Multiphoton Quantum States Research Articles

Photon counts statistics of squeezed and multimode thermal states of light on multiplexed on–off detectors

Photon number resolving detectors can be highly useful for studying the statistics of multi-photon quantum states of light. In this work we study the counts statistics of different states of light measured on multiplexed on-off detectors. We put special emphasis on artificial nonclassical features of the statistics obtained. We show new ways to derive analytical formulas for counts statistics and their moments. Using our approach we are the first to derive statistics moments for multi-mode thermal states measured on multiplexed on-off detectors. We use them to determine empirical Mandel parameters and recently proposed subbinomial parameters suitable for tests of nonclassicality of the measured states. Additionally, we investigate subpoissonian and superbunching properties of the two-mode squeezed state measured on a pair of multiplexed detectors and we present results of the Fano factor and second-order correlation function for these states.

Efficient optical pumping and high optical depth in a hollow-core photonic-crystal fibre for a broadband quantum memory

The generation of large multiphoton quantum states—for applications in computing, metrology and simulation—requires a network of high-efficiency quantum memories capable of storing broadband pulses. Integrating these memories into a fibre offers a number of advantages towards realizing this goal: strong light–matter coupling at low powers, simplified alignment and compatibility with existing photonic architectures. Here, we introduce a large-core kagome-structured hollow-core fibre as a suitable platform for an integrated fibre-based quantum memory with a warm atomic vapour. We demonstrate, for the first time, efficient optical pumping in such a system, where 90 ± 1% of atoms are prepared in the ground state. We measure high optical depths (3 × 104) and narrow homogeneous linewidths (6 ± 2 MHz) that do not exhibit significant transit-time broadening, showing that we can prepare a Λ-level system in a pure state. Our results establish that kagome fibres are suitable for implementing a broadband, room-temperature quantum memory, as well as a range of nonlinear optical effects.

Continuous-variable nonlocality test performed over a multiphoton quantum state

We propose to exploit a continuous-variable measurement, based on displacing the input field at different points of the phase space, over a multiphoton state produced by a high-gain optical parametric amplifier. We show that by correlating the different values of the displaced parity operators obtained from the two separated parties, it is possible to violate a Bell's inequality and thus demonstrate the nonlocality of the overall state. The robustness of the results against two independent sources of error, loss and dephasing, is also discussed.

Measurement-induced quantum operations on multiphoton states

We investigate how multiphoton quantum states obtained through optical parametric amplification can be manipulated by performing a measurement on a small portion of the output light field. We study in detail how the macroqubit features are modified by varying the amount of extracted information and the strategy adopted at the final measurement stage. At last the obtained results are employed to investigate the possibility of performing a microscopic-macroscopic non-locality test free from auxiliary assumptions.

Room temperature photon number resolving detector for infared wavelengths

In this paper we present a photon number resolving detector at infrared wavelengths, operating at room temperature and with a large dynamic range. It is based on the up-conversion of a signal at 1559 nm into visible wavelength and on its detection by a thermoelectrically cooled multi-pixel silicon avalanche photodiodode, also known as a Silicon Photon Multiplier. With the appropriate up-conversion this scheme can be implemented for arbitrary wavelengths above the visible spectral window. The preservation of the poissonian statistics when detecting coherent states is studied and the cross-talk effects on the detected signal can be easily estimated in order to calibrate the detector. This system is well suited for measuring very low intensities at infrared wavelengths and for analyzing multiphoton quantum states.

Quantum state measurements using multipixel photon detectors

The characterization and conditional preparation of multi-photon quantum states requires the use of photon number resolving detectors. We study the use of detectors based on multiple avalanche photodiode pixels in this context. We develop a general model that provides the positive operator value measures for these detectors. The model incorporates the effect of cross-talk between pixels which is unique to these devices. We validate the model by measuring coherent state photon number distributions and reconstructing them with high precision. Finally, we evaluate the suitability of such detectors for quantum state tomography and entanglement-based quantum state preparation, highlighting the effects of dark counts and cross-talk between pixels.

Toward quantum frequency combs: Boosting the generation of highly nonclassical light states by cavity-enhanced parametric down-conversion at high repetition rates

We demonstrate the generation of multiphoton quantum states of light by cavity-enhanced parametric down-conversion in the high-repetition-rate pulsed regime. An external enhancement cavity resonant with the spectral comb of modes of a mode-locked pump laser provides a coherent buildup of the pump intensity and greatly enhances the parametric gain without sacrificing its high repetition rate and comb structure. We probe the parametric gain enhancement by the conditional generation and tomographic analysis of two-photon Fock states. Besides its potential impact for efficiently generating highly nonclassical or entangled multiphoton states in many existing experimental setups, this scheme opens exciting perspectives toward the combination of quantum and comb technologies for enhanced measurements and advanced quantum computation protocols.

On the concentration behaviour of entangled photons

It is shown that some assumptions about the concentration behaviour of free photons in an entangled multi-photon quantum state, published in recent literature, were too optimistic. This is of fundamental interest and adversely affects the performance of quantum lithography schemes.

Two-photon interferometry for high-resolution imaging

This paper discusses the advantages of using non-classical states of light for two aspects of optical imaging: the creation of microscopic images on photosensitive substrates, which constitutes the foundation for optical lithography, and the imaging of microscopic objects. In both cases, the classical resolution limit given by the Rayleigh criterion is approximately half of the optical wavelength. It has been shown, however, that by using multi-photon quantum states of the light field, and a multi-photon sensitive material or detector, this limit can be surpassed. A rigorous quantum mechanical treatment of this problem is given, some particularly widespread misconceptions are addressed, and turning quantum imaging into a practical technology is discussed.