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arXiv:1309.2007 · Science

An electronic quantum eraser

E. Weisz, Hyung Kook Choi, Itamar Sivan, Moty Heiblum, Yuval Gefen, D. Mahalu, V. Umansky

Published Jun 20, 2014• 45 citations
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Abstract

The quantum eraser is a device that illustrates the quantum principle of complementarity and shows how a dephased system can regain its lost quantum behavior by erasing the "which-path" information already obtained about it. Thus far, quantum erasers were constructed predominantly in optical systems. Here, we present a realization of a quantum eraser in a mesoscopic electronic device. The use of interacting electrons, instead of noninteracting photons, allows control over the extracted information and a smooth variation of the degree of quantum erasure. The demonstrated system can serve as a first step toward a variety of more complex setups.

DOI
10.1126/science.1248459

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The quantum eraser is a device that illustrates the quantum principle of complementarity and shows how a dephased system can regain its lost quantum behavior by erasing the "which-path" information already obtained about it. Thus far, quantum erasers were constructed predominantly in optical systems. Here, we present a realization of a quantum eraser in a mesoscopic electronic device. The use of interacting electrons, instead of noninteracting photons, allows control over the extracted information and a smooth variation of the degree of quantum erasure. The demonstrated system can serve as a first step toward a variety of more complex setups.
We propose a solid-state quantum eraser in which electrons are injected into a mesoscopic conductor in the quantum Hall regime. The conductor is composed of a two-path interferometer, an electronic analog of the optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and a quantum point-contact detector capacitively coupled to the interferometer. While the interference of the output current at the interferometer is suppressed by the which-path information, we show that the which-path information is erased and the interference reappears in the cross-correlation measurement between the interferometer and the detector output leads. We also investigate a modified setup in which the detector is replaced by a two-path interferometer. We show that the distinguishability of the path and the visibility of joint detection can be controlled in a continuous manner and satisfy a complementarity relation for the entangled electrons.
Motivated by a recent experiment by Buks et al. ( Nature 391 (1998) 871) we consider electron transport through an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer with a quantum dot in one of its arms. The quantum dot is coupled to a quantum system with a finite number of states acting as a which-path detector. The Aharonov-Bohm interference is calculated using a two-particle scattering approach for the joint transitions in detector and quantum dot. Tracing over the detector yields dephasing and a reduction of the interference amplitude. We show that the interference can be restored by a suitable measurement on the detector and propose a mesoscopic quantum eraser based on this principle.
In this paper we will first look at a particular quantum eraser setup to show that this type of experiments can be understood in an intuitive manner if we are willing to take a complex nonlinear approach, without the need to invoke Niels Bohr's complementarity or quantum entanglement between two particles. We will then discuss a recent experiment of the same type that does not erase the interference pattern when which-path information is available, and argue that this result is in clear contradiction with the orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics but perfectly understandable in the framework of nonlinear quantum physics.
Quantum Mechanics Particles in the quantum world can also assume wavelike properties. Researchers often use photons to illustrate this particle/wave duality, but electrons interact with each other, which might make them a better choice. Weisz et al. used electrons to create a “quantum eraser” (see the Perspective by Feldman). By taking advantage of the electrons' interaction, the researchers first acquired information about the electrons' path—a process that destroys their wavelike properties. Next, they deliberately erased this information in order to recover the electrons' wave nature. Science , this issue p. [1363][1]; see also p. [1344][2] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1248459 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1255501
We present various experiments demonstrating the mutual exclusivity of observing interference and which-path information, as demanded by Bohr's complementarity principle. Using photon pairs created in parametric down-conversion, no which-path measurements need to be performed on the interfering photon itself. Instead the other photon can be used to introduce distinguishability, which consequently destroys interference. However, a suitable measurement erases this distinguishability and interference can be recovered.
In a delayed-choice quantum eraser, interference fringes are obtained by erasing which-way information after the interfering particle has already been irreversibly detected. Following an introductory review of delayed-choice experiments and quantum erasure, we describe the experimental realization of an optical delayed-choice quantum eraser, suitable for advanced undergraduates, based on polarization-entangled pairs of single photons. In our experiment, the delay of the erasure is implemented using two different setups. The first setup employs an arrangement of mirrors to increase the optical path length of the photons carrying which-way information. In the second setup, we use fiber-optic cables to elongate the path of these photons after their passage through the polarization analyzer but prior to their arrival at the detector. We compare our results to data obtained in the absence of a delay and find excellent agreement. This shows that the timing of the erasure is irrelevant, as also predicted by quantum mechanics. The experiment can serve as a valuable pedagogical tool for conveying the fundamentals of quantum mechanics.