SEMINAR

ABSTRACT
QUANTUM MECHANICS II
18MSPH2H02
Krishna Agarwal

Date-20/02/2020
Interference of single photon and Quantum
Eraser.
The Young’s double slit experiment explains the interference pattern of a coherent light, when a beam of
coherent light (LASER) fall on double slit a pattern of dark and bright fringes are observed. As per
quantum theory light has dual nature of both particle (photons) and wave (EM wave). So, some photons
will go through one slit whereas some from another and gives the interference pattern on screen. In other
words we can say that one photon should be available on each slit so interference pattern could be
observed.

Interference of single photon.

As we reduce the intensity of LASER such that only a single photon is incident on slit at a given time so
now according to our previous statements at least two photons should available at each slit at a given
time for the interference pattern so for such case the pattern should not observed. But after emission of
several such photons same pattern is observed. This nature can be explained by wave nature of light if
light is considered as wave then both the slits are available for light to pass through.

This doesn’t prove that light is only a wave but not as a particle so still we are emitting only a single
photon at a time towards slits so it must pass through the either of slits.

So for detecting the incoming photons we placed two polarisers at the slits on vertically polarised and
another linearly polarised so this will detect from which slits the photons coming from. But as detection
of photons gives no interference pattern unlike in previous case. As in previous case the photon can pass
through any of the two available slit but placing polarisers make one of them unavailable and no pattern is
observed. The concept of QUANTUM ERASER comes to erase data i.e. The data of detecting photons.

QUANTUM ERASER
The quantum eraser experiment eraser erase some of its data so we can detect from where the photons
coming from. If a photon lands on screen then the photon is lost so we need to copy the photon.

BBO crystal will create an Entangled photon in which one photon will go to screen whereas other one
will go to detector. As still the Entangled pair share its property so as the photon got detected the pattern
is lost so using a beam splitter near the detectors will spilt some of the photons to the detector while some
will be undetected and hence the detected photons will not show and interference pattern and the other
photons will show so we will get a mixed pattern which holds a better probability calculation of where the
photons come from. Such kind of effect is also known as observer effect which says the outcome of the
experiment changes when an observer observers the experiment.

References.

1. PBS space time (YouTube)

2. Science asylum (YouTube)

3. Wikipedia
4. Time and the Quantum: Erasing the past impacting the future by- Yakhir aharonov and Muhammad suhail zubairy.