A Testable First-Harmonic Bias in Two-Path Interference from Discrete Phase Structure

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Auteur principal: Holdway, Craig Edwin
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Langue:anglais
Publié: Zenodo 2026
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_version_ 1866901543141244928
author Holdway, Craig Edwin
author_facet Holdway, Craig Edwin
contents <p>This work presents a minimal, experimentally testable deviation from standard two-path interference. The deviation arises from an underlying discrete phase structure and appears as a small first-harmonic bias in the interference fringe.</p> <p>The predicted effect does not introduce higher harmonics or alter the qualitative form of the fringe. Instead, it manifests as a coupled visibility rescaling and phase offset that can be absorbed into standard sinusoidal fits. For this reason, the deviation is not directly visible at the level of fringe shape alone.</p> <p>To distinguish the effect from conventional systematics, a phase-cycling discriminator is introduced. Under controlled quarter-phase shifts, the residual is predicted to exhibit a structured quadrature rotation that is not generically reproduced by noise, detector imbalance, or calibration drift. A set of null-control conditions is provided to isolate this behavior experimentally.</p> <p>A characteristic magnitude for the effect is estimated under a class of structural assumptions, yielding a candidate scale on the order of <span class="katex"><span class="katex-mathml">10−410^{-4}</span><span class="katex-html"><span class="base"><span class="mord">1</span><span class="mord">0<span class="msupsub"><span class="vlist-t"><span class="vlist-r"><span class="vlist"><span class="sizing reset-size6 size3 mtight"><span class="mord mtight">−4</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>, with a more strongly suppressed regime near <span class="katex"><span class="katex-mathml">10−710^{-7}</span><span class="katex-html"><span class="base"><span class="mord">1</span><span class="mord">0<span class="msupsub"><span class="vlist-t"><span class="vlist-r"><span class="vlist"><span class="sizing reset-size6 size3 mtight"><span class="mord mtight">−7</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>. These values lie near the sensitivity threshold of high-precision interferometric measurements.</p> <p>The result is a concrete, falsifiable prediction: either a stable first-harmonic residual with the specified phase-cycling structure is observed, or the corresponding parameter regime is constrained.</p> <p>This document isolates the observable prediction and experimental test, independent of the broader theoretical framework from which it is derived.</p>
format Recurso digital
id zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_19742823
institution Zenodo
language eng
publishDate 2026
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle A Testable First-Harmonic Bias in Two-Path Interference from Discrete Phase Structure
Holdway, Craig Edwin
quantum interference
two-path interference
ach-Zehnder interferometer
Interferometry
phase measurement
interference fringes
phase shift
visibility
phase noise
precision measurement
optical interferometry
quantum foundations
experimental test
first-harmonic bias
phase-cycling
discrete phase structure
phase quantization
emergent phase
nonstandard interference
<p>This work presents a minimal, experimentally testable deviation from standard two-path interference. The deviation arises from an underlying discrete phase structure and appears as a small first-harmonic bias in the interference fringe.</p> <p>The predicted effect does not introduce higher harmonics or alter the qualitative form of the fringe. Instead, it manifests as a coupled visibility rescaling and phase offset that can be absorbed into standard sinusoidal fits. For this reason, the deviation is not directly visible at the level of fringe shape alone.</p> <p>To distinguish the effect from conventional systematics, a phase-cycling discriminator is introduced. Under controlled quarter-phase shifts, the residual is predicted to exhibit a structured quadrature rotation that is not generically reproduced by noise, detector imbalance, or calibration drift. A set of null-control conditions is provided to isolate this behavior experimentally.</p> <p>A characteristic magnitude for the effect is estimated under a class of structural assumptions, yielding a candidate scale on the order of <span class="katex"><span class="katex-mathml">10−410^{-4}</span><span class="katex-html"><span class="base"><span class="mord">1</span><span class="mord">0<span class="msupsub"><span class="vlist-t"><span class="vlist-r"><span class="vlist"><span class="sizing reset-size6 size3 mtight"><span class="mord mtight">−4</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>, with a more strongly suppressed regime near <span class="katex"><span class="katex-mathml">10−710^{-7}</span><span class="katex-html"><span class="base"><span class="mord">1</span><span class="mord">0<span class="msupsub"><span class="vlist-t"><span class="vlist-r"><span class="vlist"><span class="sizing reset-size6 size3 mtight"><span class="mord mtight">−7</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>. These values lie near the sensitivity threshold of high-precision interferometric measurements.</p> <p>The result is a concrete, falsifiable prediction: either a stable first-harmonic residual with the specified phase-cycling structure is observed, or the corresponding parameter regime is constrained.</p> <p>This document isolates the observable prediction and experimental test, independent of the broader theoretical framework from which it is derived.</p>
title A Testable First-Harmonic Bias in Two-Path Interference from Discrete Phase Structure
topic quantum interference
two-path interference
ach-Zehnder interferometer
Interferometry
phase measurement
interference fringes
phase shift
visibility
phase noise
precision measurement
optical interferometry
quantum foundations
experimental test
first-harmonic bias
phase-cycling
discrete phase structure
phase quantization
emergent phase
nonstandard interference
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19742823