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Chinese Optics Letters

The bright and dark photon number states in Young's interference experiment

Weihan Tan, Qizhi Guo

Published Feb 20, 2003• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

In this paper, we derive the bright and dark photon number states for spatial interference of two or more light beams and succeed in the explanation of Young's interference experiment, and also achieve a better comprehension of the well known comment of Dirac each photon only interferences with itself. From the fully quantum point of view, the origin of the interference fringes consists in the mode transformation and the detection of double-slit states.

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The bright and dark photon number states in Young‘s interference experiment

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In this paper, we derive the bright and dark photon number states for spatial interference of two or morelight beams and succeed in the explanation of Young's interference experiment, and also achieve a bettercomprehension of the well known comment of Dirac each photon only interferences with itself. Fromthe fully quantum point of view, the origin of the interference fringes consists in the mode transformationand the detection of double-slit states.

Chinese Optics Letters•Jan 1, 2003•0 citations

Is Bright and Dark States of Light the Quantum Origin of Classical Interference?

Gao, Shan

Interference phenomena, such as those observed in Young’s double-slit experiment, are foundational to quantum mechanics, yet their interpretation continues to spark debate. Villas-Boas et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 133603 (2025)] propose a quantum-optical framework attributing non-detection in regions of destructive interference to photons occupying ``perfectly dark'' states, which they claim do not interact with a two-level atom sensor due to vanishing coupling in the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian. We argue that this interpretation is fundamentally flawed. Dark states, such as the out-of-phase coherent state \( |\alpha, -\alpha\rangle \), are readily detectable in alternative experimental setups, including dispersive coupling in cavity QED and photon-counting detectors like photomultiplier tubes or avalanche photodiodes, which are sensitive to the photon number operator. This detectability undermines the assertion that dark states are the intrinsic cause of non-detection in destructive interference regions. Instead, the quantum mechanical superposition principle, combined with the Born rule, fully accounts for interference patterns across all detection schemes, as evidenced by well-established experiments such as single-photon double-slit interference, Hong-Ou-Mandel two-photon interference, and cavity QED measurements. By overgeneralizing a detector-specific effect, the dark-state framework introduces an unnecessary and redundant construct, as the standard quantum mechanical formalism already provides a complete and experimentally validated explanation of interference phenomena.

•Aug 20, 2025•0 citations

Observation of Young’s double-slit interference with the three-photon N00N state

Yong‐Su Kim, Osung Kwon, Sang Min Lee +5 more

Spatial interference of quantum mechanical particles exhibits a fundamental feature of quantum mechanics. A two-mode entangled state of N particles known as N00N state can give rise to non-classical interference. We report the first experimental observation of a three-photon N00N state exhibiting Young's double-slit type spatial quantum interference. Compared to a single-photon state, the three-photon entangled state generates interference fringes that are three times denser. Moreover, its interference visibility of 0.49 ± 0.09 is well above the limit of 0.1 for spatial super-resolution of classical origin.

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Are there any photons in the dark fringes of double slit experiment?

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We know that bright fringes on the observation-screen is the Fourier transform of light intensity that passes through diffraction slit (aperture) and we know according to Parseval and Rayleigh Theorems the power or energy of a function before and after Fourier transform is not changed that means the total intensity of light emerging slits is equal to the total intensity of bright fringes on the observation screen, but on the other hand according to destructive and constructive interference of light, some portions of the light passing through the slits destructively interfere to constitute dark fringes which means the total light intensity of fringes should be less than the total intensity passing through the slit. This is a violation of the Fourier transform. On the other hand, this paper is augmented by some very new experiments which show there are no photons in the dark fringes. A diffraction experiment by sticking narrow and small width mirrors on the dark fringes that according to the classical interpretation after destructive interference on the dark fringes should be reflected and could be found by sensors at other directions (specially reflection angle) and another experiment that by making a 1mm hole in the middle of the first dark fringe, we expect that photons can be detected by the light detector after destructive interference (passing through one another) behind the observation plan but no photon is detected. Finally, this paper provides a complete physical model associated with mathematical analysis and formulation that is based on the Schrödinger equation. This model answers to single Photon (electron) double-slit experiment with a high degree of accuracy.

