The Uncertainty Principle in Optics

Maria Chiara Braidotti, Ziad H. Musslimani, Claudio Conti

C. G. DARWIN

Zhichao Zhang, Xi-Ya Shi, An-Yang Wu +1 more

A sharper uncertainty inequality which exhibits a lower bound tighter than that in the classical N-dimensional Heisenberg's uncertainty principle is obtained. The condition that reaches an equality relation of the uncertainty inequality is deduced. Example and simulations are carried out to illustrate that the newly derived uncertainty principle is truly sharper than the classical one. The new proposal's applications in time-frequency analysis, optical signal processing and physical optics propagation are also given.

H. John Caulfield

F.J. Duarte

R. P. Feynman, by far, physics’ most successful communicator, said: The uncertainty principle protects quantum mechanics. W. Heisenberg recognized that if it were possible to measure the momentum and the position simultaneously with a greater accuracy, quantum mechanics would collapse. Quantum mechanics maintains its perilous but correct existence”. In his book on Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals , Feynman makes use of the two-slit experiment to provide an approximate description of the physics behind the uncertainty principle. Feynman’s description is outlined using a slightly different notation. The uncertainty principle is widely applied in optics. It applies to interferometry, linewidth measurements, and beam divergence measurements. The chapter focuses on the uncertainty principle and beam divergence. An important application of the uncertainty principle manifests itself in calculations of the angular resolution limit of telescopes used in astronomical observations. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle can be used to derive some useful identities in optics and interferometry.

Ángel S. Sanz, Salvador Miret-Artés