Non-local temporal interference

Abstract

Although position and time have different mathematical roles in quantum mechanics, with one being an operator and the other being a parameter, there is a space–time duality in quantum phenomena—a lot of quantum phenomena that were first observed in the spatial domain were later observed in the temporal domain as well. In this context, we propose a modified version of the double-double-slit experiment using entangled atom pairs to observe a non-local interference in the arrival time distribution, which is analogous to the non-local interference observed in the arrival position distribution. However, computing the arrival time distribution in quantum mechanics is a challenging open problem, and so to overcome this problem we employ a Bohmian treatment. Based on this approach, we numerically demonstrate that there is a complementary relationship between the one-particle and two-particle interference visibilities in the arrival time distribution, which is analogous to the complementary relationship observed in the position distribution. These results can be used to test the Bohmian arrival time distribution in a strict manner, i.e., where the semiclassical approximation breaks down. Moreover, our approach to investigating this experiment can be applied to a wide range of phenomena, and it seems that the predicted non-local temporal interference and associated complementary relationship are universal behaviors of entangled quantum systems that may manifest in various phenomena.