A Refutation of Bell's Theorem

Bell's Theorem was developed on the basis of considerations involving a linear combination of spin correlation functions, each of which has a distinct pair of arguments. The simultaneous presence of these different pairs of arguments in the same equation can be understood in two radically different ways: either as `strongly objective,' that is, all correlation functions pertain to the same set of particle pairs, or as `weakly objective,' that is, each correlation function pertains to a different set of particle pairs. It is demonstrated that once this meaning is determined, no discrepancy appears between local realistic theories and quantum mechanics: the discrepancy in Bell's Theorem is due only to a meaningless comparison between a local realistic inequality written within the strongly objective interpretation (thus relevant to a single set of particle pairs) and a quantum mechanical prediction derived from a weakly objective interpretation (thus relevant to several different sets of particle pairs).Comment: RevTex4, 9 pages. Extended and entirely revised version. A talk given at the Vaxjo conference, Sweden; Nov. 2000. Submited to J. Math. Phy

Violation of Bell Inequalities as a Violation of Fair Sampling in Threshold Detectors

Photomultiplier tubes and avalanche photodiodes, which are commonly used in quantum optic experiments, are sometimes referred to as threshold detectors because, in photon counting mode, they cannot discriminate the number of photoelectrons initially extracted from the absorber in the detector. We argue that they can be called threshold detectors on more account than that. We point out that their their functioning principle relies on two thresholds that are usually thought unimportant individually in the context of EPR-Bell discussion. We show how the combined effect of these threshold can lead to a significant sampling selection bias in the detection of pairs of pulses, resulting in an apparent violation of Bell inequalities.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, FPP5 conference, Vaxjo (Sweden) August 200

A Fair Sampling Test for Ekert Protocol

We propose a local scheme to enhance the security of quantum key distribution in Ekert protocol (E91). Our proposal is a fair sampling test meant to detect an eavesdropping attempt that would use a biased sample to mimic an apparent violation of Bell inequalities. The test is local and non disruptive: it can be unilaterally performed at any time by either Alice or Bob during the production of the key, and together with the Bell inequality test.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett

Frequency and phase relations of entangled photons observed by a two-photon interference experiment

An entangled photon experiment has been performed with a large variation of the temperature of the non-linear crystal generating the entangled pair by spontaneous downconversion. The photon pairs are separated by a nonpolarizing beamsplitter, and the polarization modes are mixed by half wave plates. The correlation function of the coincidences is studied as a function of the temperature. In the presence of a narrow interference filter we observe that the correlation changes between -1 and +1 about seven times within a temperature interval of about 30 degrees C. We show that the common simplified single-mode pair representation of entangled photons is insufficient to describe the results, but that the biphoton description that includes frequency and phase details gives close to perfect fit with experimental data for two different choices of interference filters. We explain the main ideas of the underlying physics, and give an interpretation of the two-photon amplitude which provides an intuitive understanding of the effect of changing the temperature and inserting interference filters.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1309.108