Abstract
Motivated by recent progress in electron quantum optics, we revisit the question of single-electron entanglement, specifically whether the state of a single electron in a superposition of two separate spatial modes should be considered entangled. We first discuss a gedanken experiment with single-electron sources and detectors, and demonstrate deterministic (i. e. without post-selection) Bell inequality violation. This implies that the single-electron state is indeed entangled and, furthermore, nonlocal. We then present an experimental scheme where single-electron entanglement can be observed via measurements of the average currents and zero-frequency current cross-correlators in an electronic Hanbury Brown–Twiss interferometer driven by Lorentzian voltage pulses. We show that single-electron entanglement is detectable under realistic operating conditions. Our work settles the question of single-electron entanglement and opens promising perspectives for future experiments.
Highlights
The field of electron quantum optics has witnessed strong experimental advances over a short period of time [1]
We present an experimental scheme where singleelectron entanglement can be observed via measurements of the average currents and zero-frequency current cross-correlators in an electronic Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometer driven by Lorentzian voltage pulses
Electronic analogues of the Mach-Zehnder [2], Hanbury BrownTwiss [3] and Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometers [4] can be implemented with edge channels of the integer quantum hall effect functioning as wave guides for electrons
Summary
The field of electron quantum optics has witnessed strong experimental advances over a short period of time [1]. The recent realization of coherent single-electron emitters is opening up avenues for the controlled manipulation of few-particle electronic states [5, 6, 7, 8] In parallel to these developments, a number of theoretical proposals have been put forward to entangle electrons, e. For electrons (and other fermions), the situation is different because of charge and parity superselection rules, and the question still causes controversy [33, 34, 35, 36, 37] We revisit this question motivated by the recent development of dynamic single-particle sources in electron quantum optics. The single-electron entanglement can be observed from current cross-correlation measurements at the outputs of the interferometer
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
