Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Experimental Proposal for Detecting a Physical Empty Guiding Wave in a Polarization Interferometer

David DHUGUES

Published Jul 31, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The physical status of empty components in quantum states—such as vacuum modes or emptywaves in realist interpretations—remains an open foundational question. Here, a direct experimentaltest using a single-photon polarization system is proposed: after preparing a photon in a pure|H⟩ state and separating the orthogonal (nominally empty) |V ⟩ mode, controlled transformationsare applied exclusively to the empty mode before final measurement. Standard quantum opticspredicts no effect on photon statistics, while a phenomenological coupling parameter α quantifiespossible deviations. A null result would constrain models attributing physical reality to emptymodes, whereas a positive observation would motivate new theoretical developments. The proposedexperiment is feasible with current technology and defines a clear, falsifiable test at the interface ofquantum foundations and optics.

DOI
10.5281/zenodo.21719798

Related papers

Experimental Test of the Influence of Empty Optical Modes in a Single-Photon Interferometer

David DHUGUES

I propose an experiment to test whether a nominally empty optical mode can influence the detection statistics of a single photon when subjected to independent, controlled transformations. This protocol provides a direct and falsifiable experimental constraint on the potential physical influence of empty modes, an open question in the foundations of quantum mechanics. Contact : daviddhugues@yahoo.fr

•Aug 18, 2026•0 citations

An experimental proposal for revealing contextuality in almost all qutrit states

Jayne E. Thompson, Robert Pisarczyk, Paweł Kurzyński +1 more

Contextuality is a foundational phenomenon underlying key differences between quantum theory and classical realistic descriptions of the world. Here we propose an experimental test which is capable of revealing contextuality in all qutrit systems, except the completely mixed state, provided we choose the measurement basis appropriately. The 3-level system is furnished by the polarization and spatial degrees of freedom of a single photon, which encompass three orthogonal modes. Projective measurements along rays in the 3-dimensional Hilbert space are made by linear optical elements and detectors which are sensitive to single mode. We also discuss the impact of detector inefficiency and losses and review the theoretical foundations of this test.

arXiv:1301.3496•Scientific Reports•Sep 19, 2013•7 citations

Can Simple Optical Disconnection Reveal New Quantum Limits? Proposed Experiments on Wavepacket Connectivity

Sun-Hyun Youn

We propose the Modal-Disconnection Collapse (MDC) hypothesis: coherence between optical modes persists only while the physical coupling structure establishing their modal relation remains intact; removing that structure after photon(s) have passed triggers objective collapse without which-path measurement or decoherence. Standard quantum mechanics deems such post-departure manipulations irrelevant. To our knowledge, no experiment has directly tested this specific intervention. We propose two decisive tests. Experiment A: a single-photon polarization interferometer whose input beam splitter is removed after splitting but before detection. Experiment B: an entangled-photon Bell test where the source region is blocked after emission but before detection, spacelike-separated from detections. MDC predicts vanishing interference visibility (A) and reduction of the Bell-CHSH parameter to separable-state values (B); standard quantum mechanics predicts no change. These experiments close a basic empirical gap, exemplifying a core norm: seemingly obvious claims should remain provisional until directly verified.

•Feb 15, 2026•0 citations

Wave/particle complementarity using single-photon (quantum) delayed-choice experiments

