Time-resolved double-slit experiment with entangled photons

TL;DR

This study presents a time-resolved double-slit experiment with entangled photons, revealing the dynamics of interference pattern formation and the influence of entanglement, advancing understanding of quantum wave-particle duality.

Contribution

It provides the first temporally- and spatially-resolved measurement of single-photon double-slit interference, including entangled photons, comparing quantum mechanics and corpuscular models.

Findings

Interference pattern buildup observed for single photons.

Entanglement affects the interference pattern.

Results support quantum mechanical predictions.

Abstract

The double-slit experiment strikingly demonstrates the wave-particle duality of quantum objects. In this famous experiment, particles pass one-by-one through a pair of slits and are detected on a distant screen. A distinct wave-like pattern emerges after many discrete particle impacts as if each particle is passing through both slits and interfering with itself. While the direct event-by-event buildup of this interference pattern has been observed for massive particles such as electrons, neutrons, atoms and molecules, it has not yet been measured for massless particles like photons. Here we present a temporally- and spatially-resolved measurement of the double-slit interference pattern using single photons. We send single photons through a birefringent double-slit apparatus and use a linear array of single-photon detectors to observe the developing interference pattern. The analysis of the buildup allows us to compare quantum mechanics and the corpuscular model, which aims to explain the mystery of single-particle interference. Finally, we send one photon from an entangled pair through our double-slit setup and show the dependence of the resulting interference pattern on the twin photon's measured state. Our results provide new insight into the dynamics of the buildup process in the double-slit experiment, and can be used as a valuable resource in quantum information applications.