Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Quantum optics

Wave–particle superposition

Nature Photonics volume 6, pages 579–580 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

The implementation of a quantum Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment defies the conventional boundaries set by the complementarity principle and shows photons coherently oscillating between particle and wave behaviours in a single experimental set-up.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Scheme of Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment with a quantum controller.

References

  1. Tang, J.-S. et al. Nature Photon. 6, 600–604 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Wheeler, J. A. in Quantum Theory and Measurement (eds Wheeler, J. A. & Zurek, W. H) 182–213 (Princeton Univ. Press, 1984).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Ionicioiu, R. & Terno, D. R. Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 230406 (2011).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bohr, N. Nature 121, 580–590 (1928).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jacques, V. et al. Science 315, 966–968 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Schirber, M. Physics 4, 102 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Roy, S. S., Shukla, A. & Mahesh, T. S. Phys. Rev. A 85, 022109 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Auccaise, R. et al. Phys. Rev. A 85, 032121 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Tang, J.-S., Li, Y.-L., Li, C.-F. & Guo, G.-C. Preprint at http://arxiv.org/abs/1204.5304 (2012).

  10. Peruzzo, A., Shadbolt, P., Brunner, N., Popescu, S. & O'Brien, J. L. Preprint at http://arxiv.org/abs/1205.4926 (2012).

  11. Kaiser, F., Coudreau, T., Milman, P., Ostrowsky, D. B. & Tanzilli, S. Preprint at http://arxiv.org/abs/1206.4348 (2012).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gerardo Adesso and Davide Girolami are at the School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK,

    Gerardo Adesso & Davide Girolami

Authors
  1. Gerardo Adesso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Davide Girolami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gerardo Adesso.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Adesso, G., Girolami, D. Wave–particle superposition. Nature Photon 6, 579–580 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2012.214

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2012.214

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing