Physicists are getting closer to unraveling the mystery of the enigmatic "spooky" quantum state.

Quantum light has demonstrated that entanglement, which can intricately link two distant particles, may be equivalent to an equally peculiar quantum property of a single particle. This discovery could be instrumental in the development of new quantum technologies and assist physicists in understanding why particles can initially exist in a state of quantum entanglement. The research has been published in the journal Physical Review Letters, reports New Scientist.

According to the scientists, the quantum world operates in ways that are fundamentally different from the familiar laws of classical physics. They examined two primary examples of unusual quantum behavior known as contextuality and nonlocality.

Contextuality refers to the idea that the result of measuring a quantum object depends on what other measurements are being conducted on it simultaneously. Nonlocality means that measuring the properties of one quantum object, such as a particle, can instantly reveal information about another object, even if it is located far away. This quantum entanglement is sometimes referred to as "spooky action at a distance," and physicists have yet to reach a consensus on how it operates.

The authors of the new study demonstrated that one of these properties can be transformed into the other. Physicists utilized pairs of quantum entangled particles of light, or photons. They placed each photon into a quantum state that exhibited complex rotational properties: if these photons were part of a beam of light, that beam would be twisted in the shape of a spiral.

The more twisted the physicists made the photons, the more intricate their quantum states became. In fact, they were able to create quantum states of photons that had up to six dimensions, as if the photon existed in a six-dimensional quantum world.

Since the photons were quantum entangled, the physicists knew they would experience nonlocality. For instance, by forcing one of the photons to pass through a detector that altered its properties, the scientists would always immediately learn about the corresponding new properties of the other photon without needing to measure it. To connect this with contextuality, the physicists employed a mathematical approach to transform between nonlocality and contextuality.

The researchers created a formula into which they could input their measurements to verify if the transformation was effective. The physicists found that it worked. Thus, the scientists demonstrated that quantum entanglement can be multidimensional. This finding aligns with long-standing hypotheses.

The authors of the study state that the relationship between contextuality and nonlocality has not been studied as thoroughly as quantum entanglement, yet it may hold the key to understanding how this "spooky" quantum state functions.

What mechanism allows two quantum entangled photons to maintain their properties as linked, even when they are far apart? This experiment brings scientists closer to answering one of the fundamental questions of quantum physics.

The new research may also have practical implications. Physicists believe that their findings could be beneficial for developing technologies such as ultra-secure quantum communication, efficient quantum cryptography, and certain types of quantum computing.