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Experimental demonstration of complementarity with single photons

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Abstract.

We demonstrate the principle of complementarity in quantum mechanics in a single-photon interference experiment. Single photons are provided by isolated, optically pumped nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, which can be easily addressed by confocal microscopy. In order to observe the particle-like behavior of photons, we perform an elementary Welcher-Weg measurement, detecting photons behind a beam splitter. In contrast, if we dispense with this Welcher-Weg information, we observe interference fringes with a visibility of about 96%, revealing the wave nature of the photon.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universität München, Sektion Physik, 80799 München, Germany, , , , , , DE

    C. Braig, C. Kurtsiefer & H. Weinfurter

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, 85748 Garching, Germany, , , , , , DE

    P. Zarda

Authors
  1. C. Braig
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  2. P. Zarda
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  3. C. Kurtsiefer
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  4. H. Weinfurter
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Received: 29 August 2002 / Revised version: 12 December 2002 / Published online: 26 February 2003

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ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax +49-89/2180-5032, E-mail: Harald.Weinfurter@physik.uni-muenchen.de

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Braig, C., Zarda, P., Kurtsiefer, C. et al. Experimental demonstration of complementarity with single photons . Appl Phys B 76, 113–116 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-003-1106-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-003-1106-x

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