What does a quantum eraser really erase

Conference · Mon Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1999 · AIP Conference Proceedings

OSTI ID:6034593

Kwiat, Paul G

Interference may occur whenever there are two or more paths or processes leading to the same final outcome, and these are in principle indistinguishable. If one of these paths becomes labeled, yielding [open quotes]which-path[close quotes] information, interference will vanish. However, an appropriate measurement that [open quotes]erases[close quotes] the distinguishability may recover interference. Remarkably, it can be recovered even in situations where there was no which-path information to erase Using single photons in a modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer, we have investigated the various conditions that allow, prevent, and recover interference, for a variety of pure, mixed, and partially-mixed input states. [copyright] [ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.]

• OSTI ID: 6034593
• Report Number(s): CONF-980868--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Volume: 461:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661100* -- Classical & Quantum Mechanics-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BOSONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FUNCTIONS
INTERFEROMETERS
LASER RADIATION
MACH-ZEHNDER INTERFEROMETER
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MECHANICS
PHOTODETECTORS
PHOTONS
QUANTUM MECHANICS
RADIATIONS
UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE
WAVE FUNCTIONS