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# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

As it is known, the electromagnetic field is expressed by linear equations both in classical and quantum mechanics. Nevertheless, the idea of necessity of expressing the electromagnetic field by a nonlinear equation has always kept the physicists mind busy. Classically, the nonlinear theory of Born and Infeld1 is the most known among these. Although no evidence of necessity of the non-linearity of the electromagnetic field was obtained classically, in quantum mechanics this situation is a little different. Due to uncertainty principle, photon-photon interaction2(which is known as Delbrück scattering) is possible by the way that the two photons vanish by creating an electron-positron pair and afterwards annihilation of the electron-positron pair to create a different photon pair. In this case, the electric and magnetic permeability tensor of vacuum2 -carrying information about the electron-positron pair- will not be equal to 1, and since the electric and magnetic field will slowly change.

$$𝐃_𝐢=\underset{𝐤}{}ϵ_{\mathrm{𝐢𝐤}}𝐄_𝐤,𝐁_𝐢=\underset{𝐤}{}\mu _{\mathrm{𝐢𝐤}}𝐇_𝐤$$
(1)
where

$$ϵ_{ik}=\delta _{ik}+(e\mathrm{}/45\pi m^4c^7)[2(E^2B^2)\delta _{ik}+7B_iB_k]+\mathrm{}$$
(2)
$$\mu _{ik}=\delta _{ik}+(e\mathrm{}/45\pi m^4c^7)[2(B^2E^2)\delta _{ik}+7E_iE_k]+\mathrm{}$$
(3)
Here e and m are the charge and mass of electron. This result was obtained first by Euler and Kockel3.
As two things of same character would not interact directly, information only could be obtained indirectly in nature. That is, we can obtain information about charged particles through field and about field through charged particles. Since field-field interaction is through charged particles, in the absence of charged particles we cannot obtain information about a field through the other field. On the account of uncertainty principle, since simultaneous measurements on both field and charged particles is not possible, definite information about one would destroy information about the other. Hence, while using information about field information about charged particle will not appear in this expression. However, while information loss due to uncertainty principle is taken into account, linear superposition of two fields in vacuum would not be possible for the extra terms appearing. The objective of this study is to show that linear superposition principle does not work in vacuum. For this purpose, it will be shown both in classical and quantum electrodynamics (QED) aspects that linear superposition principle will not work for the Young type double-slit experiment to be performed in vacuum and hence interference pattern will not be observed.

## 2 Classical Description of Interference

According to the classical theory, interference occurs from two electromagnetic fields passing through double-slit.

Linearly polarized monochromatic plane waves passing through each slit can be expressed as

$$𝐄_𝐢(𝐫,𝐭)=𝐄_𝐢𝐞^{𝐢(𝐤_𝐢𝐫\omega _𝐢𝐭𝚽_𝐢)},(𝐢=\mathrm{𝟏},\mathrm{𝟐})$$
(4)
Here, Ei is the real amplitude, $`𝐤_𝐢`$ the wave vector, $`\omega _i`$ the cirrular frequency and $`\mathrm{\Phi }_i`$ the phase. In this case, the electric field at point $`(𝐫,𝐭)`$ is expressed as the linear superposition of two fields,

$$𝐄(𝐫,𝐭)=𝐄_\mathrm{𝟏}(𝐫_\mathrm{𝟏},𝐭)+𝐄_\mathrm{𝟐}(𝐫_\mathrm{𝟐},𝐭)$$
(5)
and intensity is the square of $`𝐄(𝐫,𝐭)`$

$$I(𝐫,𝐭)=𝐄_\mathrm{𝟏}^\mathrm{𝟐}+𝐄_\mathrm{𝟐}^\mathrm{𝟐}+\mathrm{𝟐}𝐄_\mathrm{𝟏}𝐄_\mathrm{𝟐}\mathrm{𝐜𝐨𝐬}[(𝐤_\mathrm{𝟐}𝐤_\mathrm{𝟏})𝐫(\omega _\mathrm{𝟐}\omega _\mathrm{𝟐})𝐭(𝚽_\mathrm{𝟐}𝚽_\mathrm{𝟏})]$$
(6)
Classically, the book of Born and Wolf4 may be looked at for information on theory and experiment.

## 3 Quantum Mechanical Description

In QED, the electromagnetic field is obtained by the quantization of classical electromagnetic field5. In that case, the electromagnetic field may be written as a sum of two parts containing positive and negative frequencies.

$$𝐄(𝐫,𝐭)=𝐄^{(+)}(𝐫,𝐭)+𝐄^{()}(𝐫,𝐭)$$
(7)
$$𝐄^{(+)}(𝐫,𝐭)=[𝐄^{(+)}(𝐫,𝐭)]^{}$$
(8)
Field passing through two slits may be written as

$$𝐄^{(+)}(𝐫,𝐭)=𝐟(𝐫,𝐭)(𝐚_\mathrm{𝟏}𝐞^{\mathrm{𝐢𝐤}_\mathrm{𝟏}𝐫_\mathrm{𝟏}}+𝐚_\mathrm{𝟐}𝐞^{\mathrm{𝐢𝐤}_\mathrm{𝟐}𝐫_\mathrm{𝟐}})$$
(9)
Here, $`a_1`$ and $`a_2`$ are creation operator and

$$f(𝐫,𝐭)=𝐢(\mathrm{}\omega /\mathrm{𝟐})^{\mathrm{𝟏}/\mathrm{𝟐}}(\widehat{𝐞}_𝐤/\mathrm{𝟒}\pi 𝐑)^{\mathrm{𝟏}/\mathrm{𝟐}}𝐞^{𝐢\omega 𝐭}/𝐫$$
(10)
R is the normalized volume radius and $`\widehat{e}_k`$ is the unit polarization vector. In that case, intensity is in the following form.

$$I(𝐫,𝐭)=\mathrm{𝐓𝐫}(\rho 𝐄^{()}(𝐫,𝐭)𝐄^{(+)}(𝐫,𝐭)$$
(11)
Here, $`\rho `$ is density operator expressing field state. Inserting (2.5) (2.6) and (2.7) into (2.8),

$$I(𝐫,𝐭)=𝐍[\mathrm{𝐓𝐫}(\rho 𝐚_\mathrm{𝟏}^{}𝐚_\mathrm{𝟏})+\mathrm{𝐓𝐫}(\rho 𝐚_\mathrm{𝟐}^{}𝐚_\mathrm{𝟐})+\mathrm{𝟐}𝐓𝐫(𝐚_\mathrm{𝟏}^{}𝐚_\mathrm{𝟐})\mathrm{𝐜𝐨𝐬}𝚽]$$
(12)
will be obtained. Here,

$$Tr(\rho a_1^{}a_2)=Tr(\rho a_1^{}a_2)e^{i\varphi }$$
(13)
$$N=|f(𝐫,𝐭)|^\mathrm{𝟐}$$
(14)
$$\mathrm{\Phi }=𝐤(𝐫_\mathrm{𝟏}𝐫_\mathrm{𝟐})+\varphi $$
(15)
a$`{}_{}{}^{}{}_{1}{}^{}`$ and a$`{}_{}{}^{}{}_{2}{}^{}`$ is the annihilation operator and $`\varphi `$ is the phase.

## 4 IV. Young Type Double-Slit Experiment in Vacuum

Classically, in the Young type double-slit experiment, for the two fields to be able make interference necessitates that the field passing through one slit must know the geometry of the field passing through another slit, and vice versa. In that case, it is necessary that the fields passing through two slit to interact. Since in vacuum field-field interaction is not possible, the linear superposition principle will not work and hence interference will not be observed. In QED, even though not present in literature yet, it is being dwelled upon the idea of the Dirac’s6 statement: “Each photon interferes only with itself. Interference between different photons never occurs” The second part of this statement has been proven to be wrong by Forrester, Godmundson and Johnson7 and as well as by Brown and Twiss8 by showing that photons emitted by different atoms exhibit interference. Taylor9, Janossy and Naray10 showed that interference was obtained by sending single photons. Lets consider an electron isolated from its surroundings. As the electron interacts with a photon, it will carry the information belonging to the photon any more. And as the electron interacts with a second photon, it will transfer the information belonging the first photon to the second one. From the physical point of view, there is no any difference whether the interaction takes place simultaneously or at different times except time. For that reason, in the double-slit experiment to be performed by sending single photons in the presence of charged particles, the photon passing through a slit will identify the geometry of the other slit through charged particles and interference will be possible in that way. In the case of performing the Young type double-slit experiment in vacuum by sending single photons, since there will be no interaction between the photons, interference will not occur. As a consequence, interference between different photons is possible in the presence of charged particles. Since the superposition principle will not work in vacuum, if the contribution resulting from uncertainty principle is ignored, the intensity will be equal to the sum of intensities of the fields passing through two slit. Hence, the intensity expressions in (2.3) and (2.9) will be of the form:

$$I(𝐫,𝐭)=𝐄_\mathrm{𝟏}^\mathrm{𝟐}+𝐄_\mathrm{𝟐}^\mathrm{𝟐}$$
(16)
$$I(𝐫,𝐭)=𝐍[\mathrm{𝐓𝐫}(\rho 𝐚_\mathrm{𝟏}^{}𝐚_\mathrm{𝟏})+\mathrm{𝐓𝐫}(\rho 𝐚_\mathrm{𝟐}^{}𝐚_\mathrm{𝟐})]$$
(17)
Since wave will not pass through vacuum, particles will pass. In that case, what to be observed in the Young type double-slit experiment in vacuum will be the particle characteristics of light. Furthermore, if the information of the firstly passing photons is lost, in the double-slit experiment carried out by sending single photons, due to external effects or due to interactions between the charged particles present in the environment still interference will not occur. This case was demonstrated through an experiment carried out by Pfleegor and Mandel11 by the use of two independent same type laser sources. They stated that when the time interval between the sent times of photons is increased it was not possible to observe interference.

