The concept of wave-particle duality, which is a key element of quantum theory, has been remarkably found to manifest itself in several experimental realizations as in the famous double-slit experiment. In this specific case, a single particle seems to travel through two separated slits simultaneously. Nevertheless, it is never possible to measure it in both slits, which naturally appears as a manifestation of the collapse postulate. In this respect, one could as well ask if it is possible to "perceive" the presence of the particle at the two slits simultaneously, once its collapse could be avoided. In this article, we use the recently proposed entanglement mediation protocol to provide a positive answer to this question. It is shown that a photon which behaves like a wave, i.e., which seems to be present in two distant locations at the same time, can modify two existing physical realities in these locations. Calculations of the "weak trace" left by such photon also enforce the validity of the present argumentation.
The concept of wave-particle duality, which is a key element of quantum theory, has been remarkably found to manifest itself in several experimental realizations as in the famous double-slit experiment. In this specific case, a single particle seems to travel through two separated slits simultaneously. Nevertheless, it is never possible to measure it in both slits, which naturally appears as a manifestation of the collapse postulate. In this respect, one could as well ask if it is possible to "perceive" the presence of the particle at the two slits simultaneously, once its collapse could be avoided. In this article, we use the recently proposed entanglement mediation protocol to provide a positive answer to this question. It is shown that a photon which behaves like a wave, i.e., which seems to be present in two distant locations at the same time, can modify two existing physical realities in these locations. Calculations of the "weak trace" left by such photon also enforce the validity of the present argumentation.
Abstract The double-slit experiment is a classic experiment that presents the clearest manifestation of wave-particle duality, one of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. The double-slit experiment still remains the phenomenon that demonstrates wave-particle duality at the most fundamental level. This phenomenon quantitatively and conceptually demonstrates that microscopic objects can behave like both waves and particles at the same time. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the physical nature of dualism, the mechanism of formation of the interference pattern, and the impact of the act of observation on the dynamics of quantum systems. The need for a new perspective on this topic is due to the fact that the current uncertainty in the interpretation of quantum reality has not yet been completely eliminated, and the boundaries between classical and quantum behavior in microscopic objects are still being explored. The results presented here restructure the deep mechanisms of the interference picture, more clearly frame the relationship between observation and wavefunction collapse, and provide a quantum. Since the article attempts to provide a complete answer to the mechanism of the formation of wave-particle duality, extensive space is given to sections such as historical development, theoretical models, modern research, etc. New approaches to this phenomenon have been developed using modern research and string theory. As a result, a new mathematical expression has been proposed that explains the reasons for the initial emergence of wave-particle duality, and is also important for string theory. The article explains the measurement problem with a more effective physical structure and ontological model.
In the double slit experiment - - central to quantum mechanics and thus to all of reality - - when you LOOK at the particle, it always passes through ONLY ONE slit - - EITHER the right slit OR the left slit, acting like a particle. However, when you AREN’T looking at it, it somehow always passes through BOTH slits - - the right slit AND the left slit - - at the same time, acting like a wave. All of nature is now KNOWN to be both wave and particle simultaneously - - actually, one entity (“wavicle”), not two - - at the most fundamental level of reality. However, no one seems to have ever asked the question: How can anything, much less everything, be in TW0 places at the same time AND ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY be in ONLY ONE place at the same time? The known laws of physics make this absolutely impossible. Therefore, at least one of our laws must be wrong. In some fundamental mathematical and physical sense, 2 MUST ALSO BE (- - EQUAL- -) 1: 2 AS 1. The right and left slits, seemingly opposite, must at the deepest level of reality be “married” to each other - - one slit, not two. Extending this argument to Schrodinger’s cat, life and death, seemingly opposite, must at the deepest level of reality be “married” to each other, 2 AS 1. Just as all apparent opposites, it must be true that ultimately, life and death must be one thing, not two. This, then, is an all-optimistic physics - - probably the first such theory ever. But it is based entirely on firm scientific fact.
