Journal of Modern Optics

Complementarity of interferometers interacting with the dynamical model of the quantum measurement process

Masashi Ban, Fumiaki Shibata, Sachiko Kitajima

Published Dec 17, 2008• 6 citations

Abstract

Complementarity of wave-like and particle-like properties in the Mach–Zehnder and Michelson interferometers is investigated by means of the exactly solvable model for a quantum measurement process. When the error-minimum measurement and unambiguous measurement are used for extracting the which-path information, the fringe visibility and which-path information are derived and their complementary relation is examined. It is shown that there is a possibility of the recovery of the quantum coherence in the Michelson interferometer since the which-path information can be erased by the propagating particle itself.

DOI: 10.1080/09500340802517694

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