## 5 Discussion

Since in nature, information could be obtained only by indirect means it will not be possible for a photon to make interference with itself. Interference between different photons is possible only in the presence of charged particles. In that case, it is necessary that both statements of Dirac’s to be false. This case can be observed by a Young type double-slit experiment in vacuum. For the reasons explained above, linear superposition of two fields in vacuum will not be possible and hence interference will not be observed.

## 6 Referances

1. M. Born and L. Infeld, Proc. Roy. Soc. A144, 425(1934)
2. J. M. Jauch and F Rohrlich, The Theory of Photons and Electrons, Addison-Wesley (1955)
3. H. Euler and B. Kockel, Naturwiss. 23, 246 (1935)
4. M. Born ve E. Wolt , Principles of Optics , $`3^{rd}`$ Edition, Pergamon , New York , (1965)
5. D.F. Walls , American Journal of Physics 45 , 10 , (1977)
6. P.A.M. Diraç, The Principles of Quantum Mechanics, $`3^{rd}`$ Edition, Clarendon Press, Oxford, (1947)
7. A.T. Forrester , R.A. Gudmundson and P.O. Johnson , Phys. Rev. 99 , 1691 , (1955)
8. R.H. Brown , R.Q. Twiss , Nature 177 , 27 , (1956)
9. I. Taylor , Proc. Cambridge Philos. 15 , 144 , (1909)
10. L .Janossy , Z. Naroy , Nuovo Cimento 9 , 588 , (1958)
11. L. Pfleegor , L. Mandel , Phys. Rew. 159 , 1084 , (1967)


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# Nonlinear superposition formula for 𝑁=1 supersymmetric KdV Equation

## Abstract

In this paper, we derive a Bäcklund transformation for the supersymmetric Korteweg-de Vries equation. We also construct a nonlinear superposition formula, which allows us to rebuild systematically for the supersymmetric KdV equation the soliton solutions of Carstea, Ramani and Grammaticos.

The celebrated Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation was extended into super framework by Kupershmidt  in 1984. Shortly afterwards, Manin and Radul  proposed another super KdV system which is a particular reduction of their general supersymmetric Kadomstev-Petviashvili hierarchy. In , Mathieu pointed out that the super version of Manin and Radul for the KdV equation is indeed invariant under a space supersymmetric transformation, while Kupershmidt’s version does not. Thus, the Manin-Radul’s super KdV is referred to the supersymmetric KdV equation.

We notice that the supersymmetric KdV equation has been studied extensively in literature and a number of interesting properties has been established. We mention here the infinite conservation laws , bi-Hamiltonian structures , bilinear form , Darboux transformation .

By the constructed Darboux transformation, Mañas and one of us calculated the soliton solutions for the supersymmetric KdV system. This sort of solutions was also obtained by Carstea in the framework of bilinear formalism . However, these solutions are characterized by the presentation of some constraint on soliton parameters. Recently, using super-bilinear operators, Carstea, Ramani and Grammaticos  constructed explicitly new two- and three-solitons for the supersymmetric KdV equation. These soliton solutions are interesting since they are free of any constraint on soliton parameters. Furthermore, the fermionic part of these solutions is dressed through the interactions.

In addition to the bilinear form approach, Bäcklund transformation (BT) is also a powerful method to construct solutions. Therefore, it is interesting to see if the soliton solutions of Carstea-Ramani-Grammaticos can be constructed by BT approach. In this paper, we first construct a BT for the supersymmetric KdV equation. Then, we derive a nonlinear superposition formula. In this way, the soliton solutions can be produced systematically. We explicitly show that the two-soliton solution of Carstea, Ramani and Grammaticos appears naturally in the framework of BT.

To introduce the supersymmetric extension for the KdV equation, we recall some terminology and notations. The classical spacetime is $`(x,t)`$ and we extend it to a super-spacetime $`(x,t,\theta )`$, where $`\theta `$ is a Grassmann odd variable. The dependent variable $`u(x,t)`$ in the KdV equation is replaced by a fermionic variable $`\mathrm{\Phi }=\mathrm{\Phi }(x,t,\theta )`$. Now the supersymmetric KdV equation reads as

$$\mathrm{\Phi }_t3(\mathrm{\Phi }𝒟\mathrm{\Phi })_x+\mathrm{\Phi }_{xxx}=0,$$
(1)
where $`𝒟=\frac{}{\theta }+\theta \frac{}{x}`$ is the superderivative. Mathieu found the following supersymmetric version of Gardner type map

$$\mathrm{\Phi }=\chi +ϵ\chi _x+ϵ^2\chi (𝒟\chi ),$$
(2)
where $`ϵ`$ is an ordinary (bosonic) parameter.

It is easy to show that $`\chi `$ satisfies the following supersymmetric Gardner equation

$$\chi _t3(\chi 𝒟\chi )_x3ϵ^2(𝒟\chi )(\chi 𝒟\chi )_x+\chi _{xxx}=0.$$
(3)
This map was used in  to prove that there exists an infinite number of conservation laws for the supersymmetric KdV equation (1). In the classical case, Gardner type of map was studied extensively by Kupershmidt . It is well known that such map may be used to construct interesting BT. We will show that it is also the case for the supersymmetric KdV equation.

We notice that the supersymmetric Gardner equation (3) is invariant under $`ϵϵ`$. The new solution of the supersymmetric KdV equation corresponding to with $`ϵ`$ is denoted as $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Phi }}`$. Thus we have

$$\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Phi }}=\chi ϵ\chi _x+ϵ^2\chi (𝒟\chi ).$$
(4)
From above relations (3-4), we find

$`\mathrm{\Phi }\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Phi }}`$ $`=`$ $`2ϵ\chi _x,`$ (5)
$`\mathrm{\Phi }+\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Phi }}`$ $`=`$ $`2\chi +2ϵ\chi (𝒟\chi ).`$ (6)
Let us introduce the potentials as follows

$$\mathrm{\Phi }=\mathrm{\Psi }_x,\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Phi }}=\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_x,$$

thus, the equation (5) provides us

$$\chi =\frac{1}{2ϵ}(\mathrm{\Psi }\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}),$$
(7)
Eliminating $`\chi `$ between the equations (6) and (7), we arrive at a BT

$$(\mathrm{\Psi }+\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }})_x=\lambda (\mathrm{\Psi }\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }})+\frac{1}{2}(\mathrm{\Psi }\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }})(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }𝒟\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}),$$
(8)
where $`\lambda =1/ϵ`$ is the Bäcklund parameter.

The transformation (8) is in fact the spatial part of BT. Its temporal counterpart can be easily worked out. We also remark here that the BT is reduced to the well known BT for the classical KdV equation if $`\eta =0`$, as it should be.

A BT can be used to generate special solutions. If we start with the trivial solution $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}=0`$, we obtain

$$\mathrm{\Psi }=\frac{2a(\zeta +\theta \lambda )e^{\lambda x\lambda ^3t}}{1+ae^{\lambda x\lambda ^3t}},$$
(9)
where $`a`$ is an Grassmann even constant and $`\zeta `$ Grassmann odd one. When $`a>0`$, we have $`1`$-soliton solution for the supersymmetric KdV equation (1). For $`a<0`$, we have a singular solution. (cf.  for the classical KdV equation)

Next, we shall work out a superposition formula. To this end, we start with the seed solution $`\mathrm{\Psi }_0`$. After one step transformation, our seed is transformed to $`\mathrm{\Psi }_1`$ with parameter $`\lambda _1`$, to $`\mathrm{\Psi }_2`$ with parameter $`\lambda _2`$, respectively. Then we do second step transformation: starting with $`\mathrm{\Psi }_1`$, we obtain $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{12}`$ with $`\lambda _2`$ while starting with $`\mathrm{\Psi }_2`$, we obtain $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{21}`$ with $`\lambda _1`$. By Bianchi’s theorem of permutability, one should have $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{12}=\mathrm{\Psi }_{21}`$. For convenience, we denote

$$\mathrm{\Psi }_3=:\mathrm{\Psi }_{12}=\mathrm{\Psi }_{21}.$$

We list down the relations obtained

$$(\mathrm{\Psi }_0+\mathrm{\Psi }_1)_x=\lambda _1(\mathrm{\Psi }_1\mathrm{\Psi }_0)+\frac{1}{2}(\mathrm{\Psi }_1\mathrm{\Psi }_0)(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_1𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_0),$$
(10)
and

$$(\mathrm{\Psi }_0+\mathrm{\Psi }_2)_x=\lambda _2(\mathrm{\Psi }_2\mathrm{\Psi }_0)+\frac{1}{2}(\mathrm{\Psi }_2\mathrm{\Psi }_0)(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_2𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_0),$$
(11)
and

$$(\mathrm{\Psi }_1+\mathrm{\Psi }_3)_x=\lambda _2(\mathrm{\Psi }_3\mathrm{\Psi }_1)+\frac{1}{2}(\mathrm{\Psi }_3\mathrm{\Psi }_1)(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_3𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_1),$$
(12)
and

$$(\mathrm{\Psi }_2+\mathrm{\Psi }_3)_x=\lambda _1(\mathrm{\Psi }_3\mathrm{\Psi }_2)+\frac{1}{2}(\mathrm{\Psi }_3\mathrm{\Psi }_2)(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_3𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_2).$$
(13)
Subtraction (10) form (11), we have

