He received the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger “for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell’s inequalities and pioneering quantum information science”This was reported by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Tuesday.

Alain Aspect (France), John Clauser (USA) and Anton Zeilinger (Austria) conducted pioneering experiments using “entangled” quantum states in which two particles behave as a single entity even though they are separated. Their results paved the way for a new technology based on quantum information, explained the Swedish Academy of Sciences.

“It is becoming increasingly obvious that a new kind of quantum technology is emerging. We see that the laureates’ work with inseparability states is of great importance, even beyond the fundamental questions regarding the interpretation of quantum mechanics,” said Anders Irbek, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics.

Why Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger became laureates

“The unspeakable effects of quantum mechanics are beginning to find application. There is currently a huge area of ​​research that includes quantum computers, quantum networks, and quantum-secure encrypted communications.

A key factor in this development is how quantum mechanics allows two or more particles to exist in what is called a state of inseparability. What happens to one of the particles in the entangled pair determines what happens to the other particle, even if they are far apart.

For a long time, the question arose as to whether this correlation is due to the fact that the particles in the interconnected pair contain hidden variables, that is, instructions that tell them what result they should produce in the experiment.

In the 1960s, John Stuart Bell developed the mathematical inequality that bears his name. This states that if there are latent variables, the correlation between the results of a large number of measurements will never exceed a certain value. However, quantum mechanics predicts that a certain type of experiment will violate Bell’s inequality, leading to a stronger correlation than would otherwise be possible.

John Clauser developed John Bell’s ideas, leading to a practical experiment. When he performed the measurements, they confirmed quantum mechanics, clearly violating Bell’s inequality. This means that quantum mechanics cannot be replaced by a theory that uses hidden variables.

Some gaps remained after John Clauser’s experiment. Alain Aspect developed the device, using it in such a way as to close an important loophole. He was able to change the measurement settings after the interlocking pair left their source so that the settings that existed at the time they were issued could not affect the result.

Using sophisticated tools and a long series of experiments, Anton Zeilinger began to exploit interconnected quantum states. Among other things, his research group has demonstrated a phenomenon called quantum teleportation, which allows moving a quantum state from one particle to another over a distance.”

The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded 115 times

On November 27, 1895, when Alfred Nobel made his will, he donated most of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As written in Nobel’s will, part of the funds is dedicated to “a person who will make the most important discovery or invention in the field of physics.”

Since 1901, 115 Nobel Prizes in Physics have been awarded. It was not awarded for six years: 1916, 1931, 1934, 1940, 1941 and 1942.

• 47 prizes in physics were awarded to one laureate.
• 32 prizes in physics were shared by two laureates.
• 36 prizes in physics were divided among three laureates.

Why is this happening? The statute of the Nobel Foundation states: “The amount of the prize may be divided equally between two works, each of which is considered worthy of the prize. If the work to be awarded is performed by two or three persons, the prize shall be awarded jointly to them.” The amount of the prize may in no case be divided between more than three persons.”

John Bardeen won it twice

The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to 219 laureates between 1901 and 2021. Given that John Bardeen was awarded twice, since 1901 the Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to 218 people.

To date, the youngest winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics is Lawrence Bragg, who was 25 years old when he shared the Nobel Prize with his father in 1915.

The oldest Nobel laureate in physics to date is Arthur Ashkin, who was 96 years old when he won the Nobel Prize in 2018.

Women laureates of the Nobel Prize in Physics

Among the 218 laureates of the Nobel Prize in Physics, four are women.

1903 – Marie Curie (also awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911).

1963 – Maria Heppert-Mayer

2018 – Donna Strickland

2020 – Andrea Guez

Families of the laureates of the Nobel Prize in Physics

Married couples:

Marie Curie and Pierre Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903. Marie Curie was awarded a second Nobel Prize in 1911, this time for Chemistry. (One of Marie and Pierre Curie’s daughters, Irene Joliot-Curie, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 with her husband Frédéric Joliot.)

Father and son:

William Bragg and Lawrence Bragg, 1915

Niels Bohr, 1922 and Age N. Bohr, 1975

Mann Zigban, 1924 and Kai M. Zigban, 1981

JJ Thomson, 1906, and George Paget Thomson, 1937

(They all won the Nobel Prize in Physics.)

Literature:

• Champions of light? Physics is waiting for its Nobel
• The 2022 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Svante Pääbo / Unique details of the history of this award, who are the laureates of the last 10 years and why they received it