The Innsbruck EPR Experiment: A Time-Retarded Local Description of Space-like Separated Correlations

Abstract

A local, time-retarded hidden variable model is described that fits the recently measured EPR data from the Innsbruck collaboration. The model is based on the idea that waves in the zero-point field convey information from the detectors to the source, stimulating the spontaneous emission of photons with definite polarizations. In order to match experimental data, the model is augmented with a further local assumption that the ``master'' photon (going back along the direction of the zero-point wave that triggered emission) will not be detected if the polarizer is not in the same orientation as the stimulated wave. This model predicts a ratio of coincidences to singles of 1/3 compared to standard quantum mechanics' 2/3 for the 2-fold choice of modulator settings, and predicts that a 20-fold choice of settings will yield a coincidence ratio of 1/40 with the SQM ratio unchanged. Such an outcome should be easily distinguishable given the Innsbruck group's measured efficiency of 1/20 in their experiment. This model also predicts that a coincidence at polarizer settings (a,b,t) will never be correlated with its time-retarded complement setting, (a',b',t-2L/c), a prediction for whose test the limited data publicly available at this time is inadequate.