an indeterminate state and the resulting photon state upon measurement will be random. However, this does not mean that information carried by the striking photon is lost irretrievably. In fact, in an entangled state, there is maximum possible knowledge about the entangled photons according to quantum theory. This means that there is no sharper determination of the photons' state than a pure state. Additionally, since the photons are usually created in an entangled state, there is no prior information to be lost.
  • #1
sanpkl
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During entanglement photons get into an indeterminate state. The outcome of the photon state, on measurement, would now be random.

Does this mean that, some of the, information the striking photon was carrying prior to transferring its energy to two entangled photons irretrievably lost? Even in principle
 
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  • #2
No! If you have an entangled state, you have maximal possible knowledge about the entangled photons. According to quantum theory there's no "sharper" determination of a quantum system's (in this case two photons) state than a pure state (represented by a projector as statistical operator or equivalently the corresponding ray in Hilbert space).

In addition, usually the photons are created in an entangled state, i.e., they where never there before, and thus there cannot get lost "prior information".
 

1. What is entanglement?

Entanglement is a phenomenon in quantum mechanics where two or more particles become connected in such a way that their states are correlated and cannot be described independently of each other. This means that measuring one particle will instantaneously affect the state of the other particle, regardless of the distance between them.

2. Can prior information be lost during entanglement?

No, prior information is not lost during entanglement. Instead, entanglement preserves and transmits information between the particles. Even if one of the entangled particles is measured and its state changes, the information about its previous state is still preserved in the other entangled particle.

3. Can prior information be lost after entanglement?

No, prior information is not lost after entanglement. Similar to the answer to the previous question, even if one of the entangled particles is measured and its state changes, the information about its previous state is still preserved in the other entangled particle.

4. How is entanglement used in quantum computing?

Entanglement is a crucial concept in quantum computing as it allows for the creation of superposition states, which can greatly increase computational power. By entangling qubits, or quantum bits, quantum computers can perform calculations on multiple states simultaneously, leading to faster and more efficient processing.

5. Is it possible to entangle more than two particles?

Yes, it is possible to entangle more than two particles. In fact, entangling multiple particles can lead to more complex and powerful quantum states. This is known as multipartite entanglement and is an important area of research in quantum computing.

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