Joint spatial weak measurement with higher-order Laguerre-Gaussian point states.

Abstract

Here, joint spatial weak measurements with higher-order Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) point states are investigated experimentally. From the intensity patterns of the final LG point states, two dimensional position operators 〈X〉 and 〈Y〉 as well as high-order position operators 〈XY〉, 〈X2 - Y2〉, 〈X3〉, and 〈Y3〉 are extracted simultaneously, from which both the complex weak values and joint weak values of two non-commuting observables can be obtained. The enhancement of joint weak values by the postselection state are analyzed. The simple relationship between the expectation values of position operators and the azimuthal and radial indexes of LG modes allows us to identify the mode indexes directly. A simple and robust scheme based on an optical window is demonstrated to monitor the LG mode indexes. These findings deepen the understanding of the weak measurement and provide an alternate and effective method for LG mode index monitoring.