Undergrad Is the Quantum Eraser Experiment Misunderstood in Pop Science?

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The quantum eraser experiment is often misrepresented in popular science, particularly regarding the idea that deleting photon data causes the re-emergence of an interference pattern. In reality, the data is not actually deleted; the process involves a unitary transformation that changes the basis of the photon states. This transformation is reversible, meaning the original state can be restored through another unitary operation. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding the underlying quantum mechanics rather than relying on simplified interpretations. Misunderstandings in pop science can lead to misconceptions about the nature of quantum phenomena.
Trollfaz
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I keep hearing in pop science that the quantum eraser experiment shows that the interference pattern emerges again if the data of the photon is deleted.

I suspect what is really going on is that the scientists did something to the photons to affect their paths so that it cannot be determined. Am I right?
 
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Trollfaz said:
I keep hearing in pop science that the quantum eraser experiment shows that the interference pattern emerges again if the data of the photon is deleted.

I suspect what is really going on is that the scientists did something to the photons to affect their paths so that it cannot be determined. Am I right?
In the erasure experiments the data is not deleted. The transformation that 'deletes' the data is unitary and reversible and merely changes the basis. This can be reversed by another unitary transformation to restore the original state.
 

Thread 'Two equivalent statements of time reversal symmetric Hamiltonian'

Time reversal invariant Hamiltonians must satisfy ##[H,\Theta]=0## where ##\Theta## is time reversal operator. However, in some texts (for example see Many-body Quantum Theory in Condensed Matter Physics an introduction, HENRIK BRUUS and KARSTEN FLENSBERG, Corrected version: 14 January 2016, section 7.1.4) the time reversal invariant condition is introduced as ##H=H^*##. How these two conditions are identical?
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