Quantum erasure based on phase structure

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantum erasure method based on phase structure, demonstrating how manipulating the wavefront of photons with spiral phase plates can reveal or erase which-way information in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, highlighting wave-particle duality.

Contribution

It presents a novel theoretical framework and experimental demonstration of quantum erasure focusing on phase structure and orbital angular momentum, expanding beyond polarization-based approaches.

Findings

Erasing phase structure restores interference patterns.

Phase structure encodes which-way information via orbital angular momentum.

Results challenge classical cause-effect relationships with space-like separated choices.

Abstract

The quantum eraser effect exemplifies the distinct properties of quantum mechanics that challenge classical intuition and expose the wave-particle duality of light. This effect has been extensively explored in various experiments; most of these investigations use polarisation to distinguish which path information, and less attention has been paid to the phase structure which is related wavefront of photon. In this study, we introduce a theoretical framework for quantum erasure that focusses on the phase structure and demonstrate it experimentally. In this experiment, we employ a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) where a first-order spiral phase plate (SPP) is integrated into one of its arms. This setup applied orbital angular momentum (OAM) to the photons and established predetermined which-way information. Consequently, the photon demonstrates its particle characteristics, with absence of interference at the MZI's output ports. Utilizing an additional SPP to erase the phase structure from the output photon results in pronounced interference patterns, observable in a post-measurement scenario. This result allows us to include the structure information of the equiphase plane of the light field in quantum erasure. The results challenge the traditional cause-effect relationship in classical physics, given that the subsequent choice of the SPP adheres to a space-like separation.