Nonlocal cancellation of dispersion

Abstract

Classically, two coincident light pulses propagating through two dispersive media will become broadened and their degree of coincidence will be reduced. When entangled photon pairs from parametric down-conversion are considered instead, it is found that the dispersion experienced by one photon can exactly cancel the dispersion experienced by the other in such a way that their coincidence is maintained. The dispersion cancellation is independent of the separation between the two photons and provides a further example of the nonlocal nature of the quantum theory.