A New Understanding of the Origin of Wave-Particle Duality in Quantum Mechanics

The wave-particle duality of quantum mechanics has always been an unsolved problem in physics. This article attempts to use one of the properties to explain the other, so as to eliminate the confusion of quantum mechanics probability waves. Specifically, this article finds that the discreteness of energy is the inherent property of all waves, so this article explains the particle nature of light from the perspective of light wave, thereby eliminating the confusion of light’s wave-particle duality; in addition, this article found that microscopic matter particles are only suitable for discussing the number of scattered particles or energy flow density, not their position and momentum, when they are forced to discuss their position and momentum, it will inevitably lead to confusion about probability waves, when only discussing the number of scattered particles or energy flow density, its volatility can be explained from the perspective of particle nature, thereby eliminating the confusion of microscopic matter particle probability waves. When the attribute of light as a wave is established, the light needs to overcome the Hamiltonian of the medium in different constraint systems (gravitational fields) during the propagation process, which will produce a universal redshift phenomenon, this can provide a new understanding of cosmic redshift; when the property of light as a wave is established, it means that the speed of light is a constant speed relative to the medium, which can provide a new understanding of the principle of constant speed of light.

A Wave Nature-Based Interpretation of The Nonclassical Feature of Photon Bunching On A Beam Splitter

Born’s rule is key to understanding quantum mechanics based on the probability amplitude for the measurement process of a physical quantity. Based on a typical particle nature of a photon, the quantum feature of photon bunching on a beam splitter between two output photons can be explained by Born’s rule even without clear definition of the relative phase between two input photons. Unlike conventional understanding on this matter, known as the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect, here, we present a new interpretation based on the wave nature of a photon, where the quantum feature of photon bunching is explained through phase basis superposition of the beam splitter. A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is additionally presented to support the correctness of the presented method. As a result, our limited understanding of the quantum feature is deepened via phase basis superposition regarding the destructive quantum interference. Thus, the so-called ‘mysterious’ quantum feature is now clarified by both the definite phase relationship between paired photons and a new term of the phase basis superposition of an optical system.

Particle Nature of Photons, Normal Diffraction Pattern and Curved Diffraction Pattern Emerging in Same Experiment --- Double-Slit Experiment Still Has Much to Offer

The particle nature of the photons was experimentally confirmed. The static straight line diffraction pattern of the normal grating experiments has been shown experimentally. The phenomenon of the dynamic curved diffraction pattern of the grating experiment have been shown in separate experiments. In this article, the new experiments are proposed and performed, which show that the particle nature of the photons, the static straight line diffraction patterns, and the dynamic curved, expanded and inclined diffraction patterns co-exist in the same grating experiment simultaneously. The novel phenomena make the Feynman’s mystery of the normal double slit experiment more mysterious, violate Bohr’s complementarity principle, and provide comprehensive information/data for studying the wave-particle duality and developing new theoretical model. The double-slit experiment still has much to offer.

Particle Nature of Photons, Straight Diffraction Pattern and Curved Diffraction Pattern Emerging in Same Grating Experiment

The particle nature of the photons was experimentally confirmed. The static straight line diffraction pattern of the normal grating experiments has been shown experimentally. The phenomenon of the dynamic curved diffraction pattern of the grating experiment have been shown in separate experiments. In this article, the new experiments are proposed and performed, which show that the particle nature of the photons, the static straight line diffraction patterns, and the dynamic curved, expanded and inclined diffraction patterns co-exist in the same grating experiment simultaneously. The novel phenomena make the Feynman’s mystery of the normal double slit experiment more mysterious, violate Bohr’s complementarity principle, and provide comprehensive information/data for studying the wave-particle duality and developing new theoretical model.

