Abstract

It is well known that Bell’s inequality may be violated for special quantum states, e.g., an entangled state for a pair of particles. The entangled state is generalized here into a polyentangled state. Specifically, instead of only two possible states for each individual particle of the pair, several states are possible in an entangled way. An experimental realization for the polyentangled state is presented. It is the state for a pair of atoms in their Zeeman sublevels, in which the atoms are produced from dissociation of a homonuclear (I = 1/2) paradimer that is initially in a J = even rotational state of the singlet electron state. The three possible angular momentum components (M₂ = 0,±1) in a specific direction can be determined because the different Zeeman sublevels can be selectively excited by polarized lasers, and then subsequently detected by photoionization. Because of the high detection efficiency (>90%) and fast responsivity (<10 ns) for these processes, the two main loopholes in previous LHV experiments using optical photons can be blocked.

© 1991 Optical Society of America