Identical two-particle interferometry in diffraction gratings

Abstract

We study diffraction and interference of indistinguishable particles. We consider some examples where the wavefunctions and detection probabilities can be evaluated in an analytical way. The diffraction pattern of a two-particle system shows notorious differences for the cases of bosons, fermions and distinguishable particles. In the example of near-field interferometry, the exchange effects for two-fermion systems lead to the existence of planes at which the probability of double detection is null. We also discuss the relation with the approach to systems of identical particles based on correlation functions. In particular, we shall see that these functions reflect, as in noise interferometry, the underlying periodic structure of the diffraction grating.