Quantum Information Science (QIS) Seminar
(CSI 991 - 006)
 Monday, September 19, 2005, 4:30 - 6:00 PM
George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
Science Showcase, George Johnson Center, Room 237

Presenter: Dr. Louis Sica, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (retired)

Title: Implications of Violations of the Bell Inequality 

Abstract: Cross-correlations among jointly present data sets satisfy the Bell inequality as a fact of mathematics.   Violation of Bell inequalities by cross-correlations of data sets obtained in independent trials of quantum correlation experiments shows that wide-sense-spatially stationary (in angle) processes cannot account for the quantum mechanical cosine correlation.  However, correlations among properly correlated experimental data sets are predicted to be spatially nonstationary in angle, and to satisfy the Bell inequality.  Further, by using information commonly designated as nonlocal, correlations among real and counterfactual measurements may be derived to form a  set that is spatially nonstationary in angle and that satisfies the Bell inequalities.   These considerations may be extended to the domain of well-known inequalities in probabilities that follow from the correlational inequalities upon assuming a simple symmetry condition.  Such results imply that  if nonlocality of the Bell correlations can be derived from the Bell inequalities, reasoning different from that used historically must be employed to show it.

About the Author: Louis Sica received his Ph.D. in physics from The Johns Hopkins University.  His thesis was concerned with the spatial coherence properties of lasers and thermal sources.  He spent his subsequent career at the Naval Research Laboratory with two interludes at ONR.  He has investigated a variety of optical problems ranging from nonlinear processes deleterious to laser propagation, to high resolution space imaging using coherence measurements.  Many of these problems were in the area of statistical optics.  Recently, he has been interested in foundational problems of quantum mechanics, particularly problems in the interpretation  of Bell’s theorem.

Related Publications:

1.     "Bell’s inequalities I:  An explanation for their experimental violation",  Louis Sica, Opt. Commun. 170 (1999) 55-60. http://xxx.lanl.gov/quant-ph/0101094

2.     “Bell’s inequalities II: Logical loophole in their interpretation”,  Louis Sica, Opt. Commun. 170 (1999) 61-66. http://xxx.lanl.gov/quant-ph/0101094

3.     “Correlations for a new Bell’s inequality experiment”,  Louis Sica, Found. Phys. Lett. 15(5), 473-486 (2002). http://xxx.lanl.gov/quant-ph/0211031

4.     “Bell’s inequality violation due to misidentification of spatially non-stationary random processes”,  Louis Sica,  J.Mod. Opt.  50 (15-17), 2465-2474 (2003). http://xxx.lanl.gov/quant-ph/0305071

5.     "The connection between Bell's inequalities based on probabilities, and those based on correlations", L. Sica, J. Mod. Opt. 51 (16-18), 2461-2468 (2004).