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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Tabletop demonstration of non-Interaction of photons and non-interference of waves

Narasimha S. Prasad, Chandrasekhar Roychoudhuri

Published Sep 25, 2015• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Recently, Non- Interaction of Waves or the NIW property has been proposed as a generic property of all propagating electromagnetic waves by one of the authors (CR). In other words, optical beams do not interact with each other to modify or re-distribute their field energy distribution in the absence of interacting materials. In this paper, path taken to re-create CR's original demonstration of the NIW-property as an on-site tabletop experiment is discussed. Since 1975, when the NIW demonstration was first reported, several advances in lasers and optical component design architecture have occurred. With the goal of using low cost components and having agility in setting up on non-conformable platforms for general viewing, a compact arrangement for demonstrating the NIW property was envisioned. In our experimental arrangement, a beam multiplier element was utilized to generate a set of spatially separate parallel beams out of an incident laser beam. The emerging parallel beams from the beam multiplier element were then focused on a one-sided ground glass, the flat side being towards the beam multiplier. This flat side reflects off all the incident focused beams as fanning out independent laser beams, remaining unperturbed even though they are reflecting out of a common superposed spot. It is clear that there is neither "interference between different photons", nor "a photon interferes with itself", even within a region of superposed beams. In contrast, the ground glass surface (same silica molecules but granular or lumpy) was anticipated to generate a set of crisp spatial fringes on its surface as in the original experiment. The fringes are due to granulated individual silica lumps responding simultaneously to the local resultant E-vectors due to all the superposed beams and are scattering energy proportional to the square modulus of the sum of all the simultaneous dipolar amplitude stimulations. The dark fringe locations imply zero resultant amplitude stimulation and hence no scattering. Due to multi-longitudinal mode nature of laser module, the fringes appeared washed out at the backside of the ground glass plate. Experimental refinements followed by our views on whether the fundamental physics behind the generation of superposition fringes by photo detectors different from those due to a ground glass are briefly discussed.

