Entanglement and photoelectron holography in dissociative photoionization: molecular quantum eraser

Abstract:In a double-slit experiment with a bipartite system, the visibility of interference fringes depends on the availability of which-way information. Here, we report a Bell-like state of photoelectron and residual ion in the multiphoton dissociative ionization of the D$_2$ molecule. Evidence for entanglement is provided by the correlated emission directions of photoelectron and ion, which is observed using a COLTRIMS reaction microscope. In the presence of this correlation, the holographic interference fringes contained in the photoelectron momentum distributions are suppressed, indicating the existence of which-way information. The interference pattern persists when a single ionic state is populated and thus no which-way information is available. The experimental observations and conclusions are supported by the numerical solution of the electronic-nuclear time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Our work demonstrates that coincidence spectroscopy of ions and electrons is a powerful method for studying fundamental concepts of quantum information science within the context of ultrafast light-matter interactions.

Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph); Optics (physics.optics)

arXiv:2604.16107 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2604.16107v2 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2604.16107 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite

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