Progress in Optics

9: Multi-order interference and exotic paths

A multislit configuration can be used to test one of the basic tenets of Quantum Mechanics, the so-called Born Rule. According to Born's interpretation of the wave function Ψ(r, t), the probability density to find a particle at position r and at time t is given by

$\begin{array}{l}\hfill P(\mathbf{r},t)=|\mathrm{\Psi }(\mathbf{r},t){|}^2.\end{array}$

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As shown out by Sinha, Couteau, Jennewein, Laflamme, and Weihs (2010), the double-slit diffraction experiment can be used to test Born's premise, because the interference that is observed in the experiment is a direct consequence of this rule. The probability to detect a particle at r after passing through a screen ...