{
  "id": "2211.05782",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2022-11-10T18:59:54.000Z",
  "updated": "2022-11-10T18:59:54.000Z",
  "title": "The Quantum State of a Virtual Particle",
  "authors": [
    "Gonçalo M. Quinta"
  ],
  "comment": "5 pages, no figures",
  "categories": [
    "quant-ph",
    "hep-th"
  ],
  "abstract": "We show that a virtual fermion, despite being unobservable, can be described by a quantum state in momentum space under certain conditions. We prove that such a state can be regarded as a 2-qubit mixed state, where the qubits are physically associated to particle type and spin. We show that the mixed state is a separable combination of entangled pure states, whose entanglement is proportional to the transverse momentum norm. Lastly, we show that this state is always thermal. These findings represent a new connection between quantum field theory, quantum information and quantum thermodynamics.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2022-11-10T18:59:54.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "quantum state",
      "virtual particle",
      "mixed state",
      "transverse momentum norm",
      "quantum field theory"
    ],
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 5,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable"
    }
  }
}