Quantum mechanical which-way experiment with an internal degree of freedom

Konrad Banaszek (), Paweł Horodecki, Michał Karpiński and Czesław Radzewicz
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Konrad Banaszek: Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, ul. Hoża 69
Paweł Horodecki: Faculty of Applied Physics and Mathematics, Technical University of Gdańsk
Michał Karpiński: Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, ul. Hoża 69
Czesław Radzewicz: Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, ul. Hoża 69

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract For a particle travelling through an interferometer, the trade-off between the available which-way information and the interference visibility provides a lucid manifestation of the quantum mechanical wave–particle duality. Here we analyse this relation for a particle possessing an internal degree of freedom such as spin. We quantify the trade-off with a general inequality that paints an unexpectedly intricate picture of wave–particle duality when internal states are involved. Strikingly, in some instances which-way information becomes erased by introducing classical uncertainty in the internal degree of freedom. Furthermore, even imperfect interference visibility measured for a suitable set of spin preparations can be sufficient to infer absence of which-way information. General results are illustrated with a proof-of-principle single-photon experiment.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3594

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