Feynman path integrals in the young double-slit experiment

Harsha Kumar Suriyaarachchi

In Young's Double Slit Experiment (YDE) and improved versions, waves causing interference travel different distances.As speed of light is constant, waves require different time spans to reach the point of interference.Thereby, if the waves are generated simultaneously at the slits/source, they cannot meet on the screen anywhere outside the mid-line.Formation of fringes is commonly interpreted as interference caused by the meeting (super-positioning) of two waves generated simultaneously.The reality is that fringes are formed by interference of waves generated at different times.However, unless impacted by other phenomena, two waves generated at different times converging to form fringes, as this paper shows, will mandatorily come in same phase to the interference point, producing constructive interference.Interference observed, however, is not only constructive.The effect on the phase of waves while bending (diffraction) is also to be considered.Consequently, it addresses three phenomena causing phase shifts: (1)different starting times,(2)bending at slits, and (3)distances traveled (In contrast, the first two are overlooked by the conventional approach).(Dirac and Feynman Path Integral methods on quantum particles have different approaches).The paper reveals the widespread misconception in the analysis of YDE and would impact the wave/particle and other YDE interpretations.

Département de Physique Nucléaire et Corpusculaire, Université de Genève 24, quai Ernest-Ansermet CH-1211Genève 4., J.H. Field

Feynman path integral analyses of a two-neutrino-flavour electron appearence experiment and the Young double slit are compared.The comparison reveals a conceptual flaw in previous work of the present author that led to a false claim of the incorrectness of standard formulas for the oscillation phase.In both calculations, path amplitudes add coherently, but no putative 'neutrino flavour eigenstates' are invoked in the former case.It is shown that the coherent production of these eigenstates is incompatible with the measured values of Γ (π → eν)/Γ (π → µν) and the PMNS matrix elements.Applications of the path integral approach to other two-path quantum interference experiments are compared with neutrino oscillations, and other treatments of the latter in the literature are critically discussed.

Sergio A Albeverio, Raphael J. Høegh-Krohn

Jin Zhang

The quantum states of single electron through tow-slit or multi-slit and its probability distribution are calculated by using Feynmans path integrals.Based on our results, a clear physical description of this experiment is given to explain the diffraction state of single electron.

Sonia Mazzucchi