Title
Experimental verification of an indefinite causal order
... show all
Abstract
Investigating the role of causal order in quantum mechanics has recently revealed that the causal relations of events may not be a priori well defined in quantum theory. Although this has triggered a growing interest on the theoretical side, creating processes without a causal order is an experimental task. We report the first decisive demonstration of a process with an indefinite causal order. To do this, we quantify how incompatible our setup is with a definite causal order by measuring a “causal witness.” This mathematical object incorporates a series of measurements that are designed to yield a certain outcome only if the process under examination is not consistent with any well-defined causal order. In our experiment, we perform a measurement in a superposition of causal orders—without destroying the coherence—to acquire information both inside and outside of a “causally nonordered process.” Using this information, we experimentally determine a causal witness, demonstrating by almost 7 SDs that the experimentally implemented process does not have a definite causal order.
Keywords
Quantum InformationQuantum OpticsQuantum Foundations
Object type
Language
English [eng]
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:912586
Appeared in
Title
Science Advances
Volume
3
Issue
3
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date issued
2017
Access rights
Rights statement
© The Authors

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