Einstein's Recoiling Slit Experiment, Complementarity and Uncertainty

Abstract

We analyze Einstein's recoiling slit experiment and point out that the inevitable entanglement between the particle and the recoiling slit was not part of Bohr's reply. We show that if this entanglement is taken into account, one can provide a simpler answer to Einstein. We also derive the Englert-Greenberger-Yasin duality relation from the entanglement between the particle and the recoiling slit. In addition, we show that the Englert-Greenberger-Yasin duality relation can also be thought of as a consequence of the sum uncertainty relation for certain observables of the recoiling slit. Thus, the uncertainty relations and entanglement are both an integral part of the which-way detection process.

Quanta 2013; 2: 58–65.