Sébastien Tanzilli

Bohr's complementarity notion is at the heart of quantum physics. It suggests that quantum systems are observed as waves or particles depending on the type of measurement, i.e., the experimental arrangement, they are subjected to. For instance, sending single photons to an open or closed Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) leads to the observation of particle or wave behaviours, respectively. In 1984, Wheeler proposed a "Gedanken" delayed-choice experiment in which the interferometer configuration is chosen at will by the experimentalist only after the photon has already passed the input beam-splitter (BS_in) of the device. This experiment was realized using a single photon source and showed that Bohr's complementarity notion was still obeyed.It was recently proposed to take Wheeler's experiment one step further by employing an output "quantum beam-splitter" (QBS), i.e.,preparing BS_out in a coherent superposition of being absent and present. This allows choosing the type of measurement, i.e., wave or particle, only after having determined the state of the QBS, which can be (in principle) infinitely delayed.We realized such an experiment by exploiting the resource of entanglement, in this case pairs of polarization entangled photons. The behaviour of one of the paired photons, called the test photon, is analysed using a MZI having a QBS at its output. This QBS is enabled by entanglement and made of a polarization dependent beam-splitter. The other photon, called the corroborative photon, allows determining the state of the QBS, and consequently, which test photon behaviour (wave, particle, or both) is observed.By manipulating the corroborative photon polarization state, we demonstrate a continuous morphing of the test photon from wave to particle behaviour. This refutes simple models of single photons behaving exclusively as waves or particles. The state of the QBS is determined via the measurement of the corroborative photon only after the test photon has already been detected. The space-like separation between the two measurements invalidates local-hidden variable models associated with pre-existing information about the measurement outcomes. In other words, when the test photon is detected, no information is available about the type of measurement it underwent. These results still perfectly obey Bohr's complementarity notion and its extension.

•Feb 25, 2015•0 citations

Can simple optical disconnection reveal new quantum limits? Proposed experiments on wavepacket connectivity

Sun-Hyun Youn

We propose the Modal-Disconnection Collapse (MDC) hypothesis: coherence between optical modes persists only while the physical coupling structure establishing their modal relation remains intact; functionally disconnecting that structure after photon(s) have passed triggers objective collapse without which-path measurement or decoherence. Standard quantum mechanics deems such post-departure manipulations irrelevant. To our knowledge, no experiment has directly tested this specific intervention. We propose two decisive tests. Experiment A: a single-photon polarization interferometer whose input beam splitter is functionally disconnected after splitting but before detection. Experiment B: an entangled-photon Bell test where the source region is blocked after emission but before detection, spacelike-separated from detections. MDC predicts vanishing interference visibility (A) and reduction of the Bell-CHSH parameter to separable-state values (B); standard quantum mechanics predicts no change. These experiments close a basic empirical gap, exemplifying a core norm: seemingly obvious claims should remain provisional until directly verified.

Physics Letters A•May 11, 2026•0 citations

Experimental Test of the deBroglie Guided Wave Theory for Photons

L. J. Wang, X. Y. Zou, L. Mandeļ

An experiment has been carried out to test a prediction of the deBroglie guided wave theory for photons. According to this theory, there exist electromagnetic waves as well as photons, with the former acting as guide for the latter. The wave not only determines the probability for the detection of a photon, but it also has an independent physical reality which can result in photodetection, As a result the guided wave theory predicts an interference effect when two photons pass through an interferometer with a particular geometry and one measures the rate of simultaneous detections by two photodetectors in coincidence as a function of optical path difference, By contrast, quantum mechanics predicts no interference under the same conditions. The experimental results clearly violate the prediction of the guided wave theory, but are in agreement with quantum mechanics.

Annual Meeting Optical Society of America•Jan 1, 1990•0 citations
The physical status of empty components in quantum states—such as vacuum modes or emptywaves in realist interpretations—remains an open foundational question. Here, a direct experimentaltest using a single-photon polarization system is proposed: after preparing a photon in a pure|H⟩ state and separating the orthogonal (nominally empty) |V ⟩ mode, controlled transformationsare applied exclusively to the empty mode before final measurement. Standard quantum opticspredicts no effect on photon statistics, while a phenomenological coupling parameter α quantifiespossible deviations. A null result would constrain models attributing physical reality to emptymodes, whereas a positive observation would motivate new theoretical developments. The proposedexperiment is feasible with current technology and defines a clear, falsifiable test at the interface ofquantum foundations and optics.
Contextuality is a foundational phenomenon underlying key differences between quantum theory and classical realistic descriptions of the world. Here we propose an experimental test which is capable of revealing contextuality in all qutrit systems, except the completely mixed state, provided we choose the measurement basis appropriately. The 3-level system is furnished by the polarization and spatial degrees of freedom of a single photon, which encompass three orthogonal modes. Projective measurements along rays in the 3-dimensional Hilbert space are made by linear optical elements and detectors which are sensitive to single mode. We also discuss the impact of detector inefficiency and losses and review the theoretical foundations of this test.
We propose the Modal-Disconnection Collapse (MDC) hypothesis: coherence between optical modes persists only while the physical coupling structure establishing their modal relation remains intact; removing that structure after photon(s) have passed triggers objective collapse without which-path measurement or decoherence. Standard quantum mechanics deems such post-departure manipulations irrelevant. To our knowledge, no experiment has directly tested this specific intervention. We propose two decisive tests. Experiment A: a single-photon polarization interferometer whose input beam splitter is removed after splitting but before detection. Experiment B: an entangled-photon Bell test where the source region is blocked after emission but before detection, spacelike-separated from detections. MDC predicts vanishing interference visibility (A) and reduction of the Bell-CHSH parameter to separable-state values (B); standard quantum mechanics predicts no change. These experiments close a basic empirical gap, exemplifying a core norm: seemingly obvious claims should remain provisional until directly verified.
Bohr's complementarity notion is at the heart of quantum physics. It suggests that quantum systems are observed as waves or particles depending on the type of measurement, i.e., the experimental arrangement, they are subjected to. For instance, sending single photons to an open or closed Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) leads to the observation of particle or wave behaviours, respectively. In 1984, Wheeler proposed a "Gedanken" delayed-choice experiment in which the interferometer configuration is chosen at will by the experimentalist only after the photon has already passed the input beam-splitter (BS_in) of the device. This experiment was realized using a single photon source and showed that Bohr's complementarity notion was still obeyed.It was recently proposed to take Wheeler's experiment one step further by employing an output "quantum beam-splitter" (QBS), i.e.,preparing BS_out in a coherent superposition of being absent and present. This allows choosing the type of measurement, i.e., wave or particle, only after having determined the state of the QBS, which can be (in principle) infinitely delayed.We realized such an experiment by exploiting the resource of entanglement, in this case pairs of polarization entangled photons. The behaviour of one of the paired photons, called the test photon, is analysed using a MZI having a QBS at its output. This QBS is enabled by entanglement and made of a polarization dependent beam-splitter. The other photon, called the corroborative photon, allows determining the state of the QBS, and consequently, which test photon behaviour (wave, particle, or both) is observed.By manipulating the corroborative photon polarization state, we demonstrate a continuous morphing of the test photon from wave to particle behaviour. This refutes simple models of single photons behaving exclusively as waves or particles. The state of the QBS is determined via the measurement of the corroborative photon only after the test photon has already been detected. The space-like separation between the two measurements invalidates local-hidden variable models associated with pre-existing information about the measurement outcomes. In other words, when the test photon is detected, no information is available about the type of measurement it underwent. These results still perfectly obey Bohr's complementarity notion and its extension.
We propose the Modal-Disconnection Collapse (MDC) hypothesis: coherence between optical modes persists only while the physical coupling structure establishing their modal relation remains intact; functionally disconnecting that structure after photon(s) have passed triggers objective collapse without which-path measurement or decoherence. Standard quantum mechanics deems such post-departure manipulations irrelevant. To our knowledge, no experiment has directly tested this specific intervention. We propose two decisive tests. Experiment A: a single-photon polarization interferometer whose input beam splitter is functionally disconnected after splitting but before detection. Experiment B: an entangled-photon Bell test where the source region is blocked after emission but before detection, spacelike-separated from detections. MDC predicts vanishing interference visibility (A) and reduction of the Bell-CHSH parameter to separable-state values (B); standard quantum mechanics predicts no change. These experiments close a basic empirical gap, exemplifying a core norm: seemingly obvious claims should remain provisional until directly verified.
An experiment has been carried out to test a prediction of the deBroglie guided wave theory for photons. According to this theory, there exist electromagnetic waves as well as photons, with the former acting as guide for the latter. The wave not only determines the probability for the detection of a photon, but it also has an independent physical reality which can result in photodetection, As a result the guided wave theory predicts an interference effect when two photons pass through an interferometer with a particular geometry and one measures the rate of simultaneous detections by two photodetectors in coincidence as a function of optical path difference, By contrast, quantum mechanics predicts no interference under the same conditions. The experimental results clearly violate the prediction of the guided wave theory, but are in agreement with quantum mechanics.