Quantum interference of molecules -- probing the wave nature of matter

TL;DR

This paper reviews the development of matter-wave interference experiments, highlighting recent advances in observing quantum interference with large molecules, which deepen our understanding of quantum mechanics and wave-particle duality.

Contribution

It discusses recent progress in matter-wave interference experiments with large molecules, expanding the experimental regimes of quantum mechanics.

Findings

Molecules with over a hundred atoms can now exhibit interference.

Recent experiments probe new regimes of quantum behavior.

Progress bridges the gap between microscopic and macroscopic quantum phenomena.

Abstract

The double slit interference experiment has been famously described by Richard Feynman as containing the "only mystery of quantum mechanics". The history of quantum mechanics is intimately linked with the discovery of the dual nature of matter and radiation. While the double slit experiment for light is easily undertsood in terms of its wave nature, the very same experiment for particles like the electron is somewhat more difficult to comprehend. By the 1920s it was firmly established that electrons have a wave nature. However, for a very long time, most discussions pertaining to interference experiments for particles were merely gedanken experiments. It took almost six decades after the establishment of its wave nature to carry out a 'double slit interference' experiment for electrons. This set the stage for interference experiments with larger particles. In the last decade there has been spectacular progress in matter-wave interefernce experiments. Today, molecules with over a hundred atoms can be made to interfere. In the following we discuss some of these exciting developments which probe new regimes of Nature, bringing us closer to the heart of quantum mechanics and its hidden mysteries.