Locality and nonlocality in the interaction-free measurement

We present a paradox involving a particle and a mirror. They exchange a nonlocal quantity, modular angular momentum Lz mod 2ћ, but there seems to be no local interaction between them that allows such an exchange. We demonstrate that the particle and mirror do interact locally via a weak local curren...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rohrlich Daniel, Aharonov Yakir, Landsberger Tomer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EDP Sciences 2018-01-01
Series:EPJ Web of Conferences
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201818202105
Description
Summary:We present a paradox involving a particle and a mirror. They exchange a nonlocal quantity, modular angular momentum Lz mod 2ћ, but there seems to be no local interaction between them that allows such an exchange. We demonstrate that the particle and mirror do interact locally via a weak local current 〈Lz mod 2ћ〉w. In this sense, we transform the “interaction-free measurement” of Elitzur and Vaidman, in which two local quantities (the positions of a photon and a bomb in the two arms of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer) interact nonlocally, into a thought experiment in which two nonlocal quantities (the weak modular angular momentum of the particle and of the mirror) interact locally.
ISSN:2100-014X