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Wave-Particle Duality in a Double Slit Teaching Laboratory Experiment

Evan Zhang

Published May 29, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This lab technical report contain a comparative study of double slit and single slit optical interference experiment. The experiment is conducted in an undergraduate experimental laboratory and compares laser based continuous intensity measurements with low-intensity photon-counting measurements using a photomultiplier tube. The results show strong qualitative and internal coherence result from expected interference and diffraction models.

DOI
10.5281/zenodo.20453324

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This lab technical report contain a comparative study of double slit and single slit optical interference experiment. The experiment is conducted in an undergraduate experimental laboratory and compares laser based continuous intensity measurements with low-intensity photon-counting measurements using a photomultiplier tube. The results show strong qualitative and internal coherence result from expected interference and diffraction models.
Abstract We perform spectral analysis based on suitable theoretical correlations between V-wave visibility and D-particle distinguishability to verify wave-particle duality in the asymmetrical double-slit experiments. The typical interference spectra obtained in a recent experiment ensure the single-photon approximation in the Fraunhofer far-field condition. The results show that our theoretical model following the complementarity principle is not be consistent with the experimental data at the first main minima of the diffraction distribution where unexpected interference was observed
Abstract We perform spectral analysis based on suitable theoretical correlations between V-wave visibility and D-particle distinguishability to verify wave-particle duality in asymmetrical double-slit experiments. The typical interference spectra obtained in a recent experiment ensure the single-photon approximation in the Fraunhofer far-field condition. The results show that our theoretical model, following the complementarity principle, is inconsistent with the experimental data at the first main minima of the diffraction distribution, where unexpected interference was observed.
The interference of single photons going through a double slit is a compelling demonstration of the wave and particle nature of light in the same experiment. Single photons produced by spontaneous parametric down-conversion can be used for this purpose. However, it is particularly challenging to implement this due to coherency and resolution challenges. In this article, we present a table-top laboratory arrangement suitable for the undergraduate instruction laboratory that overcomes these challenges. The apparatus scans a single detector to produce a plot showing the interference patterns of single photons. We include experimental data obtained using this setup, demonstrating double-slit and single-slit interference as well as quantum erasing through the use of sheet polarizers.
Abstract We perform spectral analysis based on suitable theoretical correlations between V-wave visibility and D-particle distinguishability to verify wave-particle duality in the asymmetrical double-slit experiments. The typical interference spectra obtained in a recent experiment ensure the single-photon approximation in the Fraunhofer far-field condition. The results show that our theoretical model following the complementarity principle is not be consistent with the experimental data at the first main minima of the diffraction distribution where unexpected interference was observed
We report observations of Cross-Double-Slit Experiment and Which-Path-Cross-Double-Slit experiment. Cross-Double-Slit apparatus contains two double-slit, where first double-slit is perpendicular to second double-slit. The first double-slit and the second double-slit generate not only their own interference pattern perpendicular to each other, but also generate “Cross-interference-patterns”. When we do which-way experiment with one of two double-slit, say first double-slit, then its interference pattern disappeared, i.e., photons behave as particles; but the second double-slit’s interference pattern and the cross-interference-pattern still exist; which implies an significant phenomenon that in the same experiment, photons behave as both wave and particle, which is first time caught on film. Thus we suggest to re-study wave-particle duality, which is the basic mystery of quantum mechanics. We postulate that the particle nature of photons is intrinsic; while the wave-like of photons is manifest-behavior.