$`(\mathrm{\Psi }_2\mathrm{\Psi }_1)_x`$ $`=`$ $`\lambda _2\mathrm{\Psi }_2\lambda _1\mathrm{\Psi }_1+(\lambda _1\lambda _2)\mathrm{\Psi }_0+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{\Psi }_2(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_2){\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{\Psi }_2(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_0)`$ (14)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{\Psi }_0(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_2){\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{\Psi }_1(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_1)+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{\Psi }_1(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_0)+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{\Psi }_0(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_1),`$
similarly, from (12) and (13) we have

$`(\mathrm{\Psi }_2\mathrm{\Psi }_1)_x`$ $`=`$ $`\left[\lambda _1\lambda _2+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_1){\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_2)\right]\mathrm{\Psi }_3+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_1\mathrm{\Psi }_2)(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_3)`$ (15)
$`+\lambda _2\mathrm{\Psi }_1\lambda _1\mathrm{\Psi }_2+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{\Psi }_2(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_2){\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{\Psi }_1(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_1).`$
Now equations (14) and (15) give us

$`\left[\lambda _1\lambda _2+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_1){\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_2)\right](\mathrm{\Psi }_3\mathrm{\Psi }_0)`$ (16)
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_1\mathrm{\Psi }_2)\left[(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_3)+2\lambda _1+2\lambda _2(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_0)\right]=0.`$
The equation (16) is a differential equation for $`\mathrm{\Psi }_3`$. Solving it we obtain

$$\mathrm{\Psi }_3=\mathrm{\Psi }_0\frac{(\lambda _1+\lambda _2)(\mathrm{\Psi }_1\mathrm{\Psi }_2)}{\lambda _1\lambda _2+(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_1)(𝒟\mathrm{\Psi }_2)},$$
(17)
this is the superposition formula for supersymmetric KdV equation (1). Substituting $`\mathrm{\Psi }_i=\eta _i+\theta v_i`$ ($`i=0,1,2,3`$) into (17), our superposition formula may be decomposed into

$`v_3`$ $`=`$ $`v_0{\displaystyle \frac{(\lambda _1+\lambda _2)(v_1v_2)}{\lambda _1\lambda _2+v_1v_2}}{\displaystyle \frac{(\lambda _1+\lambda _2)(\eta _1\eta _2)(\eta _{1,x}\eta _{2,x})}{(\lambda _1\lambda _2+v_1v_2)^2}},`$
$`\eta _3`$ $`=`$ $`\eta _0{\displaystyle \frac{(\lambda _1+\lambda _2)(\eta _1\eta _2)}{(\lambda _1\lambda _2+v_1v_2)}}.`$
It is clear that our nonlinear superposition formula reduces to the well-known superposition formula for the KdV as it should be. The advantage to have a superposition formula is that it is an algebraic one and can be used easily to find solutions.

Using the solutions (9) as our seeds, we may construct a 2-soliton solution of (1) by means of our superposition formula. Indeed, let

$$\mathrm{\Psi }_0=0,\mathrm{\Psi }_1=\frac{2a_1(\zeta _1+\theta \lambda _1)e^{\lambda _1x\lambda _1^3t}}{1+a_1e^{\lambda _1x\lambda _1^3t}},\mathrm{\Psi }_2=\frac{2a_2(\zeta _2+\theta \lambda _2)e^{\lambda _2x\lambda _2^3t}}{1+a_2e^{\lambda _2x\lambda _2^3t}}$$

then from our nonlinear superposition formula (17), we obtain

$$\mathrm{\Psi }_3=\frac{2\left[\zeta _1a_1e^{\delta _1}\zeta _2a_2e^{\delta _2}+(\zeta _1\zeta _2)a_1a_2e^{\delta _1+\delta _2}+\theta (\lambda _1a_1e^{\delta _1}\lambda _2a_2e^{\delta _2}+(\lambda _1\lambda _2)a_1a_2e^{\delta _1+\delta _2})\right]}{(\lambda _1+\lambda _2)^1\left[(\lambda _1\lambda _2)(\lambda _1+\lambda _2)a_1e^{\delta _1}+(\lambda _1+\lambda _2)a_2e^{\delta _2}(\lambda _1\lambda _2)a_1a_2e^{\delta _1+\delta _2}\right]}$$

where $`\delta _i=\lambda _ix\lambda _i^3t+\theta \zeta _i`$ ($`i=1,2`$). Now, taking

$$\lambda _1>\lambda _2,a_1=\frac{\lambda _1\lambda _2}{\lambda _1+\lambda _2},a_2=\frac{\lambda _1\lambda _2}{\lambda _1+\lambda _2}$$

we recover the 2-soliton solution found first by Carstea, Ramani and Grammaticos . As in the classical KdV case , we generate this 2-soliton from a regular solution and a singular solution.

We could continue this process to build the higher soliton solutions and the calculation will be tedious but straightforward.

Acknowledgment The work is supported in part by National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (grant number 10231050) and Ministry of Education of China.


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# Entanglement-Assisted Coherent Control in Nonreactive Diatom-Diatom Scattering

## I Introduction

Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in controlling molecular and atomic processes paulreview ; rice ; rabitz . The central principle of Coherent Control (CC) teaches that such control can be achieved by using coherent laser fields to induce constructive or destructive interference between multiple indistinguishable pathways to the same final state. The yield of desired or undesired product can thus be enhanced or suppressed by manipulating the resultant quantum interference terms. Thus far, most experimental and theoretical studies of CC of atomic and molecular processes have focused on unimolecular reactions or half collisions, such as photodissociation, photoionization and photoassociation.

By contrast, controlling full collision processes such as atom-atom scattering, atom-molecule scattering, and molecule-molecule scattering remains a significant challenge. Existent studies along this direction have largely employed a number of approaches sanchez ; fedichev ; dcfield ; paulsca ; lasercat . The first sanchez ; fedichev ; dcfield  actively manipulates coherent light sources to alter the interaction potential of the colliding particles. For example, in ultracold atom-atom collisions, the scattering cross sections can be extensively modified by using laser fields that are in near resonance with one of the excited molecular electronic states sanchez ; fedichev , or by employing a d.c. field that induces an additional dipole-dipole interaction potential dcfield . However, it appears difficult to use this approach to control atom-molecule or molecule-molecule scattering, since the number of degrees of freedom is much larger than that in atom-atom scattering. A second approach is laser catalysis lasercat  in which the laser field photons serve as a catalyst. In this case the laser accelerates (or suppresses) the reaction by inducing a barrier hopping process, via a virtual excitation to a bound excited state, while remaining unchanged at the end of the event. The third approach, which is the subject of this study, is coherent control paulsca . Although the general theory of collisional CC has been worked out paulsca  and conditions for control established alex  the experimental problem remains as to how one can introduce the required adjustable quantum phases and amplitudes into coherent scattering processes in a fashion so as to introduce control based upon quantum interference. That is, several recent studies on CC of collisions in model scattering systems alex  make clear that, for collisions of non-identical molecules, coherent control requires that one establish subtle quantum correlations between the translational and internal degrees of freedom of the reactants. Setting up the required initial states presents an experimental challenge, since it requires coherent matter-wave beams in which the internal states of the molecule are correlated in a precise way with the translational states.

Such correlated translational-internal states are not required, however, if one attempts coherent control in the collision of identical molecules, i.e., AB + AB. Rather, it suffices pauljcp  to prepare the reactants in superpositions of initial rovibrational states. In this case, in accord with Ref. pauljcp , the collision cross sections can be controlled by manipulating the character of the initial coherent superposition states in which the molecules are prepared.

In this paper we examine the coherent control of identical particle scattering in detail, with para–H2 \+ para–H2 as an example. In doing so we approach this issue from a different perspective from that in our earlier work pauljcp , demonstrating deep connections to the construction and use of entangled states, a topic of great recent interest in quantum information science qcom . That is, we show that the scattering amplitudes, and the resultant differential and total collision cross sections, depend strongly on quantum entanglement embedded in the initial rovibrational state. In essence, entanglement-induced quantum effects are shown to occur without the explicit preparation of entangled states. This provides a novel means of controlling both the the differential and total collision cross sections in identical diatom-diatom scattering.

This paper is organized as follows. In Sec. II, we introduce some concepts related to quantum entanglement between identical particles and then address the theory of identical diatom-diatom scattering with particular reference to entangled molecular rovibrational states as the incoming asymptotic states. The theoretical formalism is presented in Sec. III for para–H2 \+ para–H2 system, without loss of much generality. Results for the scattering of this system are shown in Sec. IV where detailed computational results on the role of entangled rovibrational states in both elastic and inelastic scattering, with the collision energy ranging from $`400`$ cm-1 to the ultracold regime, are explored. A discussion is provided in Sec. V.

