Obtaining tight bounds on higher-order interferences with a 5-path interferometer

Thomas Kauten, Robert Keil, Thomas Kaufmann, Benedikt Pressl, Časlav Brukner, Gregor Weihs
2017 New Journal of Physics  
Within the established theoretical framework of quantum mechanics, interference always occurs between pairs of trajectories. Higher order interferences with multiple constituents are, however, excluded by Born's rule and can only exist in generalized probabilistic theories. Thus, high-precision experiments searching for such higher order interferences are a powerful method to distinguish between quantum mechanics and more general theories. Here, we perform such a test in optical multi-path
more » ... ferometers. Our results rule out the existence of higher order interference terms to an extent which is more than four orders of magnitude smaller than the expected pairwise interference, refining previous bounds by two orders of magnitude. This establishes the hitherto tightest constraints on generalized interference theories.
doi:10.1088/1367-2630/aa5d98 fatcat:immukv5mhnegrdidieeeo5nkxq