The quantum object is in general considered as displaying both wave and particle nature. By particle is understood an item localized in a very small volume of the space, and which cannot be simultaneously in two disjoint regions of the space. By wave, to the contrary, is understood a distributed item, occupying in some cases two or more disjoint regions of the space. The quantum formalism did not explain until today the so-called “collapse” of the wave-function, i.e. the shrinking of the wave-function to one small region of the space, when a macroscopic object is encountered. This seems to happen in “which-way” experiments. A very appealing explanation for this behavior is the idea of a particle, localized in some limited part of the wave-function. The present article challenges the concept of particle. It proves in the base of a variant of the Tan, Walls and Collett experiment, that this concept leads to a situation in which the particle has to be simultaneously in two places distant from one another—situation that contradicts the very definition of a particle. Another argument is based on a modified version of the Afshar experiment, showing that the concept of particle is problematic. The concept of particle makes additional difficulties when the wave-function passes through fields. An unexpected possibility to solve these difficulties seems to arise from the cavity quantum electrodynamics studies done recently by S. Savasta and his collaborators. It involves virtual particles. One of these studies is briefly described here. Though, experimental results are needed, so that it is too soon to conclude whether it speaks in favor, or against the concept of particle.
Summary form only given. The interference between two paths of a single photon at a double slit is widely considered to be the most paradoxical result of quantum theory. Here is a new interesting question to the phenomenon: Can a single shutter simultaneously close two slits by effectively being in a superposition of different locations? Aharonov and Vaidman have shown that it is indeed possible to construct a quantum shutter that can close two slits and reflect a probe photon perfectly when its initial and final states are appropriately selected [1]. Here we report the experimental demonstration of their proposal overcoming the difficulty to realize a quantum shutter' by employing photonic quantum routers [2]. The reflectance ratio of 0.61 ± 0.027 surpasses the classical limit with 4.1 standard deviation, shedding new light on the unusual physical properties of quantum operations. This experimental demonstration, where the strong measurement and non-local superposition seem co-existing, provides an alternative to weak measurements as a way to explore the nature of quantum physics.
The double-slit experiment has stood for a century as the paradigmatic demonstration of quantum superposition: the standard interpretation holds that a particle passes through both slits simultaneously, existing in a superposition of two spatially separated states. This paper proposes a physically distinct alternative: the particle's matter wave — a real physical wave propagating through space in accordance with de Broglie's relation λ = h/p — passes through both slits, while the particle itself (matter) remains in an undetermined state until a constructive interference maximum is formed at the detection screen. The particle does not simultaneously occupy two locations; the wave does. This distinction eliminates the need for superposition as an ontological commitment while fully reproducing the observed interference pattern. We further show that the disappearance of the interference pattern upon which-path measurement is explained without invoking wavefunction collapse: the measurement interaction redirects the matter wave to a single-slit geometry, eliminating the two-wave interference condition. Three experimentally testable predictions distinguish this framework from the standard interpretation: (1) weak-measurement trajectory reconstruction should reveal single particle paths inconsistent with simultaneous two-slit passage; (2) diffraction fringe spacing should depend on the mass density of the slit material, because denser slit edges generate a steeper refractive-index gradient for the matter wave; (3) the fringe pattern should exhibit a density-dependent phase shift measurable with current matter-wave interferometry technology. This reinterpretation requires no new mathematical formalism — the Schrödinger equation and Born's rule are retained — but replaces the ontological claim of simultaneous multi-location existence with the physically consistent picture of matter-wave propagation through an undetermined-state particle.
We report observations of Cross-Double-Slit Experiment and Which-Path-Cross-Double-Slit experiment. Cross-Double-Slit apparatus contains two double-slit, where first double-slit is perpendicular to second double-slit. The first double-slit and the second double-slit generate not only their own interference pattern perpendicular to each other, but also generate “Cross-interference-patterns”. When we do which-way experiment with one of two double-slit, say first double-slit, then its interference pattern disappeared, i.e., photons behave as particles; but the second double-slit’s interference pattern and the cross-interference-pattern still exist; which implies an significant phenomenon that in the same experiment, photons behave as both wave and particle, which is first time caught on film. Thus we suggest to re-study wave-particle duality, which is the basic mystery of quantum mechanics. We postulate that the particle nature of photons is intrinsic; while the wave-like of photons is manifest-behavior.