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arXiv:quant-ph/0503073

Quantum Erasure: Quantum Interference Revisited

Stephen Patrick Walborn, Marcelo Terra Cunha, Sebastião Pádua, Carlos Henrique Monken

Published Mar 7, 2005• 0 citations
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Abstract

Recent experiments in quantum optics have shed light on the foundations of quantum physics. Quantum erasers - modified quantum interference experiments - show that quantum entanglement is responsible for the complementarity principle.
DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0503073

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In this paper we will first look at a particular quantum eraser setup to show that this type of experiments can be understood in an intuitive manner if we are willing to take a complex nonlinear approach, without the need to invoke Niels Bohr's complementarity or quantum entanglement between two particles. We will then discuss a recent experiment of the same type that does not erase the interference pattern when which-path information is available, and argue that this result is in clear contradiction with the orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics but perfectly understandable in the framework of nonlinear quantum physics.
The principle of complementarity is one of the cornerstones of quantum theory. The aim of this study was to advance our understanding of complementarity by analyzing the role of delayed choice and quantum erasers in two-slit experiments, and by proposing experiments for verifying the analysis. The analysis is based on models consisting of measurable spaces and probability measures involved in the experiments. The main findings are as follows: (a) The complementarity principle manifests itself in such a way that wave and particle behaviors cannot be simultaneously observed almost surely with respect to any single, fixed measure. (b) Described by different measures, complementary properties can coexist in the same experimental setup. (c) Which-way information will not preclude or erase interference fringes. (d) Delayed choice and quantum erasers are irrelevant to testing complementarity. (e) It is possible for us to know through which slit each quantum object passed almost surely with respect to the measure corresponding to the slit while the interference pattern is intact. Based on the experiments analyzed, realizable experiments are proposed for verifying the above results.
Abstract The phenomenon of quantum erasure has shed light on the nature of wave-particle duality and quantum complementarity. A number of quantum erasers have been realized using the far-field diffraction of photons from a Young double-slit apparatus. By marking the path of a photon using an additional degree of freedom, the usual Young interference pattern is destroyed. An appropriate measurement of the system marking the photon’s path allows one to recover the interference pattern. Here quantum erasure is considered in the context of near-field diffraction. To observe interference in the near-field requires the use of two periodic wave functions, so that the usual ‘which way’ marker then becomes a ‘which-wave function’ marker. We determine the propagation distances for which quantum erasure, or more generally the observation of interference between the two periodic wave functions, can be observed. The meaning of wave and particle-like properties in this scenario is discussed. These results could lead to quantum eraser experiments with material particles, for which interference effects are more readily observed in the near-field rather than the far-field.
We present various experiments demonstrating the mutual exclusivity of observing interference and which-path information, as demanded by Bohr's complementarity principle. Using photon pairs created in parametric down-conversion, no which-path measurements need to be performed on the interfering photon itself. Instead the other photon can be used to introduce distinguishability, which consequently destroys interference. However, a suitable measurement erases this distinguishability and interference can be recovered.