Modified Two-Slit Experiments and Complementarity

Tabish Qureshi

Centre for Theoretical Physics, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.

DOI: 10.4236/jqis.2012.22007                

Abstract

Some modified two-slit interference experiments claim to demonstrate a violation of Bohr’s complementarity principle. A typical such experiment is theoretically analyzed using wave-packet dynamics. The flaw in the analysis of such experiments is pointed out and it is demonstrated that they do not violate complementarity. In addition, it is quite generally proved that if the state of a particle is such that the modulus square of the wave-function yields an interference pattern, then it necessarily loses which-path information.

Keywords

Complementarity; Wave-Particle Duality; Two-Slit Experiment

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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