Entanglement and Non-Locality in Quantum Protocols with Identical Particles

Abstract

We study the role of entanglement and non-locality in quantum protocols that make use of systems of identical particles. Unlike in the case of distinguishable particles, the notions of entanglement and non-locality for systems whose constituents cannot be distinguished and singly addressed are still debated. We clarify why the only approach that avoids incongruities and paradoxes is the one based on the second quantization formalism, whereby it is the entanglement of the modes that can be populated by the particles that really matters and not the particles themselves. Indeed, by means of a metrological and of a teleportation protocol, we show that inconsistencies arise in formulations that force entanglement and non-locality to be properties of the identical particles rather than of the modes they can occupy. The reason resides in the fact that orthogonal modes can always be addressed while identical particles cannot.