We assess the effect of the heat radiation emitted by mesoscopic particles on their ability to show interference in a double-slit arrangement. The analysis is based on a stationary, phase-space-based description of matter-wave interference in the presence of momentum-exchange-mediated decoherence.
A double-slit experiment is analysed when the interfering particle has an internal structure and one endeavours to obtain ‘which path’ information by detecting the light that is spontaneously emitted. A compact expression is derived for the visibility of the interference pattern: coherence depends on both the spatial and temporal features of the emission process during the travel of the particle to the screen. A bound is set on the temperature of a fullerene molecule in a double-slit experiment in order that its quantum mechanical coherence be maintained.
We present a treatment of the double-slit interference of matter-waves represented by Gaussian wavepackets. The interference pattern is modelled with Green's function propagator which emphasizes the coordinate correlations and phases. We explore the connection between phases and position–momentum correlations in the intensity, visibility and predictability of the wavepacket interference. This formulation will indicate some aspects that can be useful for theoretical and experimental treatment of particle, atom or molecule interferometry and can be discussed in introductory quantum mechanics courses.