## II AB + AB Scattering

### II.1 Identical Particle Entanglement

Quantum entanglement is a striking feature of quantum physics. Qualitatively, two particles are said to be quantum entangled if their total wavefunction is inseparable. In particular, if two particles are entangled then neither of them possesses a complete set of properties, since measuring one of them would collapse the total wavefunction and thus affect the properties of the other. Quantum entanglement is a fundamental issue of considerable theoretical interest, and plays a key role in various modern areas such as quantum teleportation qtele ; kurizki , quantum cryptography, and quantum computing qcom .

In the case of identical particles the total wavefunction, including all degrees of freedom, is always symmetrized or anti-symmetrized with respect to particle exchange. Hence, even if the total wavefunction of two identical particles is simply obtained by symmetrizing (or anti-symmetrizing) a separable state, it appears to be unfactorizable, and hence apparently entangled. This is, in fact, misleading and hints that quantum entanglement between identical particles is somewhat more subtle than quantum entanglement between non-identical particles. In a recent discussion, Ghirardi et al ghirardi  have given clear definitions of quantum entanglement between two identical particles: (i) two identical fermions are entangled if the total wavefunction cannot be obtained by anti-symmetrizing a factorized state, and (ii) two identical bosons are entangled if the total wavefunction cannot be obtained by symmetrizing a factorized product of two orthogonal states and if the total wavefunction is not a product of the same state for the two particles. Under these circumstances, the state is entangled and each of the particle pairs does not possess a full set of properties.

One intriguing aspect of quantum entanglement between identical particles, relevant to the discussion below, is that it can force different permutation symmetries on some degrees of freedom. For example, consider a system of two freely moving identical spin $`1/2`$ particles, whose spin up and spin down states are represented by $`|_1`$, $`|_1`$, $`|_2`$, $`|_2`$. If the total spin is zero, then the two spins are entangled and the resulting (“EPR state”) $`|\psi `$ is given by

$`|\psi ={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}(|_1|_2|_1|_2).`$ (1)
Note that $`|\psi `$ in Eq. (1) cannot be obtained by anti-symmetrizing a factorizable total wavefunction (since such an anti-symmetrized state should also describe the translational motion) of two spin $`1/2`$ particles. Clearly, $`|\psi `$ in Eq. (1) acquires a factor of $`1`$ upon permutation. Since the permutation symmetry for the total wavefunction including all degrees of freedom is $`1`$ for identical fermions, the permutation symmetry of the spatial degrees of freedom must be $`+1`$. Thus, in a simple bound system such as para–H2, the rotational quantum number has to be even. Likewise, in unbound cases such as electron-electron or proton-proton scattering, the differential cross sections do depend strongly on how the two spins are entangled, even if the scattering potential is spin independent, e.g., a pure Coulomb potential taylor51 . This selection of specific permutation symmetry combinations due to entanglement of a subset of the system degrees of freedom is central to the results below.

### II.2 The Role of Entangled Rovibrational States in Identical Particle Scattering

Consider identical particle scattering. We focus on the diatom-diatom case AB + AB, but the considerations are general. If $`|j,m,v`$ denotes an eigenstate of the AB diatom with angular momentum quantum number $`j`$, angular momentum projection quantum number $`m`$ and vibrational quantum number $`v`$, then a typical entangled ro-vibrational state of AB + AB is of the form

$`𝐫_1,𝐫_2|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{\alpha ,\beta }`$ $``$ $`\mathrm{cos}(\alpha )𝐫_1|j_1,m_1,v_1𝐫_2|j_2,m_2,v_2`$ (2)
$`+\mathrm{sin}(\alpha )\mathrm{exp}(i\beta )𝐫_1|j_2,m_2,v_2𝐫_2|j_1,m_1,v_1.`$
Of specific interest later below are the entangled states

$`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm `$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}(𝐫_1|j_1,m_1,v_1𝐫_2|j_2,m_2,v_2`$ (3)
$`\pm 𝐫_1|j_2,m_2,v_2𝐫_2|j_1,m_1,v_1),`$
where the only distinction between the two states $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm `$ is the relative phase $`\beta `$ ($`0`$ or $`\pi `$) between the two participating states $`𝐫_1|j_1m_1v_1𝐫_2|j_2m_2v_2`$ and $`𝐫_1|j_2m_2v_2𝐫_2|j_1m_1v_1`$. This difference is significant insofar as $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_+`$ is invariant upon permutation of $`𝐫_1`$ and $`𝐫_2`$, whereas $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{}`$ acquires a factor of $`1`$ upon permutation of $`𝐫_1`$ and $`𝐫_2`$. It should be stressed that the permutation symmetry associated with $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm `$ has nothing to with the permutation symmetry of the total wavefunction of identical particles, since the states $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm `$ describe only rotational and vibrational motion. Note also, for use later below, that entangled states $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm `$ also form a new set of basis states to describe a general entangled state, i.e.,

$`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{\alpha ,\beta }`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{cos}(\alpha )+\mathrm{sin}(\alpha )\mathrm{exp}(i\beta )}{\sqrt{2}}}|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_+`$ (4)
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{cos}(\alpha )\mathrm{sin}(\alpha )\mathrm{exp}(i\beta )}{\sqrt{2}}}|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{}.`$
Suppose that prior to the AB + AB collision the AB molecules (here labeled AB and AB for convenience) are prepared, in accord with Ref. pauljcp , in the superposition states:

$`|\psi _{AB}`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{cos}(\alpha _1)|j_1m_1v_1+\mathrm{sin}(\alpha _1)\mathrm{exp}(i\beta _1)|j_2m_2v_2`$
$`|\psi _{AB^{}}`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{cos}(\alpha _2)|j_1m_1v_1+\mathrm{sin}(\alpha _2)\mathrm{exp}(i\beta _2)|j_2m_2v_2`$ (5)
Then the total internal wavefunction (before symmetrization) is a direct product $`|\psi _{dp}`$ of these two superposition states, rather than an entangled molecular state. Nevertheless, $`|\psi _{dp}`$ can be expressed in terms of an entangled state plus two additional components, i.e.,

$`|\psi _{dp}`$ $`=`$ $`y\mathrm{exp}(i\beta _2)|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{\alpha \beta }+\mathrm{cos}(\alpha _1)\mathrm{cos}(\alpha _2)|j_1m_1v_1|j_1m_1v_1`$ (6)
$`+\mathrm{sin}(\alpha _1)\mathrm{sin}(\alpha _2)\mathrm{exp}[i(\beta _1+\beta _2)]|j_2m_2v_2|j_2m_2v_2,`$
where the entangled state component $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{\alpha \beta }`$ is given by Eq. (4), with

$`y`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{\mathrm{cos}^2(\alpha _1)\mathrm{sin}^2(\alpha _2)+\mathrm{sin}^2(\alpha _1)\mathrm{cos}^2(\alpha _2)},`$
$`\alpha `$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{cos}^1[\mathrm{cos}(\alpha _1)\mathrm{sin}(\alpha _2)/y],`$
$`\beta `$ $`=`$ $`\beta _1\beta _2,`$ (7)
and the two additional components $`|j_1m_1v_1|j_1m_1v_1`$ and $`|j_2m_2v_2|j_2m_2v_2`$ are called, in the spirit of previous coherent control work, “satellite” states pauljcp . From this viewpoint, the contribution from the entangled state component is the control term.

If our interest is in coherent control of AB + AB scattering, then this provides an obvious route to control. That is, by altering the $`\alpha _i`$ and $`\beta _i`$ in the prepared diatomic state, one can alter the initial state. This introduces controllable quantum interferences, as previously discussed pauljcp , hence altering product cross sections.

Alternatively, if our interest is in the dynamics of entangled states then collisions of AB + AB in the prescribed initial states may well provide a route to directly observing entanglement-induced quantum effects. Specifically, there clearly are cases, some cited in computations below, where contributions from the entangled molecular state dominate over that of the satellite states. That is, for some channels characterized by $`j_1^{},v_1^{},j_2^{},v_2^{}`$, the scattering amplitude for the initial direct product state $`|\psi _{dp}`$ is entirely due to the $`y\mathrm{exp}(i\beta _2)|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{\alpha \beta }`$ component. For these cases, we have

$`\sigma (\theta ,|\psi _{dp})y^2\sigma (\theta ,|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{\alpha \beta }),`$ (8)
where $`\sigma (\theta ,|\psi )`$ represents the differential cross section summed over $`m_1^{}`$ and $`m_2^{}`$ and integrated over the azimuthal angle $`\varphi `$ for the initial state $`|\psi `$. Alternatively, and more difficult to implement, if we restrict the measurement to a particular total energy of the product, contributions of the satellite states can be zero due to the energy restriction and the scattering becomes essentially that due to an initially entangled molecular state $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{\alpha \beta }`$. Thus, significantly, in either case one can experimentally observe and utilize entanglement-assisted coherent control effects in diatom-diatom scattering without the difficult task of preparing entangled molecular states.

