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Researchers have employed high-energy particle collisions to explore the internal structure of protons, the constituents found within the nuclei of all atoms. This has uncovered for the first time that quarks and gluons, the fundamental components of protons, undergo the phenomenon known as quantum entanglement.
Entanglement is a principle of quantum physics that states two influenced particles can immediately affect each other’s “state” regardless of the distance separating them — even if situated on opposite ends of the universe. Albert Einstein based his theories of relativity on the premise that nothing can exceed the speed of light, a fact that should invalidate the instantaneous characteristic of entanglement.
Consequently, Einstein was so disturbed by entanglement that he famously referred to it as “spukhafte Fernwirkung” or “spooky action at a distance.” Nevertheless, despite Einstein’s doubts regarding entanglement, this “spooky” phenomenon has been consistently validated. Many of those validations have focused on testing the increasing distances over which entanglement can be proven. This novel experiment took a different course, examining entanglement over a mere one quadrillionth of a meter, confirming it truly takes place within individual protons.
The research group discovered that the transfer of information that characterizes entanglement happens across entire collections of fundamental particles named quarks and gluons situated within a proton.
“Prior to our research, no one had investigated entanglement within a proton using experimental high-energy collision data,” stated team member and Brookhaven Lab physicist Zhoudunming Tu in a statement. “For years, we’ve maintained a conventional view of the proton as a grouping of quarks and gluons, concentrating on understanding so-called single-particle characteristics, encompassing how quarks and gluons are distributed within the proton.
“Now, with proof that quarks and gluons are intertwined, this perception has evolved. We now comprehend a considerably more complex, dynamic system.”
The findings of the research group, which culminated after six years of effort, enhances scientists’ comprehension of how entanglement impacts the structure of protons.
Entanglement becomes complicated
To examine the inner components of protons, scientists focused on high-energy particle collisions that have taken place in facilities such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). When particles collide at exceptionally high speeds, other particles scatter away from the collision akin to debris hurled from a crash between two vehicles.
This team employed a method devised in 2017 that uses quantum information science on electron-proton collisions to analyze how entanglement affects the trajectories of particles that scatter away. If quarks and gluons are entangled with protons, this methodology indicates that should be evident from the disorder, or “entropy,” observed in the sprays of secondary particles.
“Imagine a child’s cluttered bedroom, filled with laundry and various items scattered all over,” Tu remarked. “In that disorganized space, the entropy is significantly high.”
Conversely, a low-entropy scenario resembles a neatly organized and tidy bedroom where everything is arranged efficiently. A chaotic room implies entanglement, in a sense.
“For a maximally entangled state of quarks and gluons, a straightforward relation allows us to predict the entropy of particles generated in a high-energy collision,” Brookhaven Lab theorist Dmitri Kharzeev stated in the announcement. “We verified this relation using experimental data.”
To assess how “messy” particles become post-collision, the research group initially utilized data generated from proton-proton collisions conducted at the LHC. Then, in pursuit of “cleaner” data, the researchers turned to electron-proton collisions conducted at the Hadron-Electron Ring Accelerator (HERA) particle collider from 1992 to 2007.
This data was provided by the H1 collaboration and its spokesperson along with Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) researcher Stefan Schmitt following a three-year endeavor poring over HERA results.
By comparing HERA data with the entropy calculations, the team’s outcomes perfectly aligned with their forecasts, supplying robust evidence that quarks and gluons within protons are maximally entangled.
“Entanglement doesn’t just occur between two particles but among all the particles,” Kharzeev noted. “Maximal entanglement inside the proton arises as a result of strong interactions that generate numerous quark-antiquark pairs and gluons.”
The realization of maximal entanglement of quarks and gluons inside protons may provide insights regarding what holds these fundamental particles bound together within the building blocks of atomic nuclei.
Revealing nuances of the entanglement amongst quarks and gluons could assist scientists in addressing deeper questions in nuclear physics, such as how being part of larger atomic nuclei affects the composition of protons. For instance, does placing a proton in a highly active nuclear environment surrounded by many interacting protons and neutrons hinder the entanglement, a process referred to as “quantum decoherence,” with the individual protons?
“To explore this question, we need to collide electrons not only with separate protons but also with nuclei,” Tu explained. “It will be immensely beneficial to employ the same tools to observe the entanglement in a proton incorporated in a nucleus — to understand how it is influenced by the nuclear environment.”
This will represent one of the primary investigations undertaken by Brookhaven Lab’s upcoming Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). Thus, these results could play a crucial role in the blueprint for the EIC, which is scheduled to commence operations in 2030.
“Examining entanglement within the nuclear environment will certainly provide further insight regarding this quantum behavior — whether it remains coherent or becomes decoherent — and enhance our understanding of how it relates to the established nuclear and particle physics phenomena we aim to unravel,” Tu concluded.
The research conducted by the team was published in the journal Reports on Progress in Physics.
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