Why Entangled Photons Should Not Exist — A Natural Quantum Theory Perspective
Yian Lei, 2025
I. Introduction: The Conceptual Paradox of “Entangled Photons”
In standard quantum optics, “entangled photons” are regarded as the hallmark of quantum nonlocality and the foundation of quantum communication. The notion originates from the mathematical tensor product of field modes and the statistical correlations observed in coincidence detection.
However, from the standpoint of Natural Quantum Theory (NQT), this concept is physically untenable.
Low-energy photons, such as those in optical or microwave regimes, are extremely weakly interacting excitations of the electromagnetic field.
If such photons could genuinely form entangled “non-separable quantum objects,” their mutual interaction would have to be strong enough to produce correlated field states over macroscopic distances.
But that would immediately contradict an obvious empirical fact:
We can see starlight across billions of light-years.
If light quanta could become entangled or decohered simply by co-propagation or interaction, the night sky would be dark — every photon would have long ago lost coherence through unavoidable interactions with the cosmic photon background.
II. The Physical Inconsistency in the “Photon Entanglement” Narrative
(1) Electromagnetic Linearity
The Maxwell equations are strictly linear in vacuum.
Two electromagnetic waves, no matter how intense, do not interact directly.
In QED, photon–photon scattering arises only via higher-order virtual processes mediated by charged loops (e.g., electron–positron pairs), and the corresponding cross section is absurdly small:
[
\sigma_{\gamma\gamma} \sim 10^{-65}\ \text{cm}^2 \text{ for optical photons}.
]
Thus, two low-energy photons are effectively mutually transparent.
If real “entangled photons” existed as bound or correlated objects, there must be an effective photon–photon coupling large enough to maintain non-separable correlations over macroscopic distances — which directly contradicts both field theory and observation.
(2) The Misinterpretation of Coincidence Correlation
Experiments claiming “photon entanglement” — such as SPDC (spontaneous parametric down-conversion) or HOM interference — do not demonstrate inter-photon interaction, but correlated emission from a common nonlinear source.
In other words, the “entangled state”
[
|\Psi\rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} (|H\rangle_1 |V\rangle_2 + |V\rangle_1 |H\rangle_2)
]
does not describe two photons bound together,
but merely a joint mode correlation in the same electromagnetic field generated by one nonlinear process.
The observed correlations arise from classical phase coherence between field modes, not from any mysterious superluminal connection.
Once the two photons are spatially separated, they no longer share a common field; what remains is a statistical imprint of their common origin, not a physical linkage.
(3) The Cosmic Consistency Argument
If “entangled photons” could remain correlated after separation without any field connection,
then every emission process in the universe — from atomic transitions to starlight — would generate vast webs of nonlocal correlations.
After billions of years, the entire cosmos would be filled with a tangled quantum network of mutually dependent photons.
Yet, observations show the opposite:
Starlight remains coherent and linear;
Photons propagate independently through interstellar space;
No measurable nonlocal interference occurs between photons from different stars.
Hence, the supposed “entanglement” must be a local property of emission, not a persistent physical relation.
III. Natural Quantum Theory Explanation
In NQT, light is not a collection of discrete particles but a continuous electromagnetic field with quantized energy spectra determined by boundary conditions and resonance modes.
In nonlinear crystals (e.g., SPDC), the same local field oscillation produces two correlated wave packets with complementary frequencies or polarizations;
These correlations reflect the spectral structure of the emission field, not a mystical “quantum bond” between independent particles;
Once the wave packets separate, the correlation becomes statistical memory, not physical entanglement.
Thus, “photon entanglement” is better understood as a spectral correlation of a single extended field event, not a nonlocal connection between two isolated photons.
For the interpretation of quantum entanglement experiments, please refer to previous articles, such as "Why People Cannot Understand Quantum Entanglement".
IV. Implications for Quantum Communication and Foundations
If this interpretation is correct, then:
Quantum “nonlocality” experiments test not superluminal influence but hidden assumptions about wave–detector correlations;
“Bell violation” does not imply action-at-a-distance, but rather the non-factorizability of correlated field modes at the source;
Entanglement-based communication cannot truly transmit information without classical channels because the field correlation is passive, not dynamic.
In short, Nature does not maintain nonlocal bonds between independent photons.
Correlations exist only within the temporal and spatial coherence domain of a common field emission.
V. Conclusion: The Myth of “Entangled Photons”
The idea of “entangled photons” belongs to the same family of conceptual errors as “wave function collapse” and “quantum jumps.”
They all stem from treating mathematical constructs as physical realities.
Low-energy photons are linear, non-interacting field modes.
They cannot be physically “entangled” in the sense of sustaining mutual influence after emission.
The experimental signatures of “entanglement” are fully consistent with classical correlated emission plus phase-sensitive detection —
nothing more mysterious than that.
If photons could truly bind, interact, or remain nonlocally connected,
the transparent universe we see would not exist.
The night sky itself is the ultimate proof that light travels independently and locally.
In the Natural Quantum Theory view:
Entanglement is not an ontological feature of light, but a spectral correlation within a single physical field.
Photons are not mysterious agents of nonlocality; they are structured wave excitations of the same continuous universe —
independent, local, and beautifully coherent.