We show a wave-particle duality of light and its complementary relation in the context of the intensity interference measured by intensity correlation measurement, especially for the case of the second-order intensity interference observed in the Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer. Different from the complementary relation appearing in the interference based on the phase coherence like in the Young's double-slit interferometer, the complementary relation in the intensity interference has a gap between classical and nonclassical lights. This reveals a new nonclassical nature of light where both wave and particle properties are classically understandable. We further extend the wave-particle duality and the complementarity to higher-order intensity interferometric situations.
We critically analyze the problem of formulating duality between fringe visibility and which-way information, in multibeam interference experiments. We show that the traditional notion of visibility is incompatible with any intuitive idea of complementarity, but for the two-beam case. We derive a number of new inequalities, not present in the two-beam case, one of them coinciding with a recently proposed multibeam generalization of the inequality found by Greenberger and YaSin. We show, by an explicit procedure of optimization in a three-beam case, that suggested generalizations of Englert's i…
A polarized photon with well-defined orbital angular momentum that emerges from a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is shown to circumvent wave-particle duality. Its polarization-resolved detection probability forms a non-sinusoidal interferometric pattern. For certain phase differences between the MZI arms, this pattern yields both reliable which-path information and high phase-sensitivity.
Interferometric complementarity is known to be one of the most nonclassical manifestations of the quantum formalism. It is commonly known as wave-particle duality and has been studied presently from the perspective of quantum information theory where wave and particle nature of a quantum system, called quanton, are characterised by coherence and path distinguishability respectively. We here consider the effect of noisy detectors on the complementarity relation. We report that by suitably choosing the initial quanton and the detector states along with the proper interactions between the quanton…
A quantitative formulation of Bohr's complementarity principle and interferometric duality is discussed and applied to the neutral kaon system. Recent measurements by the CPLEAR Collaboration can be easily interpreted in terms of ``neutral kaon interferometry'' illustrating and confirming those basic principles of quantum mechanics.
We have experimentally demonstrated the interferometric complementarity, which relates the distinguishability $D$ quantifying the amount of which-way (WW) information to the fringe visibility $V$ characterizing the wave feature of a quantum entity, in a bulk ensemble by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques. We primarily concern on the intermediate cases: partial fringe visibility and incomplete WW information. We propose a quantitative measure of $D$ by an alternative geometric strategy and investigate the relation between $D$ and entanglement. By measuring $D$ and $V$ independently, it…
The Mach-Zehnder interferometric setup quantitatively characterizing the wave-particle duality implements in fact a joint measurement of two unsharp observables. We present a necessary and sufficient condition for such a pair of unsharp observables to be jointly measurable. The condition is shown to be equivalent to a duality inequality, which for the optimal strategy of extracting the which-path information is more stringent than the Jaeger-Shimony-Vaidman-Englert inequality.
Quantum coherence quantifies the amount of superposition in a quantum system, and is the reason and resource behind several phenomena and technologies. It depends on the natural basis in which the quantum state of the system is expressed, which in turn hinges on the physical set-up being analyzed and utilized. While quantum coherence has hitherto been conceptualized by employing different categories of complete bases, there do exist interesting physical situations, where the natural basis is an incomplete one, an example being an interferometric set-up with the observer controlling only a cert…
In a recent paper a mathematical model for quantum measurement was presented. The phenomenon of wave particle duality, which is introduced in every beginning course of quantum theory, can be explained using this model. Although it is a special case of the general theory it has historic interest and involves the use of a continuous spectrum which was treated only casually in the original article. The treatment here is self contained except for the proof of a mathematical theorem appearing in the first paper.
