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arXiv:1304.7912 · Physical Review Letters

Quantum Light in Coupled Interferometers for Quantum Gravity Tests

Ivano Ruo Berchera, Ivo Pietro Degiovanni, S. Olivares, Marco Genovese

Published May 21, 2013• 62 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In recent years quantum correlations have received a lot of attention as a key ingredient in advanced quantum metrology protocols. In this Letter we show that they provide even larger advantages when considering multiple-interferometer setups. In particular, we demonstrate that the use of quantum correlated light beams in coupled interferometers leads to substantial advantages with respect to classical light, up to a noise-free scenario for the ideal lossless case. On the one hand, our results prompt the possibility of testing quantum gravity in experimental configurations affordable in current quantum optics laboratories and strongly improve the precision in "larger size experiments" such as the Fermilab holometer; on the other hand, they pave the way for future applications to high precision measurements and quantum metrology.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.110.213601

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In recent years quantum correlations have received a lot of attention as a key ingredient in advanced quantum metrology protocols. In this Letter we show that they provide even larger advantages when considering multiple-interferometer setups. In particular, we demonstrate that the use of quantum correlated light beams in coupled interferometers leads to substantial advantages with respect to classical light, up to a noise-free scenario for the ideal lossless case. On the one hand, our results prompt the possibility of testing quantum gravity in experimental configurations affordable in current quantum optics laboratories and strongly improve the precision in "larger size experiments" such as the Fermilab holometer; on the other hand, they pave the way for future applications to high precision measurements and quantum metrology.
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The search for Planck scale effects is one of holy grains of physics. At Fermilab, a system of two Michelson interferometers (MIs) was built for this purpose: the holometer. This device operates using classical light, and, therefore, its sensitivity is shot-noise limited. In collaboration with the Danish Technical University, we built a proof of principle experiment devoted to experimentally demonstrate how quantum light could improve the holometer sensitivity below the shot noise limit. It is the first time that quantum light is used in a correlated interferometric system. In particular the injection of two single mode squeezed state (one in each interferometer) and of a twin-beam state is considered, and the system performance compared in the two cases. In this proceeding, after a general introduction to the holometer purposes and to our experimental set-up, we present some characterization measurements concerning the quantum light injection.
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Quantum-enhanced metrology is boosting interferometer sensitivities to extraordinary levels, up to the point where table-top experiments have been proposed to measure Planck-scale effects predicted by quantum gravity theories. In setups involving multiple photon interferometers, as those for measuring the so-called holographic fluctuations, entanglement provides substantial improvements in sensitivity. Entanglement is however a fragile resource and may be endangered by decoherence phenomena. We analyze how noisy effects arising either from the weak coupling to an external environment or from the modification of the canonical commutation relations in photon propagation may affect this entanglement-enhanced gain in sensitivity.