Wave-particle Duality Of Light Research Articles

Two Crucial Experiments on the Nature of Light: Beyond the Bounds of Wave-Particle Duality

The wave-particle duality of light has been hanging over the clouds of science as an insuperable mystery. Debates have gone on for centuries as to which of the two aspects of light best represents the natural property of light. On the one hand, the particle theory of light camp made its own submissions a long time ago with many experimental demonstrations to confirm its position. On the other hand, the wave theory of light camp did organize or face some experiments to corroborate its own position. But then, a middle ground interpretation was shoveled-in by Niels Bohr during the second decade of the 20th Century. For him, the two aspects of light are complementary and Louis de Broglie popularized it, despite the halting beginnings of the complementarity Thesis. A double-slit experiment was, however, organized to show that light has these dual aspects. The central thesis of this paper is that though light exhibits these dual aspects, it is fundamentally a wave. The paper adopts the historiographical approach in navigating this lingering issue of the nature of light in the history of science.

Study of the Verdet constant of the holmium-doped silica fiber

A Ho-doped silica fiber with a high verdet constant is prepared by a modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) method. The phenomenon of the Faraday effect enhancement of a Ho-doped silica fiber is theoretically analyzed by the wave transition contribution analysis method based on the wave-particle duality of light. The Verdet constant of Ho-doped silica fiber is calculated with the wavelength range from 1310 nm to 1550 nm. Through experimental measurement, it is found that the Verdet constant of the Ho-doped silica fiber has a wavelength dependency. The experimental results show that the Verdet constant values of the Ho-doped silica fiber at 1310 nm and 1550 nm are 4.5 times and 1.6 times that of the conventional single-mode silica fiber, respectively.

Probing the Wave Nature of Light-Matter Interaction

The wave-particle duality of light is a controversial topic in modern physics. In this context, this work highlights the ability of the wave-nature of light on its own to account for the conservation of energy in light-matter interaction. Two simple fundamental properties of light as wave are involved: its period and its power P. The power P depends only on the amplitude of the wave’s electric and magnetic fields (Poynting’s vector), and can easily be measured with a power sensor for visible and infrared lasers. The advantage of such a wave-based approach is that it unveils unexpected effects of light’s power P capable of explaining numerous results published in current scientific literature, of correlating phenomena otherwise considered as disjointed, and of making predictions on ways to employ the electromagnetic (EM) waves which so far are unexplored. In this framework, this work focuses on determining the magnitude of the time interval that, coupled with light’s power P, establishes the energy conserved in the exchange of energy between light and matter. To reach this goal, capacitors were excited with visible and IR lasers at variable average power P. As the result of combining experimental measurements and simulations based on the law of conservation of energy, it was found that the product of the period of the light by its power P fixes the magnitude of the energy conserved in light’s interaction with the capacitors. This finding highlights that the energy exchanged is defined in the time interval equal to the period of the light’s wave. The validity of the finding is shown to hold in light’s interaction with matter in general, e.g. in the photoelectric effect with x-rays, in the transfer of electrons between energy levels in semiconducting interfaces of field effect transistors, in the activation of photosynthetic reactions, and in the generation of action potentials in retinal ganglion cells to enable vision in vertebrates. Finally, the validity of the finding is investigated in the low frequency spectrum of the EM waves by exploring possible consequences in microwave technology, and in harvesting through capacitors the radio waves dispersed in the environment after being used in telecommunications as a source of usable electricity.

Modeling of light coupling effect using tunneling theory based on particle properties of light

Based on the wave-particle duality of light, the Schrodinger equation for a photon as a particle is established to treat the light coupling effect by introducing concepts of the virtual mass and potential for a photon, which is different from the previous method that uses the analogy with quantum mechanics. The virtual mass is physically correlated to the kinetic energy according to Einstein’s energy–momentum relation. As a consequence, this new model has merits of physical simplicity and analytic nature. This new model can well explain the exponential dependence of the light coupling effect on the physical parameters in coupled waveguides on, which can be observed in the experimental and simulation data reported in the literature. Moreover, an explicit expression for the coupling length (coefficient) on the effects of physical parameters can be obtained by virtue of this new model, whereas the previous modal approach and the coupled-wave model resulted in implicit expressions. This new model does not only give a better physical understanding but also offers a possibility to design and fabricate optic devices based on the light coupling effect by optimizing the physical parameters.

A Quantitative Measuring and Analysis of a Photon Interference for Measuring Wave-Particle Duality of Light at a Double Slit

A Quantitative Measuring and Analysis of a Photon Interference for Measuring Wave-Particle Duality of Light at a Double Slit

Revisiting the which-way experiment with twisted light beams

We report an experiment of which-way information and a quantum eraser based on polarization-controlled interference of two twisted light beams carrying high orbital angular momentum (OAM) up to ℓ=±50 and ±100, respectively. By changing the polarization plane of one OAM beam from 0° to 90° with respect to that of the other OAM beam, we observe the gradual disappearance of the interference petal-like patterns into the noninterference single bright rings. Subsequently, we use the eraser of a diagonal polarizer to retrieve the characteristic petal-like interference. The experimental results can be well explained in the frame of single-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-like (GHZ-like) entanglement. Our work may be beneficial to understanding the wave-particle duality of light.