DOI
10.1117/12.2191014

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Recently, Non- Interaction of Waves or the NIW property has been proposed as a generic property of all propagating electromagnetic waves by one of the authors (CR). In other words, optical beams do not interact with each other to modify or re-distribute their field energy distribution in the absence of interacting materials. In this paper, path taken to re-create CR's original demonstration of the NIW-property as an on-site tabletop experiment is discussed. Since 1975, when the NIW demonstration was first reported, several advances in lasers and optical component design architecture have occurred. With the goal of using low cost components and having agility in setting up on non-conformable platforms for general viewing, a compact arrangement for demonstrating the NIW property was envisioned. In our experimental arrangement, a beam multiplier element was utilized to generate a set of spatially separate parallel beams out of an incident laser beam. The emerging parallel beams from the beam multiplier element were then focused on a one-sided ground glass, the flat side being towards the beam multiplier. This flat side reflects off all the incident focused beams as fanning out independent laser beams, remaining unperturbed even though they are reflecting out of a common superposed spot. It is clear that there is neither "interference between different photons", nor "a photon interferes with itself", even within a region of superposed beams. In contrast, the ground glass surface (same silica molecules but granular or lumpy) was anticipated to generate a set of crisp spatial fringes on its surface as in the original experiment. The fringes are due to granulated individual silica lumps responding simultaneously to the local resultant E-vectors due to all the superposed beams and are scattering energy proportional to the square modulus of the sum of all the simultaneous dipolar amplitude stimulations. The dark fringe locations imply zero resultant amplitude stimulation and hence no scattering. Due to multi-longitudinal mode nature of laser module, the fringes appeared washed out at the backside of the ground glass plate. Experimental refinements followed by our views on whether the fundamental physics behind the generation of superposition fringes by photo detectors different from those due to a ground glass are briefly discussed.
This paper extends and generalizes the principle of Non-Interference of Light (NIL) to diffracted secondary wavelets. In a previous series of papers we have demonstrated the NIL principle for well defined superposed light beams, which experience negligible diffracted spreading within the interferometers being used. NIL is consistent with quantum physics where emitted photons from material dipoles are considered non-interacting Bosons. Our NIL principle describes the formation of fringes (energy re-distribution) as patterned energy absorptions or scattering by "local" material dipoles proportional to the square modulus of the sum of all the superposed stimulating fields experienced by the dipoles.
The interpretation of the detection of very slow rate of photo counts in interference and diffraction experiments have given rise to the prevailing interpretation that photons interfere by themselves and they are indivisible, albeit non-local. The purpose of this paper is to inspire the development of alternate models for the photons by underscoring that, in reality, light does not interfere with light. The effects of superposition, registered as interference fringes, can become manifest only when a suitable detector can respond simultaneously to all the superposed light beams separately arriving from all the paths (or, slits). It should be a strictly causal process. In fact, different detectors with different quantum properties, report different results while exposed to the same superposed fields. Interference and diffraction effects are always observed as fringes through the processes of re-distribution and/or re-direction of the measured energy of the superimposed fields. Accordingly, we present a number of experiments, actual and conceptual, which highlight the contradictions built into the notion of non-locality in interference. A closer examination of these experiments can guide us to develop a conceptually congruent and causal model for both the evolution of photons and the interference (diffraction) effects by adapting to the classical diffraction theory. This theory has been correctly predicting the characteristics of light whether it is star light propagating through the inter galactic space, or nano tip generated light propagating through complex nano photonic waveguides.
Huygens-Fresnel diffraction integral is the foundation for optical science and engineering since 1817, including the mathematical improvements. This integral propagates Huygens’ individual secondary wavelets unperturbed through each other. Huygens postulated this Non-Interaction of Waves (NIW) in his 1690 book, Treatise on Light. Quantum Electrodynamics also indicates NIW since the computed photon-photon interaction cross-section is immeasurably small. The linear sum of complex amplitudes does not represent an observable phenomenon. Fringes represent the energy absorbed by a detector as the square modulus of the sum of amplitude stimulation experienced by it. The detectors’ intrinsic properties determine the observable fringes. Due to our neglect of Huygens’ NIW, we are carrying on erroneous interpretations for several major optical phenomena. Our proposed experiment-guided curriculum will rectify the confusions. The new book will be developed using the currently published reference book, “Causal Physics; Photon by Non-Interaction of Waves”, Taylor and Francis, 2014 [1].
Non-interaction of waves (NIW) in the linear domain is an unappreciated but general principle of nature. Explicit recognition of this NIW-principle will add renewed momentum to the progress of fundamental physics and related technologies like spectrometry, coherence, polarizations, laser mode-locking, etc. This principle helps us appreciate that the mathematical correctness of a theorem and its capability to predict certain groups of measured data, do not necessarily imply that the theorem is always capable of mapping real interaction processes in nature. The time-frequency Fourier theorem (TF-FT) is an example since superposed light beams, by themselves, cannot reorganize or sum their energies. Quantum Mechanics (QM) correctly discovered that photons (light beams) are non-interacting bosons. Yet, to accommodate (i) the classical belief that light beams interfere (interact) by themselves, and (ii) Einstein's heuristic hypothesis that discrete packets of energy emitted by molecules travel as indivisible quanta (contradicting spontaneous diffractive spreading), QM has been forced to hypothesize that a photon interferes only with itself. In reality, it is the quantized detecting material media that make the superposition effects become manifest as their physical transformations, from bound electrons to released photoelectrons, after absorbing energy from all the beams due to induced simultaneous stimulations by the beams.
We present an approach to demonstrate the Non-Interaction of Waves (NIW)-principle by showing that dark fringes in the near-field Talbot diffraction patterns are not devoid of energy. We believe that a detector is simply incapable of absorbing any energy at the dark fringe locations simply because the resultant of the induced stimulations on a local detecting dipole due to all the E-vectors is zero. The joint stimulation is strongest at the bright fringe locations. The amplitude (& hence potentially detectable energy) flow through the "dark fringe locations" is demonstrated by obstructing the "bright fringe" locations at the half-Talbot plane with an identical grating that generated this diffraction image. Then, by propagating the transmitted complex amplitudes through the dark fringes, we would like to show that the Talbot plane can still receive more energy than that could have been recorded out of those same dark fringe locations at the half Talbot plane.
The physical interaction processes behind the emergence of dark and bright fringes registered by the detectors at the output of optical interferometers is explained. This knowledge should be helpful to interferometrists to make better physical interpretations of their data. The belief in mysterious “interference of single indivisible photon” will disappear once we recognize that the spatial or temporal energy re-distributions are generated by the physical transformation experienced by the detecting molecules drawing energy from all the light beams. The molecules could be photodetectors at the interferometer output, or the beam combining dielectric boundary. The superposition principle (SP), represented by the linear mathematical sum of two or more wave amplitudes, does not represent an observable phenomenon. The superposition effect (SE), represented by the non-linear square modulus of the joint dipolar stimulation of the detectors by all the superposed waves, is observable. We present two laboratory experiments to clarify these points. Both classical beam combiners and quantum detectors are capable of generating superposition fringes of intensity variations. The logic of “quantumness” of light is narrowly relevant only when a quantum detector deciphers the fringes; it is not valid for classical beam combiners. We will also discuss “entanglement” based on these experiments.