Wave-Particle Duality Relation with a Quantum Which-Path Detector
Dongyang Wang,
Junjie Wu,
Jiangfang Ding,
Yingwen Liu,
Anqi Huang,
Xuejun Yang
Affiliations
Dongyang Wang
Institute for Quantum Information & State Key Laboratory of High Performance Computing, College of Computer Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
Junjie Wu
Institute for Quantum Information & State Key Laboratory of High Performance Computing, College of Computer Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
Jiangfang Ding
Institute for Quantum Information & State Key Laboratory of High Performance Computing, College of Computer Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
Yingwen Liu
Institute for Quantum Information & State Key Laboratory of High Performance Computing, College of Computer Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
Anqi Huang
Institute for Quantum Information & State Key Laboratory of High Performance Computing, College of Computer Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
Xuejun Yang
Institute for Quantum Information & State Key Laboratory of High Performance Computing, College of Computer Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
According to the relevant theories on duality relation, the summation of the extractable information of a quanton’s wave and particle properties, which are characterized by interference visibility V and path distinguishability D, respectively, is limited. However, this relation is violated upon quantum superposition between the wave-state and particle-state of the quanton, which is caused by the quantum beamsplitter (QBS). Along another line, recent studies have considered quantum coherence C in the l1-norm measure as a candidate for the wave property. In this study, we propose an interferometer with a quantum which-path detector (QWPD) and examine the generalized duality relation based on C. We find that this relationship still holds under such a circumstance, but the interference between these two properties causes the full-particle property to be observed when the QWPD system is partially present. Using a pair of polarization-entangled photons, we experimentally verify our analysis in the two-path case. This study extends the duality relation between coherence and path information to the quantum case and reveals the effect of quantum superposition on the duality relation.
