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Physical Review A

Experimental Limitations to the Validity of Semiclassical Radiation Theories

John F. Clauser

Published Jul 1, 1972• 81 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The polarization correlation of photons emitted in an atomic cascade is treated in the framework of a general semiclassical radiation theory. The resulting predictions are contrasted with those of orthodox quantum-radiation theory. Experimental evidence is discussed which is in agreement with the latter theory, but excludes semiclassical theories in general.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.6.49

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Physical Review A•Dec 1, 1971•233 citations
The polarization correlation of photons emitted in an atomic cascade is treated in the framework of a general semiclassical radiation theory. The resulting predictions are contrasted with those of orthodox quantum-radiation theory. Experimental evidence is discussed which is in agreement with the latter theory, but excludes semiclassical theories in general.
We have measured the linear polarization correlation of the photons emitted in a radiative atomic cascade of calcium. A high-efficiency source provided an improved statistical accuracy and an ability to perform new tests. Our results, in excellent agreement with the quantum mechanical predictions, strongly violate the generalized Bell's inequalities, and rule out the whole class of realistic local theories. No significant change in results was observed with source-polarizer separations of up to 6.5 m.
Measurements have been made of the polarization properties of the two photons emitted in the decay of metastable atomic deuterium in an experiment in which three linear polarizers, instead of the normal two, are used. The quantum-mechanical predictions for these imperfect polarizers have been calculated and shown to be in good agreement with the experimental results. The results have also been used to test local realistic models which are capable of explaining all existing two-polarizer-type experiments, and have provided conclusive evidence against these theories.
The theory of measurements in which photons are detected in delayed coincidence with a scattered particle is developed in a form specifically applicable to atomic collisions. Equations are obtained which relate the measured coincidence rate to excitation amplitudes. These equations incorporate the polarization of the radiation, the fine and hyperfine structure of the atomic levels, the coherence of the radiation, and the time dependence of the radiation intensity. A semiclassical model for certain transitions is introduced to illustrate new features of coincidence measurements. The $\mathrm{Ly}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ transitions in hydrogen and $^{1}P\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{1}S$ transitions in He are treated in detail to illustrate the general theory.