Testing the Deviation of Single-Side Polarization State of Entangled Photons from Malus' Law: A Decisive Experimental Scheme Based on Coincidence Measurement
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Bell inequality experiments have demonstrated that quantum entanglement violates the predictions of local realism. However, all Bell experiments are based on joint measurements of two photons, and their analysis implicitly assumes that "the polarization state of a single photon is ideally linear." This paper proposes an experimental scheme to directly test this assumption: using type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) to generate polarization-entangled photon pairs, employing fixed-angle measurement of the e-light channel as a coincidence gate to filter entangled photons in the o-light channel, then scanning the o-light analyzer angle with high precision to measure the coincidence count rate as a function of the analyzer angle, testing whether it strictly follows Malus' law I(\theta)=I_0\cos^2(\theta-\theta_0). If systematic deviation is observed in the curve, it would indicate the existence of asymmetric secondary polarization structures in the polarization state of entangled photons, providing an alternative explanatory pathway for Bell inequality violation distinct from nonlocality. This experiment employs a high-precision coincidence measurement scheme to ensure statistical significance and designs multiple control experiments to eliminate systematic errors. The experiment can be implemented in laboratories equipped with standard quantum optics equipment.
Author: Guo, Jingyuan
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204133458
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