2010/07/22 by Urbasi Sinha, Christophe Couteau, Thomas Jennewein +3 · 13 citations
Computer Science · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Classical mechanics #Computer science #Geometry #Interference (communication) #Mathematics #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Order (exchange) #Perspective (graphical) #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum and Classical Electrodynamics #Quantum dynamics #Quantum mechanics #Quantum probability #Quantum process #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #Telecommunications #Theoretical physics #physics.optics #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/science.1190545
published as Science Vol 329 23rd July 2010 pg 418-421
arxiv created 2010/07/23 · openalex publication_date 2014/09/10 · arxiv updated 2015/05/19 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Quantum mechanics and gravitation are two pillars of modern physics. Despite their success in describing the physical world around us, they seem to be incompatible theories. There are suggestions that one of these theories must be generalized to achieve unification. For example, Born's rule--one of the axioms of quantum mechanics--could be violated. Born's rule predicts that quantum interference, as shown by a double-slit diffraction experiment, occurs from pairs of paths. A generalized version of quantum mechanics might allow multipath (i.e., higher-order) interference, thus leading to a deviation from the theory. We performed a three-slit experiment with photons and bounded the magnitude of three-path interference to less than 10(-2) of the expected two-path interference, thus ruling out third- and higher-order interference and providing a bound on the accuracy of Born's rule. Our experiment is consistent with the postulate both in semiclassical and quantum regimes.