One of the simplest and most beautiful naturally occurring patterns can be observed when light is shined through a pair of slightly misaligned periodic structures. This phenomenon, known as the ...

The wave pattern for electrons passing through a double slit, one-at-a-time. If you measure “which slit” the electron goes through, you destroy the quantum interference pattern shown here.

However, a new study attempts to fill this gap. It suggests that classical interference patterns arise from specific quantum states of light, called bright and dark states.

The importance of including exotic “non-classical paths” in analyses of quantum interference has been demonstrated experimentally by physicists in India. Urbasi Sinha and her colleagues at the Raman ...