Entanglement-induced collective many-body interference
Entanglement and interference are both hallmark effects of quantum physics. Particularly rich dynamics arise when multiple (at least partially) indistinguishable particles are subjected to either of these phenomena. By combining both entanglement and many-particle interference, we propose an interferometric setting through which <i>N</i>-particle interference can be observed, while any interference of lower orders is strictly suppressed. We experimentally demonstrate this effect in a four-photon interferometer, where the interference is nonlocal, in principle, as only pairs of photons interfere at two separate and independent beam splitters. A joint detection of all four photons identifies a high-visibility interference pattern varying as a function of their collective four-particle phase, a genuine four-body property.
Authors
- Joseph Ho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5346-3872)
- Christoph Dittel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5373-5196)
- Alexander Pickston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5707-1270)
- Eric Brunner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7631-6528)
- Tommaso Faleo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7410-1283)
- Andreas Buchleitner
- Alessandro Fedrizzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5089-3148)
- Jonathan W. Webb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6908-2994)
- Gregor Weihs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2260-3008)
- Robert Keil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1198-9961)
- Gabriel Dufour (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9722-6759)
Institutions
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- Universität Innsbruck (AT)
- Heriot-Watt University (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2024-08-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adp9030
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Quantum Information and Cryptography
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.04
Funders
- Austrian Science Fund
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council