The aim of this paper is to revisit the implications of complementarity when we inject into a Mach Zehnder interferometer particles with internal structure, prepared in special translational-internal entangled (TIE) states. This correlation causes the path distinguishability to be phase dependent in contrast to the standard case. We show that such a TIE state permits us to detect small phase shifts along with almost perfect path distinguishability, beyond the constraints imposed by complementarity on simultaneous which-way and which-phase measurements for standard cases (when distinguishabilit…
We combine the dynamics of open quantum systems with interferometry and interference introducing the concept of open system interferometer. By considering a single photon in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, where the polarization (open system) and frequency (environment) of the photon interact, we theoretically show how inside the interferometer path-wise polarization dephasing dynamics is Markovian while the joint dynamics displays non-Markovian features. Outside the interferometer and due to interference, the open system displays rich dynamical features with distinct alternatives: Only one pat…
The wave-particle duality dates back to Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect through quanta of light and de Broglie's hypothesis of matter waves. Quantum mechanics uses an abstract description for the behavior of physical systems such as photons, electrons, or atoms. Whether quantum predictions for single systems in an interferometric experiment allow an intuitive understanding in terms of the particle or wave picture, depends on the specific configuration which is being used. In principle, this leaves open the possibility that quantum systems always either behave definitely as a…
A derivation of pilot waves from electrodynamic self-interactions is presented. For this purpose, we abandon the current paradigm that describes electrodynamic bodies as point masses. Beginning with the Liénard-Wiechert potentials, and assuming that inertia has an electromagnetic origin, the equation of motion of a nonlinear time-delayed oscillator is obtained. We analyze the response of the uniform motion of the electromagnetic charged extended particle to small perturbations, showing that very violent oscillations are unleashed as a result. The frequency of these oscillations is intimately r…
Interferometers capture a basic mystery of quantum mechanics: a single particle can exhibit wave behavior, yet that wave behavior disappears when one tries to determine the particle's path inside the interferometer. This idea has been formulated quantitively as an inequality, e.g., by Englert and Jaeger, Shimony, and Vaidman, which upper bounds the sum of the interference visibility and the path distinguishability. Such wave-particle duality relations (WPDRs) are often thought to be conceptually inequivalent to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, although this has been debated. Here we show th…
In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. {\bf A64}, 042113 (2001)] S. Dürr proposed an interesting multibeam generalization of the quantitative formulation of interferometric wave-particle duality, discovered by Englert for two-beam interferometers. The proposed generalization is an inequality that relates a generalized measure of the fringe visibility, to certain measures of the maximum amount of which-way knowledge that can be stored in a which-way detector. We construct an explicit example where, with three beams in a pure state, the scheme proposed by Dürr leads to the possibility of an ideal which-w…
We establish a rigorous quantitative connection between (i) the interferometric duality relation for which-way information and fringe visibility and (ii) Heisenberg's uncertainty relation for position and modular momentum. We apply our theory to atom interferometry, wherein spontaneously emitted photons provide which way information, and unambiguously resolve the challenge posed by the metamaterial `perfect lens' to complementarity and to the Heisenberg-Bohr interpretation of the Heisenberg microscope thought experiment.
Although interference is a classical-wave phenomenon, the superposition principle, which underlies interference of individual particles, is at the heart of quantum physics. An interaction-free measurements (IFM) harnesses the wave-particle duality of single photons to sense the presence of an object via the modification of the interference pattern, which can be accomplished even if the photon and the object haven't interacted with each other. By using the quantum Zeno effect, the efficiency of an IFM can be made arbitrarily close to unity. Here we report an on-chip realization of the IFM based…
The celebrated Hong-Ou-Mandel effect is the paradigm of two-particle quantum interference. It has its roots in the symmetry of identical quantum particles, as dictated by the Pauli principle. Two identical bosons impinging on a beam splitter (of transmittance 1/2) cannot be detected in coincidence at both output ports, as confirmed in numerous experiments with light or even matter. Here, we establish that partial time reversal transforms the beamsplitter linear coupling into amplification. We infer from this duality the existence of an unsuspected two-boson interferometric effect in a quantum …
The Kapitza - Dirac effect is the diffraction of a well - collimated particle beam by a standing wave of light. Why is this interesting? Comparing this situation to the introductory physics textbook example of diffraction of a laser beam by a grating, the particle beam plays the role of the incoming wave and the standing light wave the role of the material grating, highlighting particle - wave duality. Apart from representing such a beautiful example of particle - wave duality, the diffracted particle beams are coherent. This allows the construction of matter interferometers and explains why t…
The puzzling properties of quantum mechanics, wave-particle duality, entanglement and superposition, were dissected experimentally at past decades. However, hidden-variable (HV) models, based on three classical assumptions of wave-particle objectivity, determinism and independence, strive to explain or even defeat them. The development of quantum technologies enabled us to test experimentally the predictions of quantum mechanics and HV theories. Here, we report an experimental demonstration of an entanglement-assisted quantum delayed-choice scheme using a liquid nuclear magnetic resonance quan…
