Matter-mediated Entanglement Suppressed by Binding Potentials, Achieving Exponential Reduction

The possibility of entanglement between massive objects, even when gravity is considered a classical force, has recently attracted considerable attention, but new research challenges the viability of this phenomenon. Ziqian Tang, Chen Yang, and Zizhao Han, along with colleagues, demonstrate that the proposed mechanism for matter-mediated entanglement relies on a simple matter exchange, rather than fundamentally quantum gravitational effects.

The team shows that the strong binding potentials within realistic macroscopic objects introduce an energy scale that significantly suppresses coherent matter propagation between distant bodies, effectively negating the entanglement signal. This finding is crucial because it suggests that previously identified entanglement may simply arise from coherent matter exchange, and does not invalidate arguments supporting entanglement based on local operations and classical communication in practical, bound-matter systems. Gravity’s Effect on Quantum Entanglement in Solids Researchers investigated whether gravity can create entanglement between quantum systems, potentially revealing nonclassical aspects of gravitational interaction. A recent proposal suggested that entanglement could arise even when gravity is treated as a classical field, through higher-order processes involving virtual matter exchange between two masses. However, this analysis assumed freely propagating matter, overlooking the strong interactions that bind atoms into solids. These binding forces introduce a significant internal energy scale that dramatically suppresses coherent propagation between distant bodies.

The team demonstrates that any “virtual-matter” channel across macroscopic separations is exponentially suppressed when atomic binding is considered, rendering the entanglement mechanism irrelevant for practical gravitational-entanglement proposals. This suppression occurs because microscopic constituents are localized by binding and lattice potentials, limiting the range of coherent propagation. The analysis aligns with a quantum field-theoretic description, where finite binding energy modifies the particle propagator, effectively shifting the mass and suppressing long-range propagation.

The team finds that neglecting binding forces in previous analyses overestimated the entanglement effect, clarifying that the observed entanglement arises not from a classical communication channel, but from quantum tunneling.

Macroscopic Entanglement Via Evanescent Propagation Scientists investigated the potential for entanglement between macroscopic objects, challenging conventional understanding of gravitational interactions. The study focused on demonstrating that entanglement could arise even when mediated by a classical field, specifically through higher-order processes involving virtual matter exchange. Researchers initially employed Feynman diagrams to model this process, but determined that a full quantum field theory treatment was unnecessary. Instead, the team demonstrated that the mechanism could be understood as a simple tunneling or evanescent propagation process within standard quantum mechanics. To accurately model realistic macroscopic objects, scientists moved beyond the assumption of freely propagating matter, recognizing that atoms within solids are bound by strong interactions and localized potentials. This binding introduces a crucial energy scale, effectively suppressing coherent propagation between separated bodies. Researchers estimated this suppression using the WKB approximation, revealing that the amplitude connecting two bodies separated by a distance d scales exponentially with the distance, governed by a characteristic length l. For typical atomic masses and binding energies, this length scale is approximately 10 -11 meters, rendering the connection negligible for macroscopic separations.

The team further refined their model by incorporating a finite binding energy into the particle propagator, effectively modifying the mass of the virtual particles, and demonstrating that any entanglement generated through this matter-exchange channel is exponentially suppressed over macroscopic distances.

Atomic Binding Suppresses Macroscopic Entanglement This work demonstrates that entanglement between spatially separated masses is significantly suppressed in realistic materials due to the binding energies of their constituent atoms. Scientists investigated the mechanism by which two objects might become entangled through the exchange of virtual particles, revealing that this process relies on coherent propagation of matter between the objects. However, the team found that when atoms are bound within a solid, a minimum energy is required to liberate them from their bound region, fundamentally altering the propagation of these virtual particles. Calculations show that this binding energy introduces an exponential suppression factor into the amplitude connecting the two bodies, scaling as e -d/l, where d represents the separation between the objects and l is a characteristic length determined by the mass of the constituent atoms and the binding energy. For typical atomic masses and binding energies, this characteristic length is on the order of 10 -11 meters, or 1 picometer, making the entanglement signal negligible for macroscopic separations.

The team’s analysis clarifies that the observed entanglement arises not from a fundamentally new physical effect, but from quantum tunneling, a process inherently beyond classical communication.

This research establishes that realistic materials effectively eliminate the matter-mediated entanglement proposed in earlier work, demonstrating that coherent propagation between macroscopic solids is short-ranged and evanescent.

Macroscopic Entanglement Arises From Quantum Tunneling This research clarifies the conditions under which entanglement might arise between macroscopic objects, specifically addressing recent claims that classical gravity could mediate this phenomenon. Scientists demonstrate that while a theoretical entanglement can be identified within certain quantum field theory descriptions, this arises not from a fundamentally new mechanism, but from established principles of quantum tunneling. They show that the exchange of virtual particles between objects is essentially equivalent to this tunneling effect, and therefore not limited to classical systems. However, the team’s analysis reveals a critical limitation. They demonstrate that realistic macroscopic objects, bound by strong internal forces, exhibit an exponential suppression of this matter-mediated entanglement. This suppression arises because the binding forces introduce an energy scale that prevents coherent propagation between distant bodies. Consequently, the identified entanglement signals the presence of a tunneling channel, rather than a novel classical or quantum gravitational effect. The authors acknowledge that their findings rest on the assumption of bound and localized matter, and that further research could explore scenarios with different material properties, but this study provides a crucial refinement of current understanding, demonstrating that while theoretical entanglement is possible, it is unlikely to be observed in realistic macroscopic platforms due to the inherent limitations imposed by material binding forces. 👉 More information 🗞 Matter-Mediated Entanglement in Classical Gravity: Suppression by Binding Potentials and Localization 🧠 ArXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.13675 Tags: