论文标题

在量子力学的“哪个路径”实验的背景下,光子的线性和角度矩

Linear and angular momenta of photons in the context of "which path" experiments of quantum mechanics

论文作者

Mansuripur, Masud

论文摘要

在涉及单个光子的光学实验中,该光子在光学系统中采用替代路径,并最终干扰自身(例如,Young的双缝实验,Mach-Zehnder干涉仪,SAGNAC干涉仪),存在基本的连接,在一个手上的光子和一个途径之间,可以确定光子的光子和观察器的能力,以确定光子范围的途径。本文研究了将光子矩(通过海森堡不确定性原理)与量子力学核心的“哪个路径”(德语:韦尔奇·韦格)问题相关的论点。我们表明,赋予孔或镜子的线性矩形,或者通过策略性地放置在系统中的波动板拾取的角动量,才能导致对光子路径的识别,而仅以破坏相应的干扰效应为代价。我们还描述了一个思想实验,该实验涉及从彼此固定距离保持固定距离的一对圆形光子散射。在这种情况下,光子和散射粒子之间的角动量的交换似乎提供了“哪个路径”信息,这些信息必须以任何明显的方式涉及不确定性原理,但必须擦除相应的干扰条纹。

In optical experiments involving a single photon that takes alternative paths through an optical system and ultimately interferes with itself (e.g., Young's double-slit experiment, Mach-Zehnder interferometer, Sagnac interferometer), there exist fundamental connections between the linear and angular momenta of the photon on the one hand, and the ability of an observer to determine the photon's path through the system on the other hand. This paper examines the arguments that relate the photon momenta (through the Heisenberg uncertainty principle) to the "which path" (German: welcher Weg) question at the heart of quantum mechanics. We show that the linear momenta imparted to apertures or mirrors, or the angular momenta picked up by strategically placed wave-plates in a system, could lead to an identification of the photon's path only at the expense of destroying the corresponding interference effects. We also describe a thought experiment involving the scattering of a circularly-polarized photon from a pair of small particles kept at a fixed distance from one another. The exchange of angular momentum between the photon and the scattering particle in this instance appears to provide the "which path" information that must, of necessity, wipe out the corresponding interference fringes, although the fringe-wipe-out mechanism does not seem to involve the uncertainty principle in any obvious way.

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