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Journal of the Korean Physical Society

Subsidiary and Principal Maxima in Multiple-Slit Interference

Heung‐Ryoul Noh

Published Mar 1, 2019• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We present a theoretical study on the amplitudes and the linewidths of the subsidiary and principal maxima in multiple-slit interference patterns in the Fraunhofer regime. In the limit of a large slit number, we observe that the calculated amplitudes of the subsidiary maxima relative to the principal maximum are slightly different from the values presented in textbooks. We also present the calculation of the widths for the diffracted intensity patterns of the principal and the first several subsidiary maxima.

DOI
10.3938/jkps.74.626

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We present a theoretical study on the amplitudes and the linewidths of the subsidiary and principal maxima in multiple-slit interference patterns in the Fraunhofer regime. In the limit of a large slit number, we observe that the calculated amplitudes of the subsidiary maxima relative to the principal maximum are slightly different from the values presented in textbooks. We also present the calculation of the widths for the diffracted intensity patterns of the principal and the first several subsidiary maxima.
We study electronic multiple-slit diffraction with a quantum mechanical approach. Our theoretical results are in good agreement with classical theoretical calculations and we obtain the following resluts: (1) There are N − 2 secondary maxima and N − 1 minima between the two principle maxima in diffraction pattern. (2) As the slit number N increasing, the diffraction intensity increases and the pattern width becomes narrow. (3) The slit thickness c dose not have any influence on diffraction pattern when slit width a is far greater than the electronic wavelength λ, for example, the ratio of a λ = 10, and at the ratio, the missingorder phenomenon can be observed when d+a a = n (n = 1, 2, 3 . . .), where d is the distance of slit-to-slit. (4) When a is not far greater than λ (the ratio of a λ = 500), the slit thickness c has an effect on diffraction pattern. The missing-order phenomenon can be shown only if the slit thickness c is small enough, and it disappears when the slit thickness c becomes large. In addition, the slit thickness c affects the relative diffraction intensity of the diffraction pattern.
The problem of an approximate description of the wave field of many sources is considered. It is shown that, if the problem is considered more comprehensively, the description of the interference and diffraction experiments can be given within the framework of a single scheme. It is shown that the character of wave amplification in these two classical experiments is different. In the case of an interference experiment, the field amplification is fixed at a point, while in the case of a diffraction experiment the field amplification is fixed in the observation direction. The problem of determining the intensity maximum of a diffraction grating in the Fresnel pattern is studied under the condition that the maximum is satisfied in the Fraunhofer pattern. A condition under which a diffraction grating behaves like a lens is obtained.
Abstract The standard interpretation of Young’s double slit experiment is that the light behaves as waves before and after passing through the diaphragm of the double slit. There is one primary maximum intensity at the central position of the interference pattern. Recently, the photon chamber has been proposed and utilized to study the behavior of photons near the detecting screen. The experiments show that the light, near the screen, behaves as photons propagating along the straight-line trajectories that distribute as waves. Furthermore, the photon chamber placed near the double slit shows non-interference pattern. In this article we show how the non-interference pattern evolving gradually to the interference pattern: (1) at 50 mm from the diaphragm of the double slit, the non-interference pattern shows and has two primary maximum intensities (Figure on left); (2) at 150 mm, there are two shape-changed maximum intensities (Figure at middle); (3) at 400 mm, the non-interference pattern evolves to the regular interference pattern (Figure on right). Those phenomena provide information for theoretical development.
Abstract The textbook description of multiple slit interference employs a standard path difference formula that was originally calculated for the purpose of analyzing Young’s double slit experiment. It was arrived at on the basis of a pair of assumptions that help simplify the geometry of the slit-barrier-screen arrangement and the ensuing formalism needed to estimate the positions of interference fringes on the detection screen. According to the conventional approach, convergent rays of light that emanate from different slits can be treated as effectively parallel in the far field limit. Such a parallel ray approximation-based analysis was shown by Thomas (2019; 2020) to be redundant, paradoxical and limited in accuracy. In this paper, the task of reformulation that began previously with the elementary two-slit experiment is now extended to encompass the N-slit scenario, diffraction at a single-slit and the formation of circular fringes. In order to derive one of the key results (the generalized hyperbola theorem for N-point sources), a novel computational technique called analytical induction is introduced. The procedure involves a synthesis of concepts from Cartesian geometry and discrete mathematics, namely coordinate transformation by Euclidean translation and a method of proof called the principle of mathematical induction, respectively. The final goal attained are two distribution functions that succinctly and precisely describe the variation of intensity of interference fringes on the distant screen, when it is oriented parallel and perpendicular relative to the line joining the sources. A comparison is drawn between the predictions of the conventional and the new analyses by means of numerical-graphical simulation with MATLAB. The theoretical methods and results presented herein may have a significant bearing in areas of applied optics like interferometry and diffraction crystallography. On the pedagogic front, it is suggested that the current geometrical program being visually more intuitive, be incorporated into the standard curriculum of an advanced undergraduate/graduate level course in physical optics, to complement the conventional approach.
In this paper, we theoretically investigate a particular experimental setup which coalesces the concepts of the double slit and single slit diffraction. In Thomas Young's classic double slit experiment, monochromatic plane light wave impinges on an opaque screen with two parallel, long and narrow slits and the resulting intensity pattern is observed on a screen placed at a great distance placed from the slits. We show, via theoretical calculations that the if another opaque screen with a single long narrow slit is placed at a distance from the two slits, the resulting intensity pattern on the observation screen is nontrivial and interesting.