Abstract
Within the established theoretical framework of quantum mechanics, interference always occurs between pairs of paths through an interferometer. Higher order interferences with multiple constituents are excluded by Born’s rule and can only exist in generalized probabilistic theories. Thus, high-precision experiments searching for such higher order interferences are a powerful method to distinguish between quantum mechanics and more general theories. Here, we perform such a test in an optical multi-path interferometer, which avoids crucial systematic errors, has access to the entire phase space and is more stable than previous experiments. Our results are in accordance with quantum mechanics and rule out the existence of higher order interference terms in optical interferometry to an extent that is more than four orders of magnitude smaller than the expected pairwise interference, refining previous bounds by two orders of magnitude.
Highlights
Since arising almost a century ago, quantum mechanics has long become an established paradigm for the description of nature on a submicroscopic scale
Our results are in accordance with quantum mechanics and rule out the existence of higher order interference terms in optical interferometry to an extent that is more than four orders of magnitude smaller than the expected pairwise interference, refining previous bounds by two orders of magnitude
The optical 5-path interferometer presented in this work permitted us to experimentally confine the allowed domain of second order interference to an uncertainty of 3 ́ 10-5 in the classical light regime
Summary
Thomas Kauten1, Robert Keil1, Thomas Kaufmann1, Benedikt Pressl1, Časlav Brukner2,3 and Gregor Weihs1 Keywords: quantum optics, interferometry, interference, optical tests of quantum theory, foundations of quantum mechanics Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence.
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