Coherence and path indistinguishability for the interference of multiple single-mode fields

TL;DR

This paper explores the relationship between coherence, path indistinguishability, and fringe visibility in the interference of multiple single-mode fields, extending known two-source results to multiple sources and analyzing the implications of Born's rule.

Contribution

It generalizes the connection between coherence, indistinguishability, and visibility from two sources to multiple sources in single-photon interference.

Findings

Degree of coherence equals path indistinguishability for multiple sources.

Fringe visibility is directly related to coherence and indistinguishability.

Born's rule influences the interference patterns in multi-source scenarios.

Abstract

A well known result for the interference of two single-mode fields is that the degree of coherence and the degree of indistinguishablity are same when we consider the detection of a single photon. In this article we present the relation between degree of coherence, path indistinguishability and the fringe visibility considering interference of multiple number of single-mode fields while being interested in the detection of a single photon only . We will also mention how Born's rule of interference for multiple sources is reflected in these results.