•Aug 21, 2020•1 citation

Quantum origin of diffraction from bright and dark states

Jian-Jian Cheng, Junling Che, Lin Zhang +1 more

Building upon the recently introduced particle interpretation of the double-slit experiment [Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 133603 (2025)] which attributes interference phenomena to detector-coupled (bright) and detector-uncoupled (dark) states of light, we develop a continuous-mode extension of the bright- and dark-state framework. This extension addresses a conceptual distinction between interference and diffraction, that is, the transition from a finite set of discrete paths to a continuum of modes. Through the construction of a complete detector-oriented basis for single-slit diffraction, we demonstrate that the observed diffraction pattern arises from projection of the photon state onto a single bright mode by identifying the detectable and undetectable modes, with photons detected at intensity minima having zero probability, as they reside in modes spanning an infinite-dimensional dark subspace. Our approach thus provides a unified particle-based explanation of diffraction that connects quantum and classical wave optics, and reveals distinctive quantum signatures in higher-order correlations.

arXiv:2510.16329•Physical Review A•Apr 7, 2026•0 citations

Particle Model Of Light

Hakan Egne

Two centuries after Thomas Young, with the development of technology, an experimental system that sends photons to the screen one by one was developed and the Young experiment was repeated. Surprisingly, in the double slit experiment, the same interference patterns occurred when individual photons were sent to the slits. This article will show you that it is possible to explain bright-dark fringes with the particle model of light also.

•Jun 25, 2022•0 citations
In this paper, we derive the bright and dark photon number states for spatial interference of two or more light beams and succeed in the explanation of Young's interference experiment, and also achieve a better comprehension of the well known comment of Dirac each photon only interferences with itself. From the fully quantum point of view, the origin of the interference fringes consists in the mode transformation and the detection of double-slit states.
Interference phenomena, such as those observed in Young’s double-slit experiment, are foundational to quantum mechanics, yet their interpretation continues to spark debate. Villas-Boas et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 133603 (2025)] propose a quantum-optical framework attributing non-detection in regions of destructive interference to photons occupying ``perfectly dark'' states, which they claim do not interact with a two-level atom sensor due to vanishing coupling in the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian. We argue that this interpretation is fundamentally flawed. Dark states, such as the out-of-phase coherent state ∣α,−α⟩ |\alpha, -\alpha\rangle ∣α,−α⟩, are readily detectable in alternative experimental setups, including dispersive coupling in cavity QED and photon-counting detectors like photomultiplier tubes or avalanche photodiodes, which are sensitive to the photon number operator. This detectability undermines the assertion that dark states are the intrinsic cause of non-detection in destructive interference regions. Instead, the quantum mechanical superposition principle, combined with the Born rule, fully accounts for interference patterns across all detection schemes, as evidenced by well-established experiments such as single-photon double-slit interference, Hong-Ou-Mandel two-photon interference, and cavity QED measurements. By overgeneralizing a detector-specific effect, the dark-state framework introduces an unnecessary and redundant construct, as the standard quantum mechanical formalism already provides a complete and experimentally validated explanation of interference phenomena.
Spatial interference of quantum mechanical particles exhibits a fundamental feature of quantum mechanics. A two-mode entangled state of N particles known as N00N state can give rise to non-classical interference. We report the first experimental observation of a three-photon N00N state exhibiting Young's double-slit type spatial quantum interference. Compared to a single-photon state, the three-photon entangled state generates interference fringes that are three times denser. Moreover, its interference visibility of 0.49 ± 0.09 is well above the limit of 0.1 for spatial super-resolution of classical origin.
We know that bright fringes on the observation-screen is the Fourier transform of light intensity that passes through diffraction slit (aperture) and we know according to Parseval and Rayleigh Theorems the power or energy of a function before and after Fourier transform is not changed that means the total intensity of light emerging slits is equal to the total intensity of bright fringes on the observation screen, but on the other hand according to destructive and constructive interference of light, some portions of the light passing through the slits destructively interfere to constitute dark fringes which means the total light intensity of fringes should be less than the total intensity passing through the slit. This is a violation of the Fourier transform. On the other hand, this paper is augmented by some very new experiments which show there are no photons in the dark fringes. A diffraction experiment by sticking narrow and small width mirrors on the dark fringes that according to the classical interpretation after destructive interference on the dark fringes should be reflected and could be found by sensors at other directions (specially reflection angle) and another experiment that by making a 1mm hole in the middle of the first dark fringe, we expect that photons can be detected by the light detector after destructive interference (passing through one another) behind the observation plan but no photon is detected. Finally, this paper provides a complete physical model associated with mathematical analysis and formulation that is based on the Schrödinger equation. This model answers to single Photon (electron) double-slit experiment with a high degree of accuracy.
Building upon the recently introduced particle interpretation of the double-slit experiment [Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 133603 (2025)] which attributes interference phenomena to detector-coupled (bright) and detector-uncoupled (dark) states of light, we develop a continuous-mode extension of the bright- and dark-state framework. This extension addresses a conceptual distinction between interference and diffraction, that is, the transition from a finite set of discrete paths to a continuum of modes. Through the construction of a complete detector-oriented basis for single-slit diffraction, we demonstrate that the observed diffraction pattern arises from projection of the photon state onto a single bright mode by identifying the detectable and undetectable modes, with photons detected at intensity minima having zero probability, as they reside in modes spanning an infinite-dimensional dark subspace. Our approach thus provides a unified particle-based explanation of diffraction that connects quantum and classical wave optics, and reveals distinctive quantum signatures in higher-order correlations.