Below we develop a general description of the quantum effects associated with entanglement of molecular rovibrational motion in bimolecular scattering. We focus on the contribution from the entangled state since the remainder (i.e., the satellite terms) is ordinary scattering. In doing so we specifically study the scattering system para–H2 \+ para- H2, the simplest case of diatom-diatom scattering. Although many of the following arguments apply to both reactive and nonreactive scattering, we confine attention to elastic and inelastic scattering only.

## III Scattering From Entangled Rovibrational States: Formalism

Consider AB + AB scattering. We represent the vector pointing from the center of mass of the projectile to that of the target by $`𝐑`$, and the relative inter-atomic distance vectors of the two para–H2 molecules by $`𝐫_1`$ and $`𝐫_2`$, respectively. We use $`j_i,m_i,v_i(i=1,2)`$ to denote the quantum numbers of angular momentum, the projection of angular momentum onto a space-fixed $`z`$ axis, and vibrational motion, respectively, for each para–H2 molecule. The fact that both the nuclear spin and the electronic spin of para–H2 molecules are zero greatly simplifies the problem, while retaining the essence of physics. Note that each para–H2 molecule (with electronic ground state) is a boson, so that the permutation symmetry of the total wavefunction $`|\mathrm{\Psi }(𝐫_1,𝐫_2,𝐑)`$ in the scattering problem is $`+1`$. That is,

$`|\mathrm{\Psi }(𝐫_1,𝐫_2,𝐑)=|\mathrm{\Psi }(𝐫_2,𝐫_1,𝐑).`$ (9)
As we shall see more clearly below, this implies that the parity of $`|\mathrm{\Psi }(𝐫_1,𝐫_2,𝐑)`$ with regard to $`𝐑`$ depends on the permutation symmetry of the internal degrees of freedom $`𝐫_1`$ and $`𝐫_2`$.

In traditional scattering, the initial state is characterized by $`k,\widehat{𝐳},`$ $`j_1,m_1,v_1`$, $`j_2,m_2,v_2`$, and the final state characterized by $`k^{},\widehat{𝐑},j_1^{}`$, $`m_1^{},v_1^{},j_2^{},m_2^{},v_2^{}`$, where $`\mathrm{}k`$ and $`\mathrm{}k^{}`$ are the translational momenta for the initial and final states, with $`k=k^{}`$ ($`kk^{}`$) in the case of elastic (inelastic) scattering. Below we exclude the case of $`(j_1,m_1,v_1)=(j_2,m_2,v_2)`$ as it does not allow for entanglement in rovibrational states. Since the colliding molecules are identical, both the incoming and the outgoing asymptotic states have to be appropriately symmetrized. However, to obtain the scattering amplitude it suffices to symmetrize either the incoming or outgoing state only taylor51 . If we choose to symmetrize the incoming state then the scattering amplitude is given by

$`f(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)`$
$`=\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)`$
$`+\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k(\widehat{𝐳})j_2m_2v_2j_1m_1v_1),`$ (10)
where $`\stackrel{~}{f}`$ represents the unsymmetrized scattering amplitudes under the assumption that the two molecules are distinguishable. Specifically, in terms of the $`T`$-matrix elements, we have green ; kouri

$`\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)`$
$`={\displaystyle \frac{i\sqrt{\pi }}{\sqrt{kk^{}}}}{\displaystyle \underset{JMm^{}}{}}{\displaystyle \underset{lj_{12}m_{12}}{}}{\displaystyle \underset{l^{}j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}{}}\sqrt{2l+1}i^{ll^{}}Y_l^{}^m^{}(\widehat{𝐑})C_{l^{}m^{}j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}^{JM}C_{l0j_{12}m_{12}}^{JM}`$
$`\times C_{j_1^{}m_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}}^{j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}C_{j_1m_1j_2m_2}^{j_{12}m_{12}}T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_1v_1j_2v_2j_{12}l),`$ (11)
and

$`\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k(\widehat{𝐳})j_2m_2v_2j_1m_1v_1)`$
$`={\displaystyle \frac{i\sqrt{\pi }}{\sqrt{kk^{}}}}{\displaystyle \underset{JMm^{}}{}}{\displaystyle \underset{lj_{12}m_{12}}{}}{\displaystyle \underset{l^{}j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}{}}(1)^l\sqrt{2l+1}i^{ll^{}}Y_l^{}^m^{}(\widehat{𝐑})C_{l^{}m^{}j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}^{JM}C_{l0j_{12}m_{12}}^{JM}`$
$`\times C_{j_1^{}m_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}}^{j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}C_{j_2m_2j_1m_1}^{j_{12}m_{12}}T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_2v_2j_1v_1j_{12}l),`$ (12)
where $`Y_l^m`$ is the spherical function and $`C_{j_1m_1j_2m_2}^{j_3m_3}`$ are the Clebsch-Gordan coefficient.

Consider now the case where the molecules are initially prepared in an entangled state of molecular rovibrational states (as in the cross term in Eq. (6)): $`𝐫_1,𝐫_2|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{\alpha ,\beta }`$. The two components of $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{\alpha ,\beta }`$ shown in Eq. (2) are degenerate in energy. Hence they can interfere with each other, providing interference effects that allow for control.

To simplify matters we focus on the role of the entangled states $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm `$. Consideration of three special cases is in order:

(a) $`j_1=j_2,v_1=v_2`$, $`m_1m_2`$. Here

$`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm ={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}(|m_1|m_2\pm |m_2|m_1)|j_1,v_1|j_2,v_2.`$ (13)
In this case entanglement arises only through molecular rotation motion along a space fixed axis. Case (a) is therefore totally analogous to two entangled spins \[see Eq. (1)\]. Indeed, quantum effects arising from such entanglement can also be understood in terms of polarization phenomena, in accord with general polarization theory polartheory .

(b) $`m_1=m_2,j_1=j_2`$, $`v_1v_2`$. In this case we have

$`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm ={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}(|v_1|v_2\pm |v_2|v_1)|m_1,j_1|m_2,j_2.`$ (14)
Here only vibrational motion is entangled; rotational motion is completely separable. Further, unlike case (a), the resulting quantum entanglement is entirely due to internal excitation.

(c) $`m_1=m_2,v_1=v_2`$, $`j_1j_2`$. Thus,

$`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm ={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}(|j_1|j_2\pm |j_2|j_1)|m_1,v_1|m_2,v_2.`$ (15)
This case is somewhat complicated. Equation (15) implies that, while vibrational motion is not entangled, rotational degrees of freedom are partially entangled, insofar as the motion along a space fixed axis is still separable. Note that in this case quantum entanglement is also due to internal excitation, and that it is intrinsically different from case (a) and unrelated to any description based on polarization theory.

Using Eqs. (10) and (3), one obtains the following scattering amplitude $`f_\pm (\widehat{𝐑})`$ from the initial entangled state $`(k,\widehat{𝐳},|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm )`$ to the final state $`k^{},\widehat{𝐑},j_1^{}`$, $`m_1^{},v_1^{},j_2^{},m_2^{},v_2^{}`$:

$`f_\pm (\widehat{𝐑})`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)`$ (16)
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k(\widehat{𝐳})j_2m_2v_2j_1m_1v_1)`$
$`\pm {\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_2m_2v_2j_1m_1v_1)`$
$`\pm {\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k(\widehat{𝐳})j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2).`$
Integrating $`|f_\pm (\widehat{𝐑})|^2`$ over $`\widehat{𝐑}`$ gives $`|f_\pm |^2`$, which is proportional to the cross section for the $`j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2`$ transition, with the initial state given by the plus or minus combination. The square of the amplitude for the same transition integrated over $`\widehat{𝐑}`$, but from the collision where the initial state is AB($`j_1m_1v_1`$) + AB($`j_2m_2v_2`$) \[properly symmetrized\] is given by $`|f|^2`$. Then, using Eqs. (10) and (16) we have that

$$|f|^2=\frac{|f_+|^2+|f_{}|^2}{2}.$$
(17)
By comparing $`|f_+|^2`$, $`|f_{}|^2`$ and $`|f|^2`$ we can ascertain the effect of entangling rovibrational states, and ascertain the degree of control.

