I am agnostic when it comes to string theory. I've studied entanglement to a fair level of depth and while the loopholes are closing, physical explanations for how entanglement fits comfortably with space-time are few. So when I see a respected journal putting forward a possible relationship between Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pairs and Einstein-Rosen (ER) bridges I'd like to have feedback from others who might understand both sides of this quantum coin better than I do.
Synopsis: Entangled through a Wormhole
http://physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.211603
Holographic Schwinger Effect and the Geometry of Entanglement - Sonner
http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v111/i21/e211603
I believe this is a related preprint by Sonner:
The ER = EPR conjecture and the Schwinger Effect
http://arxiv.org/abs/1307.6850
My first question would be: Is there any compelling reason why wormholes (ER) can *not* be related to entanglement?
As a follow-up, I'd be interested in any other areas of research that are focusing on entanglement that seriously addresses the *how* of entanglements bridging vast distances in space.
My understanding is wormholes are quite often included in explanations of entanglement. If you assume a particle models of reality they may work as a solution. If we assume the universe is made of probability waves or interacting parallel worlds there may be less need for wormholes in the explanation of entanglement and similar weird quantum effects.
Quantum entanglement is an experimental reality. On the other hand wormholes are hypothetical. The apparent non locality of entanglement can nicely fit with the wormhole picture but we have to be careful. My opinion is that quantum gravity (not necessary string theory) if finally discovered will explain this entanglement-wormhole connection.
In QM, entanglement is just a mathematical property of the joint wave function of 2 or more particles. It doesn't require a "mechanism" like wormholes to explain it, any more than the relative velocity of two moving particles requires a wormhole to explain it.
Consider the simplest case of 2 entangled but separated qubits; no information can be transmitted to one by manipulating or measuring the other (despite the fact that our formalism can have the wave function "collapsing" in an unexplained way that seems to violate both the Schrodinger equation and the speed of light). In standard QM, there would thus be nothing for the wormhole to do. This can perhaps be most easily seen from the viewpoint that the wave function represents "what we know" about the qubits; in that case, the "collapse" merely means that we updated our own knowledge, which is clearly not limited by the speed-of-light flight time between the particles and doesn't require any kind of "communication" between them. (Disclaimer: I don't favor that viewpoint, but it is compatible with standard QM and occasionally useful for questions like this.)
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