On the superposition principle in interference experiments

Sinha, Aninda and Vijay, Aravind H and Sinha, Urbasi (2015) On the superposition principle in interference experiments. In: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 5 .

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Abstract

The superposition principle is usually incorrectly applied in interference experiments. This has recently been investigated through numerics based on Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) methods as well as the Feynman path integral formalism. In the current work, we have derived an analytic formula for the Sorkin parameter which can be used to determine the deviation from the application of the principle. We have found excellent agreement between the analytic distribution and those that have been earlier estimated by numerical integration as well as resource intensive FDTD simulations. The analytic handle would be useful for comparing theory with future experiments. It is applicable both to physics based on classical wave equations as well as the non-relativistic Schrodinger equation.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Publisher:	NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, MACMILLAN BUILDING, 4 CRINAN ST, LONDON N1 9XW, ENGLAND
Department/Centre:	Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for High Energy Physics
Date Deposited:	26 Jun 2015 05:52
Last Modified:	26 Jun 2015 05:52
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/51770

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