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Science 22 August 2003:
Vol. 301. no. 5636, pp. 1081 - 1084
DOI: 10.1126/science.1084867
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Reports

Measurement-Induced Relative-Position Localization Through Entanglement

A. V. Rau,* J. A. Dunningham, K. Burnett

We consider the localization of a pair of particles in relative-position space. We show how a sequence of scattering interactions progressively entangles two particles, giving rise to a robust state of well-defined separation and thus providing a natural description of relative position. We use two thought experiments to describe the localization process. The first is an interferometer with recoiling mirrors. The second, and more general, case considers photons scattering from a pair of particles and the resulting emergence of a Young's interference pattern. The underlying framework of the localization process suggests a prominent role for entanglement and relative observables at the boundary between quantum and classical mechanics.

Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: a.rau{at}physics.ox.ac.uk

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)