Preliminary analysis of a recent experiment by F. A. Bovino

TL;DR

This paper analyzes a recent photon polarization experiment, comparing quantum mechanics and local hidden variable models, finding data consistent with local models despite quantum predictions being violated.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis considering non-maximally entangled states and experimental non-idealities, challenging the interpretation of quantum violations.

Findings

Quantum mechanics predictions are violated by more than 4 standard deviations.

Experimental data are compatible with local hidden variable models.

Analysis accounts for non-idealities and non-maximal entanglement.

Abstract

An analysis is made of the results of a recent polarization correlation experiment by Bovino (unpublished) where about 60,000 data have been obtained. I assume that the state of the photon pairs produced in the source (a non-linear crystal) are in a (slightly)non-maximally entangled state and the most relevant non-idealities of the set-up are taken into account. A comparison is made between the predictions of quantum mechanics and a simple family of local hidden varaibles models with the result that the former is violated by more than 4 standard deviations whislt the data are compatible with the family of local models.