Where Did the Interference Go? Eleven Quantum Paradoxes Worked Out with Amplitudes and Records

A computational tutorial on standard quantum probability, written in the language of complex amplitudes (“arrows”) and environmental records. Eleven well-known puzzles — two-path interference, the quantum eraser, delayed choice, the Zeno effect and interaction-free measurement, decoherence, Bell–CHSH, GHZ, Hardy’s argument, the Peres–Mermin square, no-signalling and the information–disturbance trade-off — are each worked out explicitly, step by step. For every example the paper separates three things that are often merged: what quantum theory predicts, which classical model (with which assumptions) is excluded, and what is left to interpretation. A further worked example shows that one and the same loss of interference can leave records whose accessible which-path information ranges from none to complete, and how the difference can be estimated from data. Reported tests of higher-order interference are collected with their original uncertainty conventions. Every computed number is reproduced by released, seeded Python scripts; expected results were fixed (with SHA-256 hashes) before each script was run. The scripts, expected-result files and an independent reviewer’s cross-check are attached to this record and embedded in the PDF. No new physical law or quantum algorithm is claimed; the contribution is a connected, verifiable teaching path.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-10-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23758746
Primary Topic
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
Type
preprint
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preprint

Where Did the Interference Go? Eleven Quantum Paradoxes Worked Out with Amplitudes and Records

Sergei Gontsarenko
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
preprint

Where Did the Interference Go? Eleven Quantum Paradoxes Worked Out with Amplitudes and Records

Sergei Gontsarenko
preprint en

Abstract

A computational tutorial on standard quantum probability, written in the language of complex amplitudes (“arrows”) and environmental records. Eleven well-known puzzles — two-path interference, the quantum eraser, delayed choice, the Zeno effect and interaction-free measurement, decoherence, Bell–CHSH, GHZ, Hardy’s argument, the Peres–Mermin square, no-signalling and the information–disturbance trade-off — are each worked out explicitly, step by step. For every example the paper separates three things that are often merged: what quantum theory predicts, which classical model (with which assumptions) is excluded, and what is left to interpretation. A further worked example shows that one and the same loss of interference can leave records whose accessible which-path information ranges from none to complete, and how the difference can be estimated from data. Reported tests of higher-order interference are collected with their original uncertainty conventions. Every computed number is reproduced by released, seeded Python scripts; expected results were fixed (with SHA-256 hashes) before each script was run. The scripts, expected-result files and an independent reviewer’s cross-check are attached to this record and embedded in the PDF. No new physical law or quantum algorithm is claimed; the contribution is a connected, verifiable teaching path.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
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