Abstract
In the present paper we expand upon ideas published some time ago in connection with which path detectors based on the micromaser. Frequently questions arise concerning the time ordering of detection and eraser events. We here show, by a detailed and careful analysis of a quantum eraser experimental setup, that the experimenter can choose to ascertain particle-like which path information or wavelike interference information even after the atom has hit the screen.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
R. Feynman, R. Leighton, and M. Sands, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. III (Addison Wesley, Reading 1965), pp. 1-9.
M. O. Scully, R. Shea, and J. McCullen, Phys. Rep. 43, 486 (1978).
M. O. Scully, B.-G. Englert, and H. Walther, Nature 351, 111 (1991); Sci. Am. 271, 56 (1994).
U. Mohrhoff, Am. J. Phys. 64, 1468 (1996).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scully, M.O., Walther, H. An Operational Analysis of Quantum Eraser and Delayed Choice. Foundations of Physics 28, 399–413 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018759926992
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018759926992