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Consider a 95% / 5% beam splitter. The 95% output is attenuated in a lossy medium until its intensity is equal to the 5% output.
If we now get these two beams to interfere, would the visibility be as good as the usual 50% / 50% case, or would there be some kind of added randomness that would reduce the coherence of the attenuated beam?
In other words, does the absorbing medium affect the phase of those photons that happen to survive absorption, in a "noisy" way? (Assume, however, that the photon energy is far greater than the thermal noise in the absorber).
If we now get these two beams to interfere, would the visibility be as good as the usual 50% / 50% case, or would there be some kind of added randomness that would reduce the coherence of the attenuated beam?
In other words, does the absorbing medium affect the phase of those photons that happen to survive absorption, in a "noisy" way? (Assume, however, that the photon energy is far greater than the thermal noise in the absorber).
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