How to detect photons passing through interference minima

Vipin Devrari, Mandip Singh

Principle of quantum superposition permits a photon to interfere with itself. As per the principle of causality, a photon must pass through the double-slit prior to its detection on the screen to exhibit interference. In this paper, a double-slit quantum interference experiment with reversible detection of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen quantum entangled photons is presented. Where a photon is first detected on a screen without passing through a double-slit, while the second photon is propagating towards the double-slit. A detection event on the screen cannot affect the second photon with any signal propagating at the speed of light, even after its passage through the double-slit. After the detection of the first photon on the screen, the second photon is either passed through the double-slit or diverted towards a stationary photon detector. Therefore, the question of whether the first photon carries the which-path information of the second photon in the double-slit is eliminated. No single photon interference is exhibited by the second photon, even if another screen is placed after the double-slit.

Paul G. Kwiat

Jeong-bong Ko

Standard interpretations of quantum mechanics and wave optics describe destructive interference in the double-slit experiment as a result of energy redistribution, implying that the energy density at interference minima (dark fringes) is effectively zero. However, experimental data verifying the thermodynamic state of these nodes using high-sensitivity bolometric measurements remains scarce. This paper proposes a hypothesis that photons at destructive interference nodes may undergo non-radiative decay, converting their energy into phonons (heat) upon interaction with the screen, rather than being spatially redistributed. We propose a specific experimental setup using a suspended graphene-on-aerogel screen coupled with a nano-bolometer or Transition Edge Sensor (TES) to detect localized thermal spikes at the dark fringes. Confirmation of such thermal dissipation would suggest a local energy conservation mechanism involving "latent" photon interactions.

John Gordon King, Malcolm Correll

Thuan Vo Van

Abstract The recent state-of-the-art double-slit experiments with single electrons and single photons seem to emphasize a contradictable dilemma concerning the ontological physical reality in quantum physics. Because of the importance of this problem, we propose and perform another modified laser-beam asymmetrical double-slit experiment with a constraint of single-photon interference. In the results, a Feynman condition with a mobile closing mask allows assessing the complementary contributions of photons passing through one or another slit. Under the assumption of applicable self-interference, a ‘which-way’ phenomenon is observed quantitatively in the vicinity of the main minima with low-intense interference fringes, demonstrating a possible solution to this problem. The result would encourage similar asymmetrical double-slit experiments with truly single photons or single electrons for consistent and direct observation of the wave-particle duality.

Pieter Kok