Abstract

Publisher Summary Wave-particle duality means that a quantum object can exhibit either wave or particle properties, depending on the experimental situation. The wave nature gives rise to interference phenomena, whereas knowledge about the path taken by the object testifies to its particle nature. It is impossible to observe wave and particle properties simultaneously. Atom interferometry addresses fundamental aspects of the quantum theory of measurement in real experiments. This chapter discusses the loss of interference fringes in a which-way experiment need not be due to the Heisenberg's uncertainty relation. It demonstrates how interference can be restored by erasing the which-way information. The chapter investigated a new regime, where only incomplete which-way information is available. This allowed studying the continuous transition between wave and particle pictures and to test wave-particle duality in a quantitative manner. Future experimental investigations in this field focuses on the investigation of decoherence effects to study the transition between quantum and classical physics, leading to a more detailed understanding of the processes underlying the collapse of the wave function.

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