Delayed Choice Quantum Erasure Experiment Revisited: Causality and Informational Coherence

Abstract: We propose an operationally well-defined delayed-choice quantum-erasure experiment that realizes, for the first time, a genuine delayed choice within presently available quantum-optical technology. A multimode quantum memory supplies a controlled and verifiable delay, ensuring that the choice operation is applied strictly after the observation event. Electronic single-photon interference detection measurements then furnish a direct statistical discriminator between the causal and informational coherence hypotheses, based solely on marginal detection statistics and without any post-selection. The Poissonian structure of the detection statistics allows accumulation of statistics across repeated operational units, rendering the proposal practical and experimentally feasible.