A Mechanism for Entanglement?

TL;DR

This paper suggests that quantum entanglement may be explained as a selection artefact caused by collider bias and boundary constraints, potentially reconciling Bell nonlocality with relativity without invoking faster-than-light influences.

Contribution

It introduces a novel explanation of entanglement as a selection artefact, extending previous ideas to Bell experiments and offering a potential reconciliation with relativity.

Findings

Validates the proposal for W-shaped Bell experiments with delayed-choice entanglement swapping

Argues the approach can be extended to V-shaped Bell experiments

No need for causal influence outside lightcones in the explanation

Abstract

We propose that quantum entanglement is a special sort of selection artefact, explicable as a combination of (i) collider bias and (ii) a boundary constraint on the collider variable. We show that the proposal is valid for a special class of (`W-shaped') Bell experiments involving delayed-choice entanglement swapping, and argue that it can be extended to the ordinary (`V-shaped') case. The proposal requires no direct causal influence outside lightcones, and may hence offer a way to reconcile Bell nonlocality and relativity. The main argument is a detailed version of an approach previously outlined in arXiv:2404.13928 [quant-ph].