Delayed quantum eraser with double slit

Edgardo
Messages
706
Reaction score
17
Hello all,

I saw this setup for a quantum eraser:
http://grad.physics.sunysb.edu/~amarch/PHY5656.gif
In this setup, we get no interference:
http://grad.physics.sunysb.edu/~amarch/PHY5658.gif

Then, by inserting a polarizer we can erase the which way information:
Setup with polarizer:
http://grad.physics.sunysb.edu/~amarch/PHY5657.gif
With this setup there is interference:
http://grad.physics.sunysb.edu/~amarch/PHY5653.gif

Let's forget about the coincidence counter.
We put our detector for photon p (idler photon) on the Mars with Bob, such that we have a delayed choice experiment. And Alice is the one who looks at the screen to observe the photon distribution.

Now my question: Alice writes down the photon distribution BEFORE Bob measures the idler photon. Since we have not erased the which-way information yet, we get NO interference pattern, so Alice writes down: "I have not observed interference".
Then, when the idler photons arrive Mars, Bob decides to erase which-way information of EVERY idler photon by putting in the polarizer. According to the "delayed quantum erasure" the photons should show an interference pattern, but we know that Alice already has written down: "I have no interference pattern"

How can this be?

-------------------------------------------
Here the whole description to that experiment
http://grad.physics.sunysb.edu/~amarch/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
Edgardo said:
How can this be?

As I read the setup, the interference pattern is seen when the coincidence results are plotted. There is no "Alice pattern" apart from the "Bob" pattern. The pattern appears only when the results are compared.
 
Thx Dr. Chinese!
I think I now found the mistake in my gedankenexperiment. It's NOT possible to erase the which-way-information of EVERY single idler photon. There's only a certain probability that the idler photon's state will collapse to the polarizer's eigenstate.
I forgot about the quantum probabilities. :redface:
 
Last edited:
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. Towards the end of the first lecture for the Qiskit Global Summer School 2025, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Olivia Lanes (Global Lead, Content and Education IBM) stated... Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/quantum-entanglement-is-a-kinematic-fact-not-a-dynamical-effect/ by @RUTA
If we release an electron around a positively charged sphere, the initial state of electron is a linear combination of Hydrogen-like states. According to quantum mechanics, evolution of time would not change this initial state because the potential is time independent. However, classically we expect the electron to collide with the sphere. So, it seems that the quantum and classics predict different behaviours!
Back
Top