Remote creation of hybrid entanglement between particle-like and wave-like optical qubits

The wave-particle duality of light has led to two different encodings for optical quantum information processing. Several approaches have emerged based either on particle-like discrete-variable states, e.g. finite-dimensional quantum systems, or on wave-like continuous-variable states, e.g. infinite-dimensional systems. Here, we demonstrate the first measurement-induced generation of entanglement between optical qubits of these different types, located at distant places and connected by a lossy channel. Such hybrid entanglement, which is a key resource for a variety of recently proposed schemes, including quantum cryptography and computing, enables to convert information from one Hilbert space to the other via teleportation and therefore connect remote quantum processors based upon different encodings. Beyond its fundamental significance for the exploration of entanglement and its possible instantiations, our optical circuit opens the promises for heterogeneous network implementations, where discrete and continuous-variable operations and techniques can be efficiently combined.

Quantum complementarity of cavity photons coupled to a three-level system

Recently a device enabling the ultrafast all-optical control of the wave-particle duality of light was proposed [Ridolfo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 013601 (2011)]. It is constituted by a three-level quantum emitter strongly coupled to a microcavity and can be realized by exploiting a great variety of systems ranging from atomic physics and semiconductor quantum dots to intersubband polaritons and Cooper pair boxes. Control pulses with specific arrival times, performing which-path and quantum-eraser operations, are able to destroy and recover interference almost instantaneously. Here we show that the coherence sudden death implies the sudden birth of a higher order correlation function storing coherence. Such storing enables coherence rebirth after the arrival of an additional suitable control pulse. We derive analytical calculations describing the all-optical control of the wave-particle duality and the entanglement-induced switch-off of the strong coupling regime. We also present analytical calculations describing a homodynelike method exploiting pairs of phase locked pulses with precise arrival times to probe the optical control of wave-particle duality of this system. Within such a method the optical control of wave-particle duality can be directly probed by just detecting the photons escaping the microcavity.

Test of the all-optical control of wave–particle duality of cavity photons by ordinary photodetection

The principle of complementarity refers to the ability of quantum entities to behave as particles or waves under different experimental conditions. We present a proposal for the experimental observation of the ultrafast all-optical control of the wave-particle duality of light. The device is constituted by a three-level quantum emitter strongly coupled to a microcavity (MC) and can be realized by exploiting a great variety of systems, ranging from atomic physics and semiconductor quantum dots to intersubband polaritons and Cooper pair boxes. The wavelike or particlelike behavior of MC photons can be probed by simply measuring the cavity output photon rate after excitation with pairs of phase-locked weak pulses with precise arrival times.

An all-fiber method to measure the wave-particle duality of light

A new scheme with very simple implementations giving obvious experimental results has been demonstrated to reveal the particle and wave duality of light. The scheme demonspates the wave property of light by coherent superposition and the particle property of light by random path selection though a 50/50 beam splitter. Preliminary experiments showed high interference visibility of 99% and the particle nature of light as high as 90% by using a highly attenuated pulsed laser as a single photon source. This scheme displays both the wave and particle nature of light though a simple experimental setup, which makes it a quite promising schem for revealing the property of light.

The Smallest Tweezers in the World

A pair of fine tweezers and a steady hand may well be enough to pick up a grain of sand, but what would you use to hold something hundreds of times smaller still, the size of only one micron? The answer is to use a device that is not mechanical in nature but that relies instead on the tiny forces that light exerts on small particles: “optical tweezers.” In recent years, this technique has become central to nanotechnology for the manipulation of small particles, even individual molecules. It is also an ideal illustration of how classroom physics is applied to cutting-edge research, combining concepts such as the vector nature of momentum and force, Newton's laws, optics, the wave-particle duality of light, and thermodynamics. The physics behind optical tweezers has many layers of complexity, but it can be reduced to a basic principle: the conservation of momentum. This paper guides the reader through a much simplified demonstration of this “tweezing effect” using a question-answer approach, leaving the reader with the choice to treat each step as a problem exercise.

A conclusive experiment to throw more light on “light”

We describe a new realization of Ghose, Home, Agarwal experiment on wave particle duality of light where some limitations of the former experiment, realized by Mizobuchi and Ohtaké, are overcome. Our results clearly indicate that wave–particle complementarity must be understood between interference and “whelcher weg” knowledge and not in a more general sense.

Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Physical an Overview from Modern Perspectives

The Standard Interpretation and Beyond. The Quantum Measurement Paradox. Classical Limit of Quantum Mechanics. Quantum Nonlocality. Wave-Particle Duality of Light and Complementarity. Quantum Zeno Effect. Causality in Quantum Mechanics. Einstein's Critique of Quantum Mechanics: An Appraisal from Modern Perspectives. Index.

The two-prism experiment and wave-particle duality of light

A number of papers on wave-particle duality has appeared since the two-prism experiment was performed by Mizobuchi and Ohtake, based on a suggestion by Ghose, Home, and Agarwal. Against this backdrop, the present paper provides further clarification of the key issues involved in the analysis of the two-prism experiment. In the process, we present an overview of wave-particle duality vis-a vis Bohr's complementarity principle.

Proposed experiments on the wave-particle duality of light

The observed wave-particle duality of light suggests such representations as permanent corpuscular photons, and waves, either closely associated with these particles, or empty of any observable energy, or, still otherwise, propagating intrinsic electromagnetic energy. Two experimental schemes are proposed in the present study to decide between these various concepts and eventually to reach a clearer description of light.

The Wave–Particle Dualism—A Tribute to Louis de Broglie on His Ninetieth Birthday

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