Entangled particles display quantum correlations which don’t agree with the rules of classical probability, and which challenge notions of reality and of causality. This project will develop and perform empirical tests of quantum entanglement and Bell-inequality violation deep within the subatomic realm. The experiments will be performed at the smallest possible length-scales (around 10^-18 m) and highest energies (~100 GeV) by exploiting data from the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, orders of magnitude different from the energies and lengths of existing measurements, and where unexpected results may lie. Measurements will be made that are sensitive to quantum phenomena such as quantum state tomography, entanglement, and Bell violation in deeply subatomic regions where they are just starting to be probed.
The project will investigate the philosophical implications of these measurements in the context of the principles of locality, reality and objectivity, and of fundamental particles and indistinguishability. The structure and interpretation of the measurements will also be informed by powerful concepts and techniques from quantum information theory, generally unfamiliar in high energy experiments.
Our team will deliver theoretical and experimental publications on performing quantum-foundational measurements at colliders. We will host a topical cross-disciplinary conference on the status of the measurements and their interpretation. In terms of public engagement, we will deliver an international schools outreach program that will enable school students (typically in the 16-18 year old category) to undertake their own analysis of data from the Large Hadron Collider at their schools, particularly engaging female students and under-represented communities.
