ABSTRACT
Wave–particle duality is one of the most fundamental and intriguing features of quantum physics, capturing the coexistence of seemingly contradictory wave-like and particle-like behaviors in all quantum systems. Bohr’s complementarity principle provides the traditional qualitative framework, asserting that these properties are mutually exclusive and cannot be observed simultaneously. This concept played a central role in the early development of quantum mechanics, including Schrödinger’s formulation of wave mechanics inspired by de Broglie’s matter waves.
A major step forward came in 1979, when Wootters and Zurek introduced quantitative measures of “waveness” and “particleness,” leading to the follow-up well-known duality relation V^2+D^2≤1, which connects interference visibility (V) and path distinguishability (D). This framework allows for the continuous coexistence of partial wave and particle characteristics and has inspired a wide range of developments, including delayed-choice and quantum erasure experiments.
In this talk, I will present recent advances that revisit and extend this quantitative picture. We introduce a unified perspective on wave–particle duality by incorporating additional foundational quantum quantities, including entanglement, coherence, and Fisher information. These elements provide a more complete description of complementarity and reveal deeper connections between duality and quantum information.
Furthermore, we explore practical implications of wave–particle duality in single-photon quantum imaging. We show that both wave and particle aspects play essential roles in image formation, and we derive an exact relation—termed the Imaging Duality Ellipse—that links duality to object information. Finally, we demonstrate how this relation can be leveraged to enhance the robustness and control of quantum imaging systems.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Xiaofeng Qian is an Assistant Professor of Physics at Stevens Institute of Technology, USA. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Rochester and subsequently served as a Research Associate at the Institute of Optics. He joined the faculty at Stevens in 2019. Dr. Qian’s research spans both theoretical and experimental aspects of quantum physics and coherence optics, with a particular focus on the emerging field of quantum-inspired coherence optics. His work has attracted broad attention within the physics and optics communities, with coverage by professional organizations, magazines, and science news outlets. Notably, his research on wave–particle duality was recognized as one of the Top 10 Breakthroughs in Physics of 2021 by Physics World (IOP Publishing, UK). In addition, his work uncovering unexpected connections between optical polarization and mechanical mass rotation was featured among the 10 Most Popular Physics Stories of 2023 by Physics World.
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