Institute Colloquium: Uncertainty determines the non-locality of quantum mechanics
Date
Monday, June 18, 2012 16:30 - 17:30
Speaker
Stephanie Wehner (National University of Singapore)
Location
Raiffeisen Lecture Hall, Central Building
Series
Colloquium
Tags
Institute Colloquium
Contact
Two central concepts of quantum mechanics are Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, and a subtle form of non-locality that Einstein famously called ''spooky action at a distance''. These two fundamental features have thus far been distinct concepts. In this talk, we'll see that they are inextricably and quantitatively linked. Quantum mechanics cannot be more non-local with measurements that respect the uncertainty principle. In fact, the link between uncertainty and non-locality holds for all physical theories. More specifically, the degree of non-locality of any theory is determined by two factors -- the strength of the uncertainty principle, and the strength of a property called ''steering'', which determines which states can be prepared at one location given a measurement at another.