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arXiv:0911.0330 · Physical Review A

Decoherence in a double-slit quantum eraser

Fabian A. Torres-Ruiz, G. Lima, A. Delgado, Sebastião Pádua, C. Saavedra

Published Apr 7, 2010• 18 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study and experimentally implement a double-slit quantum eraser in the presence of a controlled decoherence mechanism. A two-photon state, produced in a spontaneous parametric down-conversion process, is prepared in a maximally entangled polarization state. A birefringent double slit is illuminated by one of the down-converted photons, and it acts as a single-photon two-qubits controlled-not gate that couples the polarization with the transversal momentum of these photons. The other photon, which acts as a which-path marker, is sent through a Mach-Zehnder-like interferometer. When the interferometer is partially unbalanced, it behaves as a controlled source of decoherence for polarization states of down-converted photons. We show the transition from wavelike to particle-like behavior of the signal photons crossing the double slit as a function of the decoherence parameter, which depends on the length path difference at the interferometer.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.81.042104

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We study and experimentally implement a double-slit quantum eraser in the presence of a controlled decoherence mechanism. A two-photon state, produced in a spontaneous parametric down-conversion process, is prepared in a maximally entangled polarization state. A birefringent double slit is illuminated by one of the down-converted photons, and it acts as a single-photon two-qubits controlled-not gate that couples the polarization with the transversal momentum of these photons. The other photon, which acts as a which-path marker, is sent through a Mach-Zehnder-like interferometer. When the interferometer is partially unbalanced, it behaves as a controlled source of decoherence for polarization states of down-converted photons. We show the transition from wavelike to particle-like behavior of the signal photons crossing the double slit as a function of the decoherence parameter, which depends on the length path difference at the interferometer.
Abstract Wave–particle duality is a counterintuitive nature of quantum physics that challenges many common-sense assumptions, and Young’s double-slit interference is a prototypical example. While most quantum erasure experiments emphasized the choice of erasing or marking the which-path information of one quantum system, we use frequency entanglement to report a nonlocal temporal double-slit interferometer such that the which-time information determines the wave-like or particle-like behaviors. Since frequency-entangled photons are created simultaneously by using spontaneous parametric down conversion, the mark of temporal distinguishability is readily prepared by delaying one of the entangled photons, and its quantum eraser is implemented by using spectrally resolved detection with a tunable delayed choice. These results may provide an alternative aspect and insight into the role of the temporal degree in quantum-light complementarity and photon interference.
We demonstrate for the first time hybrid entanglement of photon pairs generated via the experimental violation of a Bell inequality with two different degrees of freedom (DOF), namely the path/linear momentum of one photon and the polarization of the other photon. Polarization entangled photon pairs are created by Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion. Then, a modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer is used to convert the polarization DOF of one photon to a path DOF. For that photon, path superposition is analyzed and polarization superposition for its twin photon.
This experiment explores the quantum phenomenon known as the Quantum Eraser, using a variation of Young’s Double Slit experiment. Young’s Double Slit experiment demonstrates that light acts as a wave by creating an interference pattern when diffracted through two slits. If one measures which of the two slits the photons pass through, then the interference pattern is replaced by a single bright spot, as would be expected for particle-like behaviour. The “Quantum Eraser” eliminates the measurement on the photons, thereby reintroducing the interference pattern observed in Young’s original experiment. The experiment’s first stage saw Young’s Double Slit experiment recreated and an interference pattern was observed. Upon adding two orthogonally polarized filters, the photon’s path was measured, and the interference pattern was removed. By then adding a third filter which was polarized 45O relative to both other polarisers, the interference pattern was somewhat restored. For each experiment, the heights of the peaks in the interference patterns were compared to each other to examine the quality of the reproduced interference pattern based on the original double slit interference pattern. This comparison gave a quantitative result that demonstrated that the Quantum Eraser was able to restore the interference pattern to within 5 standard errors, thereby exemplifying the effect that changing the measurement conditions affects the final measurement.
Over the past several decades, single photon-based path interference in double-slit experiment has been well demonstrated for the particle nature of photons satisfying complementarity theory, where the quantum mechanical interpretation of the single photon interference fringe is given by Born rule for complex amplitudes in measurements. Unlike most conventional methods using entangled photon pairs, here, a classical coherent light source is directly applied for the proof of the same self-interference phenomenon. Instead of double slits, we use a Mach-Zehnder interferometer as usual, where the resulting self-interference fringe of coherent single photons is exactly the same as that of the coherent photon ensemble of the laser, demonstrating that the classical coherence based on the wave nature is rooted in the single photon self-interference. This unexpected result seems to contradict our common understanding of decoherence phenomena caused by multi-wave interference among bandwidth distributed photons in coherence optics.
The interference of single photons going through a double slit is a compelling demonstration of the wave and particle nature of light in the same experiment. Single photons produced by spontaneous parametric down-conversion can be used for this purpose. However, it is particularly challenging to implement this due to coherency and resolution challenges. In this article, we present a table-top laboratory arrangement suitable for the undergraduate instruction laboratory that overcomes these challenges. The apparatus scans a single detector to produce a plot showing the interference patterns of single photons. We include experimental data obtained using this setup, demonstrating double-slit and single-slit interference as well as quantum erasing through the use of sheet polarizers.