Given Eqs. (11), (12) and (16), the $`f_\pm (\widehat{𝐑})`$ can be written as:

$`f_\pm (\widehat{𝐑})`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}{\displaystyle \frac{i\sqrt{\pi }}{\sqrt{kk^{}}}}{\displaystyle \underset{JMm^{}}{}}{\displaystyle \underset{lj_{12}m_{12}}{}}{\displaystyle \underset{l^{}j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}{}}\sqrt{2l+1}i^{ll^{}}Y_l^{}^m^{}(\widehat{𝐑})C_{l^{}m^{}j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}^{JM}C_{l0j_{12}m_{12}}^{JM}C_{j_1^{}m_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}}^{j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}`$ (18)
$`\times \{[1\pm (1)^l][C_{j_1m_1j_2m_2}^{j_{12}m_{12}}T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_1v_1j_2v_2j_{12}l)`$
$`\pm C_{j_2m_2j_1m_1}^{j_{12}m_{12}}T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_2v_2j_1v_1j_{12}l)]\}.`$
Equation (18) suggests that there are two important quantum effects in AB + AB scattering associated with using entangled molecular states as initial states: (1) Due to the factor $`[1\pm (1)^l]`$, the permutation symmetry induced by molecular entanglement imposes a parity restriction on the incoming partial waves. That is, for the case of $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_+`$ ($`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{}`$), contributions from odd (even) partial waves are completely suppressed, whereas contributions from even (odd) partial waves are enhanced. For example, for the case of $`|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{}`$, although the two para–H2 molecules are spinless bosons, they avoid the $`l=0`$ state due to quantum entanglement of rovibrational motion. (2) As indicated by the factor $`[C_{j_1m_1j_2m_2}^{j_{12}m_{12}}T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_1v_1j_2v_2j_{12}l)\pm C_{j_2m_2j_1m_1}^{j_{12}m_{12}}T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_2v_2j_1v_1j_{12}l)]`$ in Eq. (18), there is quantum interference between transitions $`(j_1v_1j_2v_2j_{12}l)`$ $`(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{})`$ and $`(j_2v_2j_1v_1j_{12}l)`$ $`(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{})`$. Whether this interference is constructive or destructive depends on the form of the entangled rovibrational state. This effect is significant when the magnitude of $`T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_1v_1j_2v_2j_{12}l)`$ is comparable to that of $`T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_2v_2j_1v_1j_{12}l)`$. Further, based on Eq. (18), the scattering amplitude $`f_{\alpha ,\beta }(\widehat{𝐑})`$ for an arbitrary incoming entangled state $`(k,\widehat{𝐳},|\psi (j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)_{\alpha ,\beta })`$ can then be expressed as

$`f_{\alpha ,\beta }(\widehat{𝐑})={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{cos}(\alpha )+\mathrm{sin}(\alpha )\mathrm{exp}(i\beta )}{\sqrt{2}}}f_+(\widehat{𝐑})+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{cos}(\alpha )\mathrm{sin}(\alpha )\mathrm{exp}(i\beta )}{\sqrt{2}}}f_{}(\widehat{𝐑}).`$ (19)
As mentioned above, an alternative but equivalent way to symmetrize the scattering amplitude is to symmetrize the outgoing asymptotic state. That is,

$`f(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)`$
$`=\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)`$
$`+\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}(\widehat{𝐑})j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2).`$ (20)
Based on this procedure, we have

$`f_\pm (\widehat{𝐑})`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)`$ (21)
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}(\widehat{𝐑})j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_1m_1v_1j_2m_2v_2)`$
$`\pm {\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}\widehat{𝐑}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_2m_2v_2j_1m_1v_1)`$
$`\pm {\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\stackrel{~}{f}(k^{}(\widehat{𝐑})j_2^{}m_2^{}v_2^{}j_1^{}m_1^{}v_1^{}k\widehat{𝐳}j_2m_2v_2j_1m_1v_1).`$
In terms of the partial wave expansion, the scattering amplitude $`f_\pm (\widehat{𝐑})`$ in Eq. (21) can be further expressed as

$`f_\pm (\widehat{𝐑})`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}{\displaystyle \frac{i\sqrt{\pi }}{\sqrt{kk^{}}}}{\displaystyle \underset{JMm^{}}{}}{\displaystyle \underset{lj_{12}m_{12}}{}}{\displaystyle \underset{l^{}j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}{}}\sqrt{2l+1}i^{ll^{}}C_{l^{}m^{}j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}^{JM}C_{l0j_{12}m_{12}}^{JM}`$ (22)
$`\times \{C_{j_1m_1j_2m_2}^{j_{12}m_{12}}[C_{j_1^{}m_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}}^{j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}Y_l^{}^m^{}(\widehat{𝐑})T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_1v_1j_2v_2j_{12}l)`$
$`+C_{j_2^{}m_2^{}j_1^{}m_1^{}}^{j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}Y_l^{}^m^{}(\widehat{𝐑})T^{JM}(j_2^{}v_2^{}j_1^{}v_1^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_1v_1j_2v_2j_{12}l)]`$
$`\pm C_{j_2m_2j_1m_1}^{j_{12}m_{12}}[C_{j_1^{}m_1^{}j_2^{}m_2^{}}^{j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}Y_l^{}^m^{}(\widehat{𝐑})T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_2v_2j_1v_1j_{12}l)`$
$`\pm C_{j_2^{}m_2^{}j_1^{}m_1^{}}^{j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}Y_l^{}^m^{}(\widehat{𝐑})T^{JM}(j_2^{}v_2^{}j_1^{}v_1^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_2v_2j_1v_1j_{12}l)]\}.`$
Interestingly, the equivalence of Eq. (22) with Eq. (18) is far from obvious parity-note . As a result, we can no longer readily identify the parity restriction condition imposed on the incoming partial waves due to molecular entanglement. In this sense, in the theoretical considerations, we prefer Eq. (18) to Eq. (22). However, Eq. (22) is very useful in order to confirm the consistency of our results. For all computational examples presented below we have verified that Eqs. (18) and (22) give the same results.

## IV Calculations and Results

In this section we focus on computations for case (c) described above. Specifically, we consider rotational energy transfer in rotor-rotor scattering, a problem that has been the subject of considerable interest green ; kouri . We do not treat case (a) since it is an example of well-known polarization theory. Case (b), on the other hand, requires computations beyond current capabilities. However, to provide some insight into this case we do present results for one case (b) model. That is, we treat a lower dimensional case of vibrational excitation with frozen rotational motion.

MOLSCAT molscat  is a useful tool for this study. In particular, it provides both cross sections and $`S`$-matrix elements necessary for the study of phase control. MOLSCAT also introduces a control parameter to account for whether or not the scattering particles are identical. Thus, we can first assume that the two scattering molecules are distinguishable and compute all the matrix elements $`T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_1v_1j_2v_2j_{12}l)`$ and $`T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_2v_2j_1v_1j_{12}l)`$, and then use Eq. (18) to calculate the cross sections. The Zarur-Rabitz interaction potential Rabitz2  for para–H2 \+ para–H2 is used throughout; it certainly suffices for the demonstration of novel quantum effects in bimolecular scattering. However, newer global potentials are available for $`H_2`$ \+ $`H_2`$ scattering 4hpotential  that can be used for detailed comparisons with future experimental studies.

### IV.1 Scattering at $`E_k=400,40,4`$ cm-1

To demonstrate the role of entanglement we consider scattering for different incoming entangled molecular states at collision energies $`E_k=`$ 400, 40, and 4 cm-1. In particular, $`E_k=400`$ cm-1 ($`570^o`$ K) is still below the vibration excitation threshold, and $`E_k=4`$ cm-1 ($`5.7^o`$ K) is very close to the lowest collision temperature currently achievable in molecular crossed-beam experiments.

We consider the following entangled molecular states in our computations:

$`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^\pm ={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}(|j_1|j_2\pm |j_2|j_1)|m_1=0,v_1=0|m_2=0,v_2=0.`$ (23)
Subsequent computational investigation vlado  of other $`\alpha ,\beta `$ values in Eq. (4) confirmed that these two states give the control extremes.

Since we consider rotational excitation only, all vibrational quantum numbers are set to be zero, i.e., $`v_1=v_2=v_1^{}=v_2^{}=0.`$ In a typical experiment one might well prepare the AB diatomic superposition state by laser excitation of $`|j_1,m_1,v_1`$ to $`|j_2,m_2,v_2`$. Assuming linearly polarized light, selection rules ensure that $`m_1=m_2`$. However, as long as $`m_1=m_2`$ (so that we can not distinguish between the two scattering molecules by measuring the projection of their angular momentum), the results for all $`m`$ are essentially the same. Hence, here we consider $`m_1=m_2=0`$.

Figure 1 shows the $`\theta `$ dependence of the elastic differential cross section $`\sigma _e(\theta )`$ summed over the final-state quantum numbers $`m_1^{}`$ and $`m_2^{}`$ and integrated over the azimuthal angle $`\varphi `$ ($`\widehat{𝐑}(\theta ,\varphi `$)), for the two incoming entangled states $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^\pm `$ with $`j_1=2,j_2=0`$. In particular, $`E_k`$ equals $`400`$ cm-1 in Fig. 1a, $`40`$ cm-1 in Fig. 1b, and $`4`$ cm-1 in Fig. 1c. For all three cases there is a clear difference in $`\sigma _e(\theta )`$ between the $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^+`$ and $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^{}`$ cases . Indeed, for particular scattering angles, e.g., for $`\theta `$ close to $`\pi /2`$, molecular entanglement induces huge differences. Also evident is that the number of minima of $`\sigma _e(\theta )`$ is always even (odd) for $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^+`$ ($`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^{}`$), a manifestation of the parity restriction of the incoming partial waves resulting from the permutation symmetry of the entangled molecular states. Further, comparing Fig. 1c with Fig. 1a and Fig. 1b, it is clear that lower collision energy induces slower oscillations in $`\sigma _e(\theta )`$. This is expected due to the behavior of $`Y_l^{}^m^{}(\widehat{𝐑})`$ in Eq. (18).

