부산대학교 도서관

We have developed a which-way experiment using visible light that is completely analogous to a recent experiment involving which-way measurement in atom interference. This simple experiment, easily accessible to undergraduate students and the resources of undergraduate departments, facilitates the examination of the key elements of which-way measurement, quantum erasure, and related mysteries of quantum measurement. The experiment utilizes a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and visually demonstrates the loss of interference fringes when a which-way measurement is imposed, and the restoration of that pattern when the which-way information is destroyed. This device is also sensitive enough to observe interference fringes arising from single photons. We present a simple analysis of the interference appropriate for the coherent classical field limit and the single photon limit at a level accessible to undergraduates. We also briefly mention related issues on the nature of the photon. [DOI: 10.1119/1.1450558]