📝 SummarXiv

Abstract

We analyze an experiment in which a thin wire is scanned across the overlap of two in phase photon beams. We find that unless the wire induces the formation of an interference pattern, the complementarity inequality is violated. Quantum electrodynamics accounts for this effect through photon deflections mediated by energy momentum exchange with the wire via virtual particles. This mechanism underscores the essential role of virtual particles in producing field effects and motivates an interpretation of quantum mechanics in which the wavefunction or field serves as information, a blueprint guiding virtual particles, whose exchanges with external sources shape the trajectories of real particles in accordance with field predictions. As an application, we propose a test of gravity quantum nature.