# Proof: Quantum entanglement enables the transmission of usable information faster than the speed of light when the distant parties pre-agree on a measurement basis.

- **Generated:** 2026-03-28
- **Verdict:** DISPROVED
- **Audit trail:** [proof_audit.md](proof_audit.md) | [proof.py](proof.py)

## Key Findings

- The **no-communication theorem** in quantum mechanics mathematically proves that no local measurement on one half of an entangled pair can transmit information to the other party, regardless of spatial separation (B1).
- **Pre-agreeing on a measurement basis does not help**: each party's local measurement outcomes remain statistically random (50/50); correlations only emerge when results are compared via a classical, light-speed-limited channel.
- **4 out of 4** independent authoritative sources confirm that entanglement cannot be used for faster-than-light information transfer (B1, B2, B3, B4).
- **No experiment** has ever demonstrated superluminal information transfer using quantum entanglement (B3).

## Claim Interpretation

**Natural language claim:** "Quantum entanglement enables the transmission of usable information faster than the speed of light when the distant parties pre-agree on a measurement basis."

**Formal interpretation:** This is a disproof. The claim asserts that entanglement, combined with a pre-agreed measurement protocol, enables faster-than-light (FTL) information transfer. We disprove this by finding >= 3 independent authoritative sources confirming the impossibility. The threshold of 3 reflects the broad scientific consensus from independent institutions. The no-communication theorem proves that local measurement statistics are independent of the distant party's measurement choice, so no information can be encoded or decoded superluminally regardless of any pre-agreed protocol.

## Evidence Summary

| ID | Fact | Verified |
|----|------|----------|
| B1 | Wikipedia: No-communication theorem -- theorem statement | Yes |
| B2 | Caltech Science Exchange -- entanglement does not enable FTL communication | Yes |
| B3 | Wikipedia: Faster-than-light communication -- scientific consensus | Yes |
| B4 | QSNP (EU Quantum Flagship) -- debunking FTL entanglement myth | Yes |
| A1 | Verified source count meeting disproof threshold | Computed: 4 independent sources confirmed (threshold: 3) |

## Proof Logic

The claim asserts that quantum entanglement, when combined with a pre-agreed measurement basis between distant parties, enables the transmission of usable information faster than light. This is a widespread misconception about quantum mechanics.

### The No-Communication Theorem

The no-communication theorem (also called the no-signaling principle) is a mathematically proven result in quantum information theory. It states that "during the measurement of an entangled quantum state, it is impossible for one observer to transmit information to another observer, regardless of their spatial separation" (B1). This theorem applies to all quantum states -- entangled or not -- and to all measurement protocols, including those with pre-agreed bases.

### Why Pre-Agreed Measurement Bases Don't Help

When Alice and Bob share an entangled pair and pre-agree on a measurement basis:
1. Alice measures her particle and gets a random outcome (e.g., spin-up or spin-down with equal probability).
2. Bob measures his particle and also gets a random outcome.
3. Individually, both see completely random results -- there is no pattern Bob can detect that reveals Alice's actions.
4. The correlations between their results only become visible when they **compare** their measurements, which requires classical communication limited to the speed of light.

As Caltech explains: "Experiments have shown that this is not true, nor can quantum physics be used to send faster-than-light communications" (B2).

### Scientific Consensus

"The current scientific consensus is that faster-than-light communication is not possible, and to date it has not been achieved in any experiment" (B3). The QSNP, part of the EU Quantum Flagship initiative, directly addresses this misconception: "The catch is that we are not actually sending any information" (B4).

### Conclusion from Sources

All 4 independently sourced citations confirm the impossibility of FTL information transfer via entanglement (B1, B2, B3, B4 -- independently sourced from Wikipedia, Caltech, and the EU Quantum Flagship consortium). The disproof threshold of 3 sources is exceeded.

## Counter-Evidence Search

Three adversarial searches were performed to find any credible source supporting the claim:

1. **Peer-reviewed FTL demonstrations:** Searched for papers demonstrating FTL information transfer via entanglement with pre-agreed measurement bases. No credible peer-reviewed source was found. Proposed schemes (e.g., Gao Shan 2003) have been refuted.

2. **Pre-agreed basis loopholes:** Searched specifically for whether pre-agreeing on a measurement basis creates a loophole in the no-communication theorem. It does not -- Bob's local statistics are completely independent of Alice's measurement choice, regardless of prior agreements.

3. **Experimental demonstrations:** Searched for any experiment achieving superluminal information transfer. None found. The scientific consensus is unambiguous.

## Conclusion

**Verdict: DISPROVED.** The claim that quantum entanglement enables faster-than-light information transmission when parties pre-agree on a measurement basis is false. The no-communication theorem, a mathematically proven result in quantum mechanics, establishes that no local measurement on an entangled state can transmit information to a distant observer. Pre-agreeing on a measurement basis does not circumvent this theorem: each party's local measurement outcomes remain random, and correlations only emerge through classical communication. All 4 citations (B1-B4) were fully verified, and no counter-evidence was found in adversarial searches.

Note: 1 citation (B4) comes from an unclassified source (qsnp.eu, tier 2). However, the disproof does not depend solely on this source -- 3 other sources from established reference and academic institutions independently confirm the same conclusion.

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Generated by [proof-engine](https://github.com/yaniv-golan/proof-engine) v0.10.0 on 2026-03-28.
