Remarks on the empirical accuracy of the optical superposition principle [Engl. transl. of Zh. Russk. Fiz.-Khim. Obshch., Ch. Fiz. 60(1928)555]

TL;DR

This paper examines the empirical validity of the optical superposition principle through a 1928 experiment on photon-photon scattering, deriving upper limits from solar corona observations to explain the negative experimental results.

Contribution

It provides an early empirical analysis of the superposition principle's accuracy by combining experimental data with astrophysical observations to set bounds on photon-photon interactions.

Findings

No photon-photon scattering detected in the experiment.

Derived empirical upper limit on photon-photon scattering rate.

Solar corona observations support the validity of the superposition principle.

Abstract

English translation of a Russian article from 1928. Translator's abstract: The article presents general considerations on the validity of the superposition principle for light in vacuo from out a quantum theoretic point of view. It contains a report on an optical experiment designed to detect the phenomenon of photon-photon scattering. To understand the negative result of the performed experiment, a consideration of the solar corona is undertaken in order to derive an empirical upper limit on the photon-photon scattering rate. Source details: S. I. Vavilov: Zamechaniya ob empiricheskoi tochnosti opticheskogo printsipa superpozitsii. Zhurnal Russkogo Fiziko-Khimicheskogo Obshchestva pri Leningradskom Universitete, Chast' Fizicheskaya [Journal of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society at Leningrad University, Physical Part], Vol. LX (1928) No. 6, pp. 555-563.