Consider then the total cross section $`\sigma _e`$ for elastic scattering, denoted $`\sigma _e^\pm `$ for the $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^\pm `$ cases. Integrating $`\sigma _e(\theta )`$ over $`\theta `$ for the lowest energy case (Fig. 1c) gives $`\sigma _e^+=511`$ Å2 and $`\sigma _e^{}=346`$ Å2. This is to be compared to the total elastic cross section for scattering of AB($`j=0,m=0`$) + AB ($`j=2,m=0`$), proportional to $`|f|^2`$ summed over $`m_1^{}`$ and $`m_2^{}`$, denoted $`\sigma _e`$ and equal to 428 Å2. If we define the percentage of control in this case as $`d_c=|100(\sigma _e^+\sigma _e^{})/\sigma _e|`$ then $`d_c=39\%`$. For the other two higher energy cases (see Fig. 1a and Fig. 1b) the cross sections are found to be less sensitive to the quantum entanglement in the incoming state, with $`d_c=5\%`$ and 13%, respectively. Note also that the probability of the direct transition $`j_1=2,j_2=0j_1^{}=2,j_2^{}=0`$ is much larger than that of the exchange transition $`j_1=0,j_2=2j_1^{}=2,j_2^{}=0`$. Thus, the effect from the quantum interference between the scattering amplitudes $`T^{JM}(20002l^{}|20002l)`$ and $`T^{JM}(20002l^{}|00202l)`$ \[see Eq. (18)\] is negligible. As a result, quantum features observed in Fig. 1 are entirely due to the first quantum effect identified in the previous section, i.e., the partial-wave parity selection effect.

In Fig. 2, we show inelastic differential cross sections $`\sigma _i(\theta )`$ summed over $`m_1^{}`$ and $`m_2^{}`$ and integrated over the angle $`\varphi `$, for the incoming entangled states $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^\pm `$, with initial-state quantum numbers $`j_1=4`$, $`j_2=0`$, and final-state quantum numbers $`j_1^{}=j_2^{}=2`$. The collision energy $`E_k`$ equals $`400`$ cm-1 in Fig. 2a, $`40`$ cm-1 in Fig. 2b, and $`4`$ cm-1 in Fig. 2c. For these initial-state and final-state channels, the $`T`$-matrix elements contributing to the cross sections are $`T^{JM}(2020j_{12}^{}l^{}|40004l)`$ and $`T^{JM}(2020j_{12}^{}l^{}|00404l)`$ \[see Eq. (18)\]. A careful examination of these $`T`$-matrix elements shows that

$`T^{JM}(2020j_{12}^{}l^{}|40004l)=(1)^{j_{12}^{}}T^{JM}(2020j_{12}^{}l^{}|00404l).`$ (24)
Hence, the second quantum effect described by Eq. (18), i.e., quantum interference between $`T^{JM}(2020j_{12}^{}l^{}|40004l)`$ and $`T^{JM}(2020j_{12}^{}l^{}|00404l)`$, also becomes important. Indeed, our choice of the final-state channel as $`j_1^{}=j_2^{}`$ is motivated by the fact that for $`j_1^{}j_2^{}`$, the second quantum effect is insignificant. As seen in Fig. 2, different incoming entangled states cause different oscillatory $`\sigma _i(\theta )`$ patterns, leading to large differences in $`\sigma _i(\theta )`$ for fixed scattering angle (e.g., for $`\theta `$ close to $`0`$ or $`\pi `$ in Fig. 2b and Fig. 2c, and for $`\theta `$ around $`\pi /2`$ in Fig. 2b). In comparing Figs. 2a, 2b and 2c, one sees that in the highest collision energy case, quantum effects are least significant. This trend is similar to the elastic scattering case, and can also be understood via Eq. (18). In particular, using Eq. (24) and the fact that the total parity is always conserved, Eq. (18) can be further reduced to

$`f_\pm (\widehat{𝐑})`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}{\displaystyle \frac{i\sqrt{\pi }}{\sqrt{kk^{}}}}{\displaystyle \underset{Jnlj_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}{}}\sqrt{2l+1}(1)^nY_{l+2n}^{m_{12}^{}}(\widehat{𝐑})C_{(l+2n)(m_{12}^{})j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}^{J0}C_{l040}^{J0}C_{2m_1^{}2m_2^{}}^{j_{12}^{}m_{12}^{}}`$ (25)
$`\times C_{4000}^{40}[1\pm (1)^l]T^{J0}(2020j_{12}^{}(l+2n)|40004l)[1+(1)^{l+j_{12}^{}}],`$
where $`2n=l^{}l`$. Equations (24) and (25) show that quantum interference between $`T^{J0}(2020j_{12}^{}l^{}|40004l)`$ and $`T^{J0}(2020j_{12}^{}l^{}|00404l)`$ can also be interpreted as a selection rule imposed on the quantum number $`j_{12}^{}`$: for the incoming entangled state $`|\psi _{40}^+`$ only even incoming partial waves contribute and $`j_{12}^{}`$ is restricted to be even, whereas for the incoming entangled state $`|\psi _{40}^{}`$, only odd incoming partial waves contribute and $`j_{12}^{}`$ is restricted to be odd. This is consistent with the fact that the outgoing state is composed of two indistinguishable molecules, with the same rotational quantum number ($`j_1^{}=j_2^{}=2`$).

The case in Fig. 2c is worthy of further discussion. In this case one sees that $`\sigma _i(\theta )`$ for $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^{}`$ (solid curve) is systematically smaller than that for $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^+`$ (dashed curve), for almost the entire range of the scattering angle. This leads to a significant difference in the total inelastic cross section $`\sigma _i^\pm `$ for the $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^\pm `$ cases: $`\sigma _i^+=0.057`$ Å2 and $`\sigma _i^{}=0.032`$ Å2, giving a control range of $`d_c=|100(\sigma _i^+\sigma _i^{})/\sigma _i)|=`$57%, where $`\sigma _i`$ is the total inelastic cross section for scattering from AB($`j=4,m=0`$) + AB ($`j=0,m=0`$) to the channel $`j_1^{}=j_2^{}=2`$. However, $`d_c`$ is less than 2% at the higher energies in Fig. 2. Thus, as in elastic scattering, total inelastic cross sections can also be sensitive to the quantum phase embedded in initial entangled molecular states at sufficiently low energies.

### IV.2 Ultracold Molecular Collisions: Extreme Quantum Effects

Given the results for $`E_k>5^o`$ K, we consider ultracold collisions. This new area of focus, ultracold molecular scattering, has already displayed interesting quantum effects dalgarno . Further, understanding this area is also crucial in realizing molecular Bose-Einstein condensation superchem ; bohn .

From the control point of view, the advantage of ultracold collisions is that scattering cross sections are often dominated by very few partial waves. This feature of ultracold collisions may well allow for new opportunities in manipulating molecular collisions zare . For example, the fact that entangled incoming molecular states impose parity restrictions on the partial waves \[see Eq. (18)\] implies that quantum entanglement should be even more important at ultracold temperatures. Consider, for example, a zero collision energy limit case where only s-wave scattering ($`l=0`$ partial wave) contributes to the cross sections note2 . In this case, if s-wave scattering is selected by molecular entanglement, the result would be enhanced nonzero cross sections. If s-wave scattering is forbidden due to molecular entanglement, then molecular scattering is completely suppressed. That is, in the elastic scattering case, all the scattering would be in the forward direction, and in the completely suppressed inelastic scattering case, there would be no inelastic scattering in any direction.

To confirm such theoretical considerations and to determine how cold the collisions need be in order to experimentally observe such extreme quantum effects, we extend our calculations to the ultracold regime, with $`E_k`$ ranging from $`0.4`$ cm-1 to $`0.0004`$ cm-1. These computations are generally easier than at higher energies because the maximum total angular momentum contributing to cross sections is very small note3 .

Figure 3 shows $`\sigma _e(\theta )`$ for two energies \[$`0.4`$ cm-1 and $`0.04`$ cm-1\], with the incoming asymptotic states given by $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^\pm `$ $`(j_1=2,j_2=0)`$. In both cases $`\sigma _e(\theta )`$ for $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^+`$ (dashed line) is fairly uniform suggesting that s-wave dominates the elastic scattering. Thus, preventing s-wave scattering via entanglement is expected to cause a dramatic decrease in the cross section. Indeed, in Fig. 3b, one sees that elastic scattering is almost totally suppressed for the $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^{}`$ case. Integrating $`\sigma _e(\theta )`$ over $`\theta `$ gives $`\sigma _e^+`$ = 724 Å2 and $`\sigma _e^{}`$ = 285 Å2 with $`d_c`$ = 87% for the case shown in Fig. 3a, and $`\sigma _e^+`$ = 1014 Å2 and $`\sigma _e^{}`$ = 11 Å2 with $`d_c`$ = 195% for the case shown in Fig. 3b.

Figure 4 shows sample results for ultracold inelastic scattering. As in Fig. 2, $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^\pm `$ $`(j_1=4,j_2=0)`$ is chosen as the incoming asymptotic state and we examine transitions to $`j_1^{}=2,j_2^{}=2`$ with collision energies of $`0.04`$ cm-1 and $`0.0004`$ cm-1. The differences in $`\sigma _i(\theta )`$ between $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^+`$ and $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^{}`$ in Fig. 4a is somewhat similar to that in Fig. 2c, where the collision energy is $`100`$ times larger, with a corresponding $`d_c`$ of 22%. Hence, control is significant, but the system is insufficiently cold to show extreme quantum effects. By contrast, Fig. 4b shows results for the lowest $`E_k`$ of $`0.0004`$ cm-1. Clearly, in this case, inelastic scattering for $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^{}`$ is almost completely suppressed, whereas inelastic scattering for $`|\psi _{j_1j_2}^+`$ remains significant. The integrated cross sections give $`\sigma _i^+=1.63`$ Å2 and $`\sigma _i^{}=0.02`$ Å2, with a $`d_c`$=194%.

