On Visibility in the Afshar Two-Slit Experiment
Abstract
A modified version of Young’s experiment by Shahriar Afshar indirectly reveals the presence of a fully articulated interference pattern prior to the post-selection of a particle in a “which-slit” basis. While this experiment does not constitute a violation of Bohr’s Complementarity Principle as claimed by Afshar, both he and many of his critics incorrectly assume that a commonly used relationship between visibility parameter V and “which-way” parameter K has crucial relevance to his experiment. It is argued here that this relationship does not apply to this experimental situation and that it is wrong to make any use of it in support of claims for or against the bearing of this experiment on Complementarity.
- Publication:
-
Foundations of Physics
- Pub Date:
- October 2009
- DOI:
- 10.1007/s10701-009-9329-2
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0801.4757
- Bibcode:
- 2009FoPh...39.1139K
- Keywords:
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- Complementarity;
- Two-slit experiment;
- Wave-particle duality;
- Quantum Physics
- E-Print:
- Final version