SENDER
Alice encodes information into a
photon, which is then made to
interact with one of a pair of
entangled particles in a device
called a “Bell-state analyzer.”
BELL-STATE ANALYZER
QUANTUM PHOTON
TELEPORTATION
The strange physics of entanglement (see
pp.72–73) can be put to work in quantum
teleportation—the reconstruction of
quantum information from one system in
CONVENTIONAL SIGNAL
another system. Teleportation involves the
ENTANGLED PHOTONS
creation of an entangled pair of quantum
states (qubits; see p.106), which are then
separated. The system to be teleported
interacts with one qubit, resulting in a
“classical” measurement that is then
transmitted to the location of the other
qubit at the speed of light, and used to
reconstruct the interacting system. TELEPORTED
Bob has the other half of
PHOTON
the entangled photon pair.
Information about Alice’s
system, sent by conventional
means, allows him to recreate
Alice’s encoded photon and
read its information.
RECEIVER
74 TRANSFERRING QUANTUM STATES
0 COHERENCE
A quantum particle in complete
isolation can retain an indeterminate
1 state indefinitely.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
In a complex system, such as an atom,
interference with wave functions from ATOM
other particles causes indeterminate
systems to lose coherence.
TA B LE
UNS ENT
RO N M
E N V I inate st
ate
rm
ndete o be i id t
in the are sa loss
s y s tems u n c tio n
e n ce is a
u m f e r
Quant a wav
e
decoh ith its
s cr ib ed by m e n on of i n te racts w , its
de heno stem lated
n t .” The p n as a sy fe c tly iso he
“cohe
re
in fo rma t io
t e m is p e r
io n s with t
ntum s a sys teract e is a
of qua ings. Unles t h r o ugh in e c o h erenc
surrou
nd rates nt. D
g syst
ems
n c e d eterio e nv ironme p u t in
coher
e of its m com e of
e f u n ctions or q uantu e s in a stat
wav nge f articl
challe ping p nce.
major e ly on ke e
cohere
a t r e r m
th long-t
DECOHERENCE 75
INSIDE SOLID OBJECTS
Individual atoms consist of positively charged nuclei surrounded
by negatively charged electrons (see pp.10–11). In order to form
large-scale solid materials, such as crystals, however, atoms
surrender some of their electrons, allowing them to float freely
(to a certain degree) within a fixed geometric lattice of
positively charged ions. Quantum effects govern where
electrons can reside—modeling the electrons as a “gas” of
fermions provides insights into phenomena such as electrical
and heat conduction and insulation.
SOLID OBJECT
76 SOLID-STATE PHYSICS
