We study the generation of quantum entanglement in two-particle scattering processes. When two wave packets collide, we discover that entanglement grows appreciably because of the interference between the incident and scattered waves. After the collision, quantum entanglement is mainly governed by the scattering phase shift and the widths of the incident wave packets. For interaction potentials that exhibit scattering resonance, we show that quantum entanglement can be enhanced near resonance energies.

• Received 30 August 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.70.062311