Structural constraint on delayed-choice quantum eraser architectures

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Fikri, Chakir
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Fikri, Chakir
author_facet Fikri, Chakir
contents Delayed-choice quantum eraser (DCQE) experiments are often presented as challenging classical causal intuitions by correlating detection events with choices implemented at later times. While it is well understood that post-selection plays a crucial role in producing the observed interference patterns, the structural features underlying such correlations are rarely analyzed within a unified framework. In this work, we introduce a simple probabilistic constraint applicable to idealized DCQE architectures. We show that four intuitive properties -- statistical independence of the choice, absence of losses, deterministic routing conditioned on the choice, and distinct conditional detection distributions -- cannot be simultaneously satisfied. This incompatibility provides a transparent classification of DCQE schemes and clarifies how conditional interference patterns arise without invoking exotic mechanisms.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_24994
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Structural constraint on delayed-choice quantum eraser architectures
Fikri, Chakir
Quantum Physics
Delayed-choice quantum eraser (DCQE) experiments are often presented as challenging classical causal intuitions by correlating detection events with choices implemented at later times. While it is well understood that post-selection plays a crucial role in producing the observed interference patterns, the structural features underlying such correlations are rarely analyzed within a unified framework. In this work, we introduce a simple probabilistic constraint applicable to idealized DCQE architectures. We show that four intuitive properties -- statistical independence of the choice, absence of losses, deterministic routing conditioned on the choice, and distinct conditional detection distributions -- cannot be simultaneously satisfied. This incompatibility provides a transparent classification of DCQE schemes and clarifies how conditional interference patterns arise without invoking exotic mechanisms.
title Structural constraint on delayed-choice quantum eraser architectures
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.24994