Measuring evolution of a photon in an interferometer with spectrally-resolved modes

Abstract

In the year 2013, Danan et al. published a paper [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 240402 (2013)] demonstrating a counterintuitive behavior of photons in nested Mach-Zehnder interferometers. The authors then proposed an explanation based on the two-state vector formalism. This experiment and the authors' explanation raised a vivid debate within the scientific community. In this paper, we contribute to the ongoing debate by presenting an alternative experimental implementation of the Danan et al. scheme. We show that no counterintuitive behavior is observed when performing direct spectrally-resolved detection.

arXiv comment6 pages, 6 figures

References in corpus (9)

• The past of a quantum particle
• Quantitative wave-particle duality and non-erasing quantum erasure
• Tracing the past of a quantum particle
• The Impossibility of the Counterfactual Computation for all Possible Outcomes
• Interpreting a nested Mach-Zehnder interferometer with classical optics
• Knowing "where the photons have been"
• Comment on "Asking Photons Where Have They Been"
• Comment on "Which-way information in a nested Mach-Zehnder interferometer"
• Comment on "One-state vector formalism for the evolution of a quantum state through nested Mach-Zehnder interferometers"

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Past of a quantum particle: Common sense prevails
• Null weak values and the past of a quantum particle
• Multifold paths of neutrons in the three-beam interferometer detected by tiny energy-kick
• When photons are lying about where they have been
• A Comment on "Paradox of photons disconnected trajectories being located by means of 'weak measurements' in the nested Mach-Zehnder interferometer"
• Complementarity Analysis of Interference between Frequency-Displaced Photonic Wave-Packets
• Interplay between strong and weak measurement: Comparison of three experimental approaches to weak value estimation