Experimental Demonstrations of Coherence de Broglie Waves Using Sub-Poisson Distributed Coherent Photon Pairs

Recently, a new interpretation of quantum mechanics has been developed for the wave nature of a photon, where determinacy in quantum correlations becomes an inherent property without the violation of quantum mechanics. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a direct proof of the wave natures of quantum correlation for the so-called coherence de Broglie waves (CBWs) using sub-Poisson distributed coherent photon pairs obtained from an attenuated laser. The observed experimental data coincides with the analytic solutions and the numerical calculations. Thus, the CBWs pave a road toward deterministic and macroscopic quantum technologies for such as quantum metrology, quantum sensing, and even quantum communications, that are otherwise heavily limited due to the microscopic non-determinacy of the particle nature-based quantum mechanics.

EXPLORING SOUTH AFRICAN PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF LIGHT PHENOMENA

The wave and particle nature of light poses considerable instructional challenges to both teachers and learners in diverse educational settings. Developing a meaningful conceptual understanding of the wave and particle nature of light is a key requirement for demystifying the complex nature of various optical phenomena. The study adopted an exploratory descriptive survey design and involved purposively selected South African preservice Physical Sciences as participants. Preservice Physical Sciences teachers’ conceptual understanding of light phenomena was explored through the administration of the Light Phenomena Conceptual Assessment (LPCA) inventory. The key findings of the study revealed that preservice Physical Sciences teachers exhibited conceptual hurdles in relation to light phenomena such as reflection, refraction, total internal reflection and light scattering. The prevalence of these conceptual hurdles can partly be attributed to pervasive knowledge gaps manifested as a result of deficient instructional strategies adopted to demystify complex nature of light phenomena. Theoretical implications for initial teacher education are discussed.

Observations of Deterministic Quantum Correlation Using Coherent Light

Complementarity theory is the essence of the Copenhagen interpretation in quantum mechanics. Since the Hanbury Brown and Twiss experiments, the particle nature of photons has been intensively studied for various quantum phenomena such as anticorrelation and Bell inequality violation over the last several decades. Regarding the quantum features based on the particle nature of photons, however, no clear answer exists for how to generate such an entangled photon pair or what causes the maximum correlation between them. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the physics of quantumness on anticorrelation using well defined and nearly sub-Poisson distributed coherent photons, where a particular photon number is post-selected using a photon resolving coincidence measurement technique. As a results, unprecedented wavelength dependent first-order intensity correlation has been observed in the two-photon second-order intensity correlation with 99.9 % visibility, where this result demonstrates the anticorrelation theory in Scientific Reports 10, 7309 (2020) and opens the door to the on-demand quantum correlation control.

Macroscopically entangled light fields

A novel method of macroscopically entangled light-pair generation is presented for a quantum laser using randomness-based deterministic phase control of coherent light in a coupled Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI). Unlike the particle nature-based quantum correlation in conventional quantum mechanics, the wave nature of photons is applied for collective phase control of coherent fields, resulting in a deterministically controllable nonclassical phenomenon. For the proof of principle, the entanglement between output light fields from a coupled MZI is examined using the Hong-Ou-Mandel-type anticorrelation technique, where the anticorrelation is a direct evidence of the nonclassical features in an interferometric scheme. For the generation of random phase bases between two bipartite input coherent fields, a deterministic control of opposite frequency shifts results in phase sensitive anticorrelation, which is a macroscopic quantum feature.

Anomalous weak values via a single photon detection

Is it possible that a measurement of a spin component of a spin-1/2 particle yields the value 100? In 1988 Aharonov, Albert and Vaidman argued that upon pre- and postselection of particular spin states, weakening the coupling of a standard measurement procedure ensures this paradoxical result1. This theoretical prediction, called weak value, was realised in numerous experiments2–9, but its meaning remains very controversial10–19, since its “anomalous” nature, i.e., the possibility to exceed the eigenvalue spectrum, as well as its “quantumness” are debated20–22. We address these questions by presenting the first experiment measuring anomalous weak values with just a single click, without the need for statistical averaging. The measurement uncertainty is significantly smaller than the gap between the measured weak value and the nearest eigenvalue. Beyond clarifying the meaning of weak values, demonstrating their non-statistical, single-particle nature, this result represents a breakthrough in understanding the foundations of quantum measurement, showing unprecedented measurement capability for further applications of weak values to quantum photonics.