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The coherence of two waves expresses how well correlated the waves are as quantified by the cross-correlation function. [7] [1] [8] [9] [10] Cross-correlation quantifies the ability to predict the phase of the second wave by knowing the phase of the first. As an example, consider two waves perfectly correlated for all times (by using a ...
The difference () = () between the phases of two periodic signals and is called the phase difference or phase shift of relative to . [1] At values of t {\displaystyle t} when the difference is zero, the two signals are said to be in phase; otherwise, they are out of phase with each other.
The atom-wave interferometer formed by either of these two paths leads to a phase difference that is dependent on both internal and external parameters, i.e. it is dependent on the physical distances by which the interaction zones are separated and on the internal state of the atom, as well as external applied fields.
In physics, interference is a phenomenon in which two coherent waves are combined by adding their intensities or displacements with due consideration for their phase difference. The resultant wave may have greater intensity (constructive interference) or lower amplitude (destructive interference) if the two waves are in phase or out of phase ...
Atom interferometers measure the difference in phase between atomic matter waves along different paths. Matter waves are controlled and manipulated using systems of lasers. [ 1 ] : 420–1 Atom interferometers have been used in tests of fundamental physics, including measurements of the gravitational constant , the fine-structure constant , and ...
Generally, two or more waves are superimposed and as the phase difference between them varies, the power or intensity (probability or population in quantum mechanics) of the resulting wave oscillates, forming an interference pattern. The pointwise definition may be expanded to a visibility function varying over time or space. For example, the ...
Modified versions of the experiment have been proposed [35] with the light source allowed to move along a (not necessarily circular) light path. This configuration introduces another reason for the phase difference: according to the light source the two signals now follow different paths in space.
In optics, two beams of light are said to interfere coherently, when the phase difference between their waves is constant; if this phase difference is random or changing the beams are incoherent. In quantum mechanics, where to each particle there is associated a wave function, we encounter thus interference and correlations between two (or more ...