Double-slit experiment at fermi scale: coherent photoproduction in heavy-ion collisions

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel double-slit experiment at the fermi scale using coherent photon production in heavy-ion collisions, illustrating quantum wave-particle duality at unprecedented scales.

Contribution

It introduces a new experimental setup at the fermi scale with heavy-ion collisions to explore quantum interference and complementarity using virtual photons and vector mesons.

Findings

Demonstrates double-slit interference with entities at the fermi scale.

Shows partial which-way information through strong interactions.

Extends wave-particle duality experiments to subatomic scales.

Abstract

The double-slit experiment has become a classic thought experiment, for its clarity in expressing the central puzzle of quantum mechanics -- wave-particle complementarity. Such wave-particle duality continues to be challenged and investigated in a broad range of entities with electrons, neutrons, helium atoms, C$_{60}$ fullerenes, Bose-Einstein condensates and biological molecules. All existing experiments are performed with the scale larger than angstrom. In this article, we present a double-slit scenario at fermi scale with new entities -- coherent photon products in heavy-ion collisions. Virtual photons from the electromagnetic fields of relativistic heavy ions can fluctuate to quark-antiquark pairs, scatter off a target nucleus and emerge as vector mesons. The two colliding nuclei can take turns to act as targets, forming a double-slit interference pattern. Furthermore, the `which-way' information can be partially solved by the violent strong interactions in the proposed scenario, which demonstrates a key concept of quantum mechanics -- complementary principle.