The delayed choice experiments of the type introduced by Wheeler and extended by Englert, Scully, Süssmann and Walther [ESSW], and others, have formed a rich area for investigating the puzzling behaviour of particles undergoing quantum interference. The surprise provided by the original delayed choice experiment, led Wheeler to the conclusion that "no phenomenon is a phenomenon until it is an observed phenomenon", a radical explanation which implied that "the past has no existence except as it is recorded in the present". However Bohm, Dewdney and Hiley have shown that the Bohm interpretation gives a straightforward account of the behaviour of the particle without resorting to such a radical explanation. The subsequent modifications of this experiment led both Aharonov and Vaidman and [ESSW] to conclude that the resulting Bohm-type trajectories in these new situations produce unacceptable properties. For example, if a cavity is placed in one arm of the interferometer, it will be excited by a particle travelling down the {\em other} arm. In other words it is the particle that does {\em not} go through the cavity that gives up its energy! If this analysis is correct, this behaviour would be truly bizarre and could only be explained by an extreme non-local transfer of energy that is even stronger than that required in an EPR-type processes. In this paper we show that this conclusion is not correct and that if the Bohm interpretation is used correctly, it gives a {\em local} explanation, which actually corresponds exactly to the standard quantum mechanics explanation offered by Englert, Scully, Süssmann and Walther [ESSW].
A realizable delayed-choice quantum eraser, using a modified Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometer and polarization entangled photons, is theoretically analyzed here. The signal photon goes through a modified MZ interferometer, and the polarization of the idler photon provides path information for the signal photon. The setup is very similar to the delayed-choice quantum eraser experimentally studied by the Vienna group. In the class of quantum erasers with discrete output states, it is easy to see that the delayed mode leaves no choice for the experimenter. The which-way information is always eras…
Quantum superposition is the cornerstone of quantum mechanics, where interference fringes originate in the self-interference of a single photon via indistinguishable photon characteristics. Wheeler delayed-choice experiments have been extensively studied for the wave-particle duality over the last several decades to understand the complementarity theory of quantum mechanics. The heart of the delayed-choice quantum eraser is in the mutually exclusive quantum feature violating the cause-effect relation. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the quantum eraser using coherent photon pairs by the del…
Computer simulation of Wheeler's delayed choice experiment with photons
我们提出了一个惠勒延迟选择实验的计算机模拟模型，该模型是最近报道的一个实验的一对一复制（V. Jacques { \sl et al.}，Science 315，966（2007））。该模型完全基于实验事实，满足爱因斯坦的局部因果关系标准，不依赖于任何量子理论的概念。然而，模拟模型再现了惠勒延迟选择实验的量子理论描述所获得的平均值。我们的结果证明，它是可能的，以粒子的惠勒的延迟选择实验，再现从量子理论计算的平均值，这并不违背常识的描述。
Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment investigates the indeterminacy of wave-particle duality and the role played by the measurement apparatus in quantum theory. Due to the inconsistency with classical physics, it has been generally believed that it is not possible to reproduce the delayed-choice experiment using a hidden variable theory. Recently, it was shown that this assumption was incorrect, and in fact Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment can be explained by a causal two dimensional hidden-variable theory [R. Chaves, G. B. Lemos, and J. Pienaar, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 190401 (2018)]. Here, w…
Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment was conceived to illustrate the paradoxical nature of wave-particle duality in quantum mechanics. In the experiment, quantum light can exhibit either wave-like interference patterns or particle-like anti-correlations, depending upon the (possibly delayed) choice of the experimenter. A variant known as the quantum eraser uses entangled light to recover the lost interference in a seemingly nonlocal and retrocausal manner. Although it is believed that this behavior is incompatible with classical physics, here we show that the observed quantum phenomena can be r…
Wave-particle duality constitutes one of the most intriguing features in quantum physics. A well-known gedanken experiment that provides evidence for this is the Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Many different versions of delayed-choice experiments have been conducted with both classical and quantum detecting devices. Recently, it was proposed that the delayed-choice experiment could be devised from the perspective of device-independent prepare-and-measure scenario. In our work, we experimentally realize this modified version with a deterministic sing…
It is demonstrated that 'quantum eraser' (QE) experiments do not erase any information. Nor do they demonstrate retrocausation or 'temporal nonlocality' in their 'delayed choice' form, beyond standard EPR correlations. It is shown that the erroneous erasure claims arise from assuming that the improper mixed state of the signal photon physically prefers either the 'which way' or 'both ways' basis, when no such preference is warranted. The latter point is illustrated through comparison of the QE spatial state space with the spin-1/2 space of particles in the EPR-spin experiment.
Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment delays the decision to observe either the wave or particle behavior of a photon until after it has entered the interferometer, and the quantum delayed-choice experiment provides the possibility of observing the wave and particle behavior simultaneously by introducing quantum control device. We here propose a modified quantum delayed-choice experiment without quantum control or entanglement assistance, in which a photon can be prepared in a wave-particle superposition state and the morphing behavior of wave-to-particle transition can be observed easily. It is…
The delayed-choice quantum eraser has long been a subject of controversy, and has been looked at as being incomprehensible to having retro-causal effect in time. Here the delayed-choice quantum eraser is theoretically analyzed using standard quantum mechanics. Employing Mach-Zehnder interferometer, instead of a conventional two-slit interference, brings in surprising clarity. Some common mistakes in interpreting the experiment are pointed out. It is demonstrated that in the delayed mode there is no which-way information present after the particle is registered on the screen or the final detect…
According to Quantum Mechanics, the particles can exhibit either particle properties or wave properties depending on the experimental set up (wave-particle dualism). A special behavior occurs for a system of two entangled particles 1 and 2 that propagate along two different directions in the space. In such a case, the entangled particle 2 should exhibit either the particle behavior or the wave behavior depending on the kind of measurement that is performed on particle 1 whatever is the actual distance between the two particles. The apparently surprising fact is that the "choice" of what kind o…
The conventional explanation of delayed-choice experiments appears to violate our causal intuition at the quantum level. I reanalyze these experiments using time-reversed and time-symmetric formulations of quantum mechanics. The time-reversed formulation does not give the same experimental predictions. The time-symmetric formulation gives the same experimental predictions but actually violates our causal intuition at the quantum level. I explore the reasons why our causal intuition may be wrong at the quantum level, suggest how conventional causation might be recovered in the classical limit, …
Delayed Choice Phenomena in the Projection Evolution Model
Institute of Computer Science and Mathematics, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University（玛丽亚·居里-斯可多夫斯卡大学计算机科学与数学研究所）；Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University（玛丽亚·居里-斯可多夫斯卡大学物理研究所）
Quantum entanglement is known as a unique feature of quantum mechanics, which cannot be obtained from classical physics. Recently, a coherence interpretation has been conducted for the delayed-choice quantum eraser using coherent photon pairs, where phase-locked symmetric frequency detuning between paired photons plays an essential role for selective measurement-caused nonlocal correlation. Here, a macroscopic version of the nonlocal correlation is presented using orthogonally polarized optical fields in a continuous wave quantum eraser scheme in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). The result…
In a three-particle extension of Wheeler's delayed choice gedanken experiment, the quantum statistics of two particles is undetermined until a third particle is measured. As a function of the measurement result, the particles behave either as bosons or as fermions. The particles are distinguishable if no measurement is performed at all or when the measurement is performed in a rotated basis. The scheme is based on Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger quantum correlations. It can be interpreted more generally as the encryption of maximally entangled states in a larger quantum superposition. The local qu…
Wave-particle duality has become one of the flagships of quantum mechanics. This counter-intuitive concept is highlighted in a delayed choice experiment, where the experimental setup that reveals either the particle or wave nature of a quantum system is decided after the system has entered the apparatus. Here we consider delayed choice experiments from the perspective of device-independent causal models and show their equivalence to a prepare-and-measure scenario. Within this framework, we consider Wheeler's original proposal and its variant using a quantum control and show that a simple class…
Nowadays the most intriguing features of wave particle complementarity of single photon is exemplified by the famous Wheeler's delayed choice experiment in linear optics, nuclear magnetic resonance and integrated photonic device systems. Studying the wave particle behavior in light and matter interaction at single photon level is challenging and interesting, which gives how single photons complement in light and matter interaction. Here, we demonstrate a Wheeler's delayed choice experiment in an interface of light and atomic memory, in which the cold atomic memory makes the heralded single pho…
