What is nonlocal in counterfactual quantum communication?

ORAL

Abstract

We revisit the “counterfactual quantum communication” of Salih et al., who claim that an observer “Bob” can send one bit of information to a second observer “Alice” without any physical particle traveling between them. We show that a locally conserved, massless current - specifically, a current of modular angular momentum, Lz mod 2$hbar$ - carries the one bit of information. We integrate the flux of Lz mod 2$hbar$ from Bob to Alice and show that it equals one of the two eigenvalues of Lz mod 2$hbar$, either 0 or $hbar$, thus precisely accounting for the one bit of information he sends her. We previously obtained this result using weak values of Lz mod 2$hbar$; here we do not use weak values.

Presenters

  • Daniel Rohrlich

    Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Authors

  • Daniel Rohrlich

    Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

  • Yakir Aharonov

    Chapman University, Tel Aviv University, Chapman University