Footprints of Quantum Pigeons

Authors

Gregory Reznick, Tel-Aviv University
Shrobona Bagchi, Tel-Aviv University
Justin Dressel, Chapman UniversityFollow
Lev Vaidman, Tel-Aviv University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-3-2020

Abstract

We show that in the mathematical framework of the quantum theory, the classical pigeonhole principle can be violated more directly than previously suggested, i.e., in a setting closer to the traditional statement of the principle. We describe how the counterfactual reasoning of the paradox may be operationally grounded in the analysis of the tiny footprints left in the environment by the pigeons. After identifying the drawbacks of recent experiments of the quantum pigeonhole effect, we argue that a definitive experimental violation of the pigeonhole principle is still needed and propose such an implementation using modern quantum computing hardware: a superconducting circuit with transmon qubits.

Comments

This article was originally published in Physical Review Research, volume 2, in 2020. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.023004

Recommended Citation

G. Reznick, S. Bagchi, J. Dressel, and L. Vaidman, Footprints of quantum pigeons, Phys. Rev. Res. 2, 023004 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.023004

Peer Reviewed

1

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.