English

Quantum backflow for two identical particles

Quantum Physics 2025-03-13 v2

Abstract

Quantum mechanics introduces the possibility for particles to move in a direction opposite to their momentum -- a counter-intuitive and classically impossible phenomenon known as quantum backflow. The magnitude of this effect is relatively small, making its experimental observation, which has yet to be achieved, particularly challenging. Here, we investigate the influence of quantum statistics on the maximal backflow attainable for two identical particles confined to a ring. Notably, we demonstrate that the fermionic statistics significantly impedes quantum backflow compared to the bosonic statistics. Our findings suggest that any future experimental realization of quantum backflow should prioritize systems involving bosons rather than fermions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2412.07898,
  title  = {Quantum backflow for two identical particles},
  author = {Maximilien Barbier and Arseni Goussev},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.07898},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

23 pages, 2 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-28T20:30:07.250Z