Thus, we have demonstrated that quantum entanglement in the incoming asymptotic state can dramatically alter ultracold collision cross sections. These effects will also appear in the scattering of the superposition states in Eq. (5). That is, Eq. (8) is well obeyed in all of the cases shown in Figs. 1 to 4. For example, in the elastic scattering case ($`j_1=2`$, $`j_2=0`$, $`v_1=v_2=0`$, $`m_1=m_2=0`$, $`v_1^{}=v_2^{}=0`$, $`j_1^{}=2`$, $`j_2^{}=0`$) the scattering amplitude for the $`j_1=2,j_2=2`$ $`j_1^{}=2,j_2^{}=0`$ transition due to the first satellite state is orders of magnitude smaller than that for the $`j_1=2,j_2=0`$ $`j_1^{}=2,j_2^{}=0`$ transition associated with the entangled state term at the $`E_k`$ considered. The probability of the transition $`j_1=0,j_2=0`$ $`j_1^{}=2,j_2^{}=0`$ due to the second satellite state is also negligible (indeed, it is exactly zero for $`E_k<364.8`$ cm-1). Similarly, for the inelastic scattering case ($`j_1=4`$, $`j_2=0`$, $`v_1=v_2=0`$, $`m_1=m_2=0`$, $`v_1^{}=v_2^{}=0`$, $`j_1^{}=2`$, $`j_2^{}=2`$), the scattering amplitude due to the first satellite, the de-excitation $`j_1=4,j_2=4`$ $``$$`j_1^{}=2,j_2^{}=2`$, is negligible due to the large rotational energy mismatch between the initial and final channels. In addition, the second satellite state does not contribute to the product channel $`(j_1^{}=2,j_2^{}=2)`$ for $`E_k<729.6`$ cm-1.

Thus, for example if, in Eq. (8), $`\alpha _1=\alpha _2=\pi /4`$, then Eq. (8) reduces to

$`\sigma (\theta ,|\psi _{dp})`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\sigma (\theta ,|\psi _{j_1j_2}^+),\beta =2n\pi ;`$
$`\sigma (\theta ,|\psi _{dp})`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\sigma (\theta ,|\psi _{j_1j_2}^{}),\beta =(2n+1)\pi .`$ (26)
In this case the role of $`\beta `$ as a control parameter, evident in Eq. (26) as a method for switching between the plus and minus states, is worthy of note. For example, the elastic scattering results in Fig. 3b show that by varying $`\beta `$ one can enhance, or almost completely suppress, the yield of the $`(j_1^{}=2,j_2^{}=0)`$ channel in directions other than that of the incident momentum. Likewise, the inelastic scattering results in Fig. 4b suggest that by manipulating $`\beta `$ we can enhance or almost shut off the $`(j_1^{}=2,j_2^{}=2)`$ channel.

### IV.3 Vibrational Relaxation

The above discussion provides results on rotational energy transfer. The formalism, however, applies equally well to other types of scattering. Unfortunately, the current state-of-the-computational-art prevents a full quantum calculation on reactive scattering, or even on diatom-diatom rovibrational energy transfer. That is, the exact numerical treatment of $`AB`$ \+ $`AB`$ in three dimensions is still not feasible and approximations such as the sudden approximation clary  may not be appropriate for low energy collisions of the type that we are examining since it assumes that molecular rotation is slow compared with that of vibration and translation. Further, although a semiclassical treatment of rovibrational energy transfer is available billing  it ignores the role of the quantum effects in the translational motion. Nonetheless, we wish to gain some insight into phase control of vibrational relaxation. For this reason we present results on a simplified model of diatom-diatom scattering where the rotational motion is frozen. Specifically, we adopt a three-degree-of-freedom model that assumes that both the projectile and target molecules point at a fixed direction during the entire scattering process. The scattering problem is then computationally solved by wavepacket propagation. To do so we employ a time-dependent approach with real $`L^2`$ eigenfunctions with damping bowman ; reall2note .

Figure 5 displays the transition probability to the product $`(v_1^{}=1,v_2^{}=1)`$ channel for three initial entangled vibrational states characterized by

$`\psi _{v_1v_2}^{(\alpha ,\beta )}=\mathrm{cos}(\alpha )|v_1=0|v_2=2+\mathrm{exp}(i\beta )\mathrm{sin}(\alpha )|v_1=2|v_2=0`$ (27)
with $`\alpha =\pi /4`$, $`\beta =0,\pi /2,`$ and $`\pi `$, respectively. As seen in Fig. 5, the quantum phase $`\beta `$ embedded in the initial entangled vibrational states strongly affects vibration-vibration relaxation, with the cross section changing considerably as a function of the initial entangled state.

## V Discussion and Summary

The results on para–H2 \+ para–H2 scattering make clear that entanglement can play a significant role in the control of nonreactive collisional processes. To investigate this phenomenon experimentally one could attempt to prepare the entangled molecular state directly. However, although quantum entanglement of atomic systems has been experimentally realized entangleexp ; enbeams , preparing entangled molecular states would require a considerable extension of technology. By contrast, contributions from entangled states appear naturally in the collision of AB + AB systems where the initial states are prepared as superpositions of the form given in Eq. (5). Preparing these states would entail excitation of the $`|j_1,m_1,v_1`$ to produce the superposition with $`|j_2,m_2,v_2`$. If the transition is dipole allowed then direct excitation of the lower state is possible. Alternatively, stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) bergmann1  or the tripod-STIRAP scheme bergmann2  may provide a useful choice for preparing the superposition states for both the projectile and the target molecules. In the latter approach an additional laser couples the intermediate level (through which the initial and final state are radiatively connected via the pump and Stokes-laser) with another unpopulated state. Depending on the time overlap of the additional laser with that of the pump and Stokes-laser, any coherent superposition state of the initial and final state can be created. Thus, by introducing different coherence characteristics from laser fields into the scattering system, we can control $`\beta `$ and thus select the form of the entangled state component $`|\psi _{dp}`$ in Eq. (6), giving rise to phase control over differential and total cross sections.

Our studies have been restricted to nonreactive scattering of AB + AB, with particular numerical application to para–H2 \+ para–H2. As such, it remains to discuss the potential for applications to inelastic scattering of other systems and to comment on control of reactive scattering of identical particles.

General inelastic $`AB`$ \+ $`AB`$ scattering: Extensions to other inelastic scattering cases fall into two categories. The first are systems which, like para–H2 \+ para–H2, have zero total nuclear spin, zero total electronic orbital angular momentum, and zero total electronic spin. The theory of these cases is described above and is directly applicable to inelastic scattering of other zero spin cases such as $`CO`$ \+ $`CO`$, a system whose vibrational energy transfer is of interest in laser physics. However, the choice of zero spin merely simplifies theoretical considerations and it is not essential to control.

The second category, molecules with nonzero nuclear spin or electronic spin, does require an extension of the theory provided above. For such molecules, one of the two quantum effects due to entangled molecular states, i.e., the parity selection of the incoming partial waves, may be substantially reduced when the nuclear or electronic spin is unpolarized. To see this note that the spin degree of freedom can introduce additional permutation symmetries into the system. Thus, entangled rovibrational states like $`|\psi (j_1v_1m_1j_2m_2v_2)_\pm `$ do not necessarily select the partial waves. For instance, for two unpolarized identical molecules with total integer nuclear spin $`I_N`$, the permutation symmetry of all other degrees of freedom is $`+1`$ with the probability $`(I_N+1)/(2I_N+1)`$ and $`1`$ with the probability $`(I_N)/(2I_N+1)`$ kouri . When $`I_N`$ is large, two permutation symmetries of all other degrees of freedom are equally allowed. As a result, the permutation symmetry induced by entanglement of molecular rovibrational motion will have a negligible effect on the differential or total cross sections. However, as suggested in Ref. pauljcp , one quantum effect still survives, i.e., quantum interference between the transition amplitudes $`T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_1v_1j_2v_2j_{12}l)`$ and $`T^{JM}(j_1^{}v_1^{}j_2^{}v_2^{}j_{12}^{}l^{}|j_2v_2j_1v_1j_{12}l)`$. Establishing the magnitude of this effect alone will require further study.

Finally, note that there are considerable differences between the inelastic scattering case studied here and the case of reactive AB + AB scattering (to form A2B + B or A2 \+ B2), the subject of future research. A full treatment of reactive scattering, which does require considerable extensions of current computational technique, is under consideration.

In summary, we have examined the nature of the interference, and hence control, in nonreactive AB + AB scattering when the initial states are in a quantum superposition state. In doing so we have exposed the relationship of the interference term to entangled molecular rovibrational states as the incoming asymptotic state. Intriguing quantum effects resulting from quantum entanglement are revealed, and are shown to provide a novel means of controlling both nonreactive differential and total cross sections in identical diatom-diatom scattering.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank Dr. S. Skokov and Prof. J. Bowman for providing their scattering code (used for the vibrational relaxation case) employing the time-dependent approach with real $`L^2`$ eigenfunctions with damping. This work was supported by the U.S. Office of Naval Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.