Generalising the quantised-interaction viewpoint to beam-splitter interference

Determine how the quantised momentum-exchange interpretation of diffraction and interference generalises to optical interference phenomena involving beam splitters by constructing a quantum description in which beam splitters are modelled as active participants in interactions with photons.

Background

The paper argues that apparent wave behaviour in quantum interference and diffraction can be understood as a consequence of quantised momentum exchanges between particles and periodic scatterers, avoiding physically inconsistent de Broglie wave explanations. This perspective is supported by analysis of the Kapitza-Dirac effect, diffraction from material gratings invoking Bloch quantisation, and an angular double-slit experiment using photon orbital angular momentum.

Within this framework, the authors show that momentum distributions are determined at the point of scattering rather than by wave overlap at detection. However, they note that extending this interpretation beyond slits and gratings to beam-splitter-based interference remains unsettled, and that such an extension would require treating beam splitters as quantum-interacting devices rather than passive classical elements.