Useful entanglement from the Pauli principle

Daniel Cavalcanti, L. M. Moreira, Franklin Matinaga, Marcelo O. Terra Cunha, Marcelo Franca Santos

Published 2006-08-18, updated 2007-09-29Version 2

We address the question whether identical-particle entanglement is a useful resource for quantum information processing. We answer this question positively by reporting a scheme to create entanglement using semiconductor quantum wells. The Pauli exclusion principle forces quantum correlations between the spins of two independent fermions in the conduction band. Selective electron-hole recombination then transfers this entanglement to the polarization of emitted photons, which can subsequently be used for quantum information tasks.