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Interference of more and more massive objects provides a spectacular confirmation of quantum theory. It is usually regarded as support for “wave–particle duality” and in an extension of this duality even as support for “complementarity”. We first give an outline of the historical development of these notions. Already here it becomes evident that they are hard to define rigorously, i.e. have mainly a heuristic function. Then we discuss recent interference experiments of large and complex molecules which seem to support this heuristic function of “duality”. However, we show that in these experiments the diffraction of a delocalized center-of-mass wave function depends on the interaction of the localized structure of the molecule with the diffraction element. Thus, the molecules display “dual features” at the same time, which contradicts the usual understanding of wave–particle duality. We conclude that the notion of “wave–particle duality” deserves no place in modern quantum physics.
Dying Experiments
(2022)
Designing experiments which delocalize ever more complex and more massive particles requires a quantitative assessment of new interferometer configurations. Here, we introduce a figure of
merit which quantifies the difference between a genuine quantum interference pattern and a classical shadow and use it to compare a number of near-field interferometer schemes. This allows us to identify the most promising setups for future tests of the quantum superposition principle, and to discuss the perspectives of interferometry with complex molecules and clusters.
Matter-wave interference and deflection of tripeptides decorated with fluorinated alkyl chains
(2020)
It has recently been shown that matter-wave interferometry can be used to imprint a periodic nanostructure onto a molecular beam, which provides a highly sensitive tool for beam displacement measurements. Herein, we used this feature to measure electronic properties of provitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin K1 in the gas phase for the first time. The shift of the matter-wave fringes in a static electric field encodes the molecular susceptibility and the time-averaged dynamic electric dipole moment. The dependence of the fringe pattern on the intensity of the central light-wave diffraction grating was used to determine the molecular optical polarizability. Comparison of our experimental findings with molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory provides a rich picture of the electronic structures and dynamics of these biomolecules in the gas phase with β-carotene as a particularly interesting example.
We explore the different notions of completeness applied in the EPR discussion following and amending the thorough analysis of Arthur Fine. To this aim, we propose a classification scheme for scientific theories that provides a methodology for analyzing the different levels at which interpretive approaches come into play. This allows us to contrast several concepts of completeness that operate on specific levels of the theory. We introduce the notion of theory completeness and compare it with the established notions of Born completeness, Schrödinger completeness and bijective completeness. We relate these notions to the recent concept of ????-completeness and predictable completeness. The paper shows that the EPR argument contains conflicting versions of completeness. The confusion of these notions led to misunderstandings in the EPR debate and hindered its progress. Their clarification will thus contribute to recent debates on interpretational issues of quantum mechanics. Finally, we discuss the connection between the EPR paper and the Einstein–Rosen paper with regard to the question of completeness.