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Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference

Wave-particle duality of a photon in single-emission process

Ming Lai, Jean‐Claude Diels

Published May 10, 1992• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Can spontaneous emission in different directions from a molecule be brought to interfere with each other? Does a photon in emission behave both particlelike and wavelike as a photon in propagation does? Or more specifically, if the atom in Fig. 1 is emitting one photon at a time, do we expect to see an interference at an output of the beam splitter?

Related papers

Wave–particle duality of a photon in emission

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The wave–particle duality of a photon in emission is demonstrated by measuring the interference between spontaneous emissions in nearly opposite directions from a thin layer of organic dye. The interference is the product of a single photon from a single-emission process. It is shown that the Heisenberg uncertainty relation requires that the interference generated by the spontaneously emitted photon and the recoil transferred to the molecule by the emission cannot be observed simultaneously.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Dec 1, 1992•12 citations

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Abstract The Mach–Zehnder interferometer experiment described earlier shows why and how quantum mechanics is different from classical mechanics. A photon sent through a beam splitter behaves like a particle when it is observed by only one of the two detectors. When two beam splitters are used, the photon “interferes with itself” and behaves like a wave. This is the so-called wave-particle duality of quantum mechanics which leads to quantum entanglement. This chapter discusses quantum superpositions when two or more particles are present. Understanding and analysing entanglement is one of the most interesting directions in the field of quantum information. First, a historical background of quantum entanglement is given, followed by a discussion on Bell's inequalities, separable states that do not violate Bell's inequalities, pure states that violate Bell's inequalities, mixed states that do not violate Bell's inequalities, and entanglement in second quantisation.

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Abstract The general results of constructing and modeling the photon wave function in the coordinate representation in the framework of quantum mechanics are presented in order to explain single-photon interference phenomena, in particular Young’s experiment. The relevance of this function is emphasized in connection with modern single-photon and two-photon experiments. The necessity of replacing the explanation of obtaining coherent light sources using the concept of a train of supposedly real electromagnetic waves emitted by one atom, by the conditional emission by this atom of the photon wave function in the coordinate representation, which then experiences diffraction and interference, is substantiated. A single-photon wave function is simulated based on the consideration of the electric dipole radiation of an atom in classical electrodynamics, and a conclusion is drawn on the possibility to explain Young’s experiment. It is argued that although the photon wave function (as well as of particles having mass) is not a physical object, the application of this function significantly weakens the problem of wave-particle duality of light. It is assumed the “nature” of this function reflects the properties of a physical vacuum, but new experiments are required to clarify it.

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Quantum physics of entangled systems: Wave-particle duality and atom-photon molecules

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One of the cornerstones of quantum physics is the wave nature of matter. It explains experimentally observed effects like interference and diffraction, occurring when an object moves from one place to another along several indistinguishable ways simultaneously. The wave nature disappears when the individual ways are distinguishable. In this case, the particle nature of the object becomes visible. To determine the particle nature quantitatively, the way of the object has to be measured. Here, large progress has been made recently with new techniques, enabling one to investigate single moving atoms in a controlled manner. Two examples are discussed in the following two sections. The first experiment describes an atom interferometer, where the way of the atom is entangled with its internal state. This allows one to explore the origin of wave-particle duality and perform a quantitative test of this fundamental principle. The second experiment reports on the observation of an atom-photon molecule, a bound state between an atom and a single photon. A fascinating aspect of this system is that it makes possible to monitor the motion of a single neutral atom in real time.

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Can spontaneous emission in different directions from a molecule be brought to interfere with each other? Does a photon in emission behave both particlelike and wavelike as a photon in propagation does? Or more specifically, if the atom in Fig. 1 is emitting one photon at a time, do we expect to see an interference at an output of the beam splitter?
Abstract The Mach–Zehnder interferometer experiment described earlier shows why and how quantum mechanics is different from classical mechanics. A photon sent through a beam splitter behaves like a particle when it is observed by only one of the two detectors. When two beam splitters are used, the photon “interferes with itself” and behaves like a wave. This is the so-called wave-particle duality of quantum mechanics which leads to quantum entanglement. This chapter discusses quantum superpositions when two or more particles are present. Understanding and analysing entanglement is one of the most interesting directions in the field of quantum information. First, a historical background of quantum entanglement is given, followed by a discussion on Bell's inequalities, separable states that do not violate Bell's inequalities, pure states that violate Bell's inequalities, mixed states that do not violate Bell's inequalities, and entanglement in second quantisation.
The interference of two single photons impinging on a beam splitter is measured in a time-resolved manner. Using long photons of different frequencies emitted from an atom-cavity system, a quantum beat with a visibility close to 100% is observed in the correlation between the photodetections at the output ports of the beam splitter. The time dependence of the beat amplitude reflects the coherence properties of the photons. Most remarkably, simultaneous photodetections are never observed, so that a temporal filter allows one to obtain perfect two-photon coalescence even for nonperfect photons.
Abstract The general results of constructing and modeling the photon wave function in the coordinate representation in the framework of quantum mechanics are presented in order to explain single-photon interference phenomena, in particular Young’s experiment. The relevance of this function is emphasized in connection with modern single-photon and two-photon experiments. The necessity of replacing the explanation of obtaining coherent light sources using the concept of a train of supposedly real electromagnetic waves emitted by one atom, by the conditional emission by this atom of the photon wave function in the coordinate representation, which then experiences diffraction and interference, is substantiated. A single-photon wave function is simulated based on the consideration of the electric dipole radiation of an atom in classical electrodynamics, and a conclusion is drawn on the possibility to explain Young’s experiment. It is argued that although the photon wave function (as well as of particles having mass) is not a physical object, the application of this function significantly weakens the problem of wave-particle duality of light. It is assumed the “nature” of this function reflects the properties of a physical vacuum, but new experiments are required to clarify it.
One of the cornerstones of quantum physics is the wave nature of matter. It explains experimentally observed effects like interference and diffraction, occurring when an object moves from one place to another along several indistinguishable ways simultaneously. The wave nature disappears when the individual ways are distinguishable. In this case, the particle nature of the object becomes visible. To determine the particle nature quantitatively, the way of the object has to be measured. Here, large progress has been made recently with new techniques, enabling one to investigate single moving atoms in a controlled manner. Two examples are discussed in the following two sections. The first experiment describes an atom interferometer, where the way of the atom is entangled with its internal state. This allows one to explore the origin of wave-particle duality and perform a quantitative test of this fundamental principle. The second experiment reports on the observation of an atom-photon molecule, a bound state between an atom and a single photon. A fascinating aspect of this system is that it makes possible to monitor the motion of a single neutral atom in real time.