Information-theoretic approach to single-particle and two-particle interference in multipath interferometers

Phys Rev Lett. 2003 Jul 18;91(3):037901. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.037901. Epub 2003 Jul 17.

Abstract

We propose entropic measures for the strength of single-particle and two-particle interference in interferometric experiments where each particle of a pair traverses a multipath interferometer. Optimal single-particle interference excludes any two-particle interference, and vice versa. We report an inequality that states the compromises allowed by quantum mechanics in intermediate situations, and identify a class of two-particle states for which the upper bound is reached. Our approach is applicable to symmetric two-partite systems of any finite dimension.