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arXiv:0804.1865 · Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Amplification of polarization NOON states

Chiara Vitelli, Nicolò Spagnolo, Fabio Sciarrino, F. De Martini

Published Apr 3, 2009• 14 citations
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Abstract

We analyze the quantum states obtained by optical parametric amplification of polarization NOON states. First we study, theoretically and experimentally, the amplification of a two-photon state by a collinear quantum injected optical parametric amplifier (QIOPA). We compare the stimulated emission regime with the spontaneous one, studied by Sciarrino et al. [Phys. Rev. A77, 012324 (2008)]. As a second step, we show that the collinear amplifier cannot be successfully used for amplifying N-photon states with N>2, and we propose to adopt a different scheme, based on a noncollinear QIOPA. We show that the state obtained by the latter amplification process preserves the λ/N feature and exhibits a high resilience to losses. Furthermore, measurement of part of the output state can be adopted to increase the pattern visibility.

DOI
10.1364/josab.26.000892

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We analyze the quantum states obtained by optical parametric amplification of polarization NOON states. First we study, theoretically and experimentally, the amplification of a two-photon state by a collinear quantum injected optical parametric amplifier (QIOPA). We compare the stimulated emission regime with the spontaneous one, studied by Sciarrino et al. [Phys. Rev. A77, 012324 (2008)]. As a second step, we show that the collinear amplifier cannot be successfully used for amplifying N-photon states with N>2, and we propose to adopt a different scheme, based on a noncollinear QIOPA. We show that the state obtained by the latter amplification process preserves the λ/N feature and exhibits a high resilience to losses. Furthermore, measurement of part of the output state can be adopted to increase the pattern visibility.
The study of optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) has been successful in describing and creating nonclassical light for use in fields such as quantum metrology and quantum lithography [Agarwal et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 24, 2 (2007)]. In this paper we present the theory of an OPA scheme utilizing an entangled state input. The scheme involves two identical OPAs seeded with the maximally path-entangled $\ensuremath{\mid}N00N⟩$ state $(\ensuremath{\mid}2,0⟩+\ensuremath{\mid}0,2⟩)∕\sqrt{2}$. The stimulated amplification results in output state probability amplitudes that have a dependence on the number of photons in each mode, which differs greatly from two-mode squeezed vacuum. A large family of entangled output states are found. Specific output states allow for the heralded creation of N=4N=4N=4 N00NN00NN00N states, which may be used for quantum lithography, to write sub-Rayleigh fringe patterns, and for quantum interferometry, to achieve Heisenberg-limited phase measurement sensitivity.
The change in the relative phase between two light fields serves as a basic principle for the measurement of the physical quantity that guides this change. It would therefore be highly advantageous if the relative phase could be amplified to enhance the measurement resolution. One well-known method for phase amplification involves the use of the multi-photon number and path-entangled state known as the NOON state; however, a high-number NOON state is very difficult to prepare and is highly sensitive to optical losses. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate in principle a phase amplifier scheme with the assistance of a harmonic generation process. The relative phase difference between two polarization modes in a polarized interferometer is amplified coherently four times with cascaded second-harmonic generation processes. We demonstrate that these amplification processes can be recycled and therefore have the potential to realize much higher numbers of multiple amplification steps. The phase amplification method presented here shows considerable advantages over the method based on NOON states and will be highly promising for use in precision optical measurements.
Recent experimental results demonstrated the generation of a macroscopic quantum superposition (MQS), involving a number of photons in excess of $5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{4}$, which showed a high resilience to losses. In order to perform a complete analysis on the effects of decoherence on these multiphoton fields, obtained through the quantum injected optical parametric amplifier, we investigate theoretically the evolution of the Wigner functions associated to these states in lossy conditions. Recognizing the presence of negative regions in the WWW representation as an evidence of nonclassicality, we focus our analysis on this feature. A close comparison with the MQS based on coherent $|\ensuremath{\alpha}⟩$ states allows us to identify differences and analogies.
In this work we present the realization of multiphoton quantum states, obtained by optical parametric amplification, and we investigate their perspectives and possible applications. The multiphoton quantum states are generated by a quantum-injected optical parametric amplifier (QI-OPA) seeded by a single-photon belonging to an EPR entangled pair. The entanglement between the micro-macroscopic photon system is experimentally demonstrated, and the possible applications of the macro-qubits states are presented and discussed.
We investigate multiphoton states generated by high-gain optical parametric amplification of a single injected photon—polarization encoded as a qubit. The experimental configuration exploits the optimal phase-covariant cloning. The output state of the apparatus is found to exhibit the quantum superposition property of mesoscopic multiphoton assemblies involving about 300 photons. This work represents an experimental advance toward the test of several fundamental quantum processes in mesoscopic or macroscopic frameworks.
Optical parametric amplification is a process that leads to the generation of quantum states of light. In the limit of low single-pass gain, this process is often referred to as parametric down conversion, and produces entangled two-photon states. Such states have played a key role in recent studies of quantum optical effects such as quantum teleportation. As the gain of the parametric amplification process is increased, the generated light field still possesses strong quantum correlations, but not of the sort associated with two-photon states. Here we present an analysis of the output state of a parametric amplifier as a function of the single-pass gain, and we find certain signatures of quantum light (such as the vanishing of the coincidence rate in a Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer) disappear in the high-gain limit, whereas others (such as the existence of two-photon interference fringes) remain. Consequently, the intense light field generated by a high-gain parametric amplifier can be utilized in such applications of quantum optics.