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Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Quantum State Engineering of Light with Continuous-wave Optical Parametric Oscillators
Published on: May 30, 2014
Revealing Quantum Statistics with a Pair of Distant Atoms
C F Roos1, A Alberti2, D Meschede2
1Institut für Quantenoptik und Quanteninformation der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Otto-Hittmair-Platz 1, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Abstract:
Quantum statistics have a profound impact on the properties of systems composed of identical particles. At the most elementary level, Bose and Fermi quantum statistics differ in the exchange phase, either 0 or π, which the wave function acquires when two identical particles are exchanged. In this Letter, we demonstrate that the exchange phase can be directly probed with a pair of massive particles by physically exchanging their positions. We present two protocols where the particles always remain spatially well separated, thus ensuring that the exchange contribution to their interaction energy is negligible and that the detected signal can only be attributed to the exchange symmetry of the wave function. We discuss possible implementations with a pair of trapped atoms or ions.
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