A Standard Quantum Mechanical Treatment to Rationalize the Delayed-Choice Quantum Eraser

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2608.02185v2
• Date: Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:44:56 GMT
• Title: A Standard Quantum Mechanical Treatment to Rationalize the Delayed-Choice Quantum Eraser
• Abstract summary: We show that choosing between which-path and erasure detectors is simply a choice of measurement bases, which does not rewrite a photon's past.<n>We illustrate that the illusion of retrocausality arises from asking illegitimate questions, and that a forward-in-time description is entirely sufficient to explain the logic.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Ever since the proposal of delayed choice quantum erasure and subsequent realization in the experiment by Kim et al., the interpretation and implications of delayed-choice experiments have remained a subject of intense foundational debate. This paper resolves the apparent paradox attached to the experiment using standard quantum mechanics. Using an extended Mach-Zehnder interferometer which captures every operational feature of the original experiment, we show that choosing between which-path and erasure detectors is simply a choice of measurement bases, which does not rewrite a photon's past. Furthermore, by mapping the experiment to a two-way Stern-Gerlach framework, we prove that quantum erasure is an expected result of measuring entangled states, not a physical anomaly. Ultimately, through a pedagogical game, we illustrate that the illusion of retrocausality arises from asking illegitimate questions, and that a forward-in-time description is entirely sufficient to explain the logic.

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