Moreau, P.-A. , Morris, P. A., Toninelli, E., Gregory, T., Aspden, R. S., Spalding, G., Boyd, R. W. and Padgett, M. J. (2018) Experimental limits of ghost diffraction: Popper’s thought experiment. Scientific Reports, 8, 13183. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-31429-y) (PMID:30181599) (PMCID:PMC6123420)
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Abstract
Quantum ghost diffraction harnesses quantum correlations to record diffraction or interference features using photons that have never interacted with the diffractive element. By designing an optical system in which the diffraction pattern can be produced by double slits of variable width either through a conventional diffraction scheme or a ghost diffraction scheme, we can explore the transition between the case where ghost diffraction behaves as conventional diffraction and the case where it does not. For conventional diffraction the angular extent increases as the scale of the diffracting object is reduced. By contrast, we show that no matter how small the scale of the diffracting object, the angular extent of the ghost diffraction is limited (by the transverse extent of the spatial correlations between beams). Our study is an experimental realisation of Popper’s thought experiment on the validity of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. We discuss the implication of our results in this context and explain that it is compatible with, but not proof of, the Copenhagen interpretation.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Spalding, Professor Gabriel and Toninelli, Ermes and Gregory, Dr Thomas and Boyd, Professor Robert and Padgett, Professor Miles and MORRIS, PETER and Aspden, Mr Reuben and Moreau, Dr Paul-Antoine |
| Authors: | Moreau, P.-A., Morris, P. A., Toninelli, E., Gregory, T., Aspden, R. S., Spalding, G., Boyd, R. W., and Padgett, M. J. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Journal Name: | Scientific Reports |
| Publisher: | Nature Research |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| ISSN (Online): | 2045-2322 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2018 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Scientific Reports 8: 13183 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
| Data DOI: | 10.5525/gla.researchdata.659 |
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