arXiv:1511.02265 · Optics Letters
Tripartite nonseparability in classical optics
W. F. Balthazar, C. E. R. Souza, D. P. Caetano, Ernesto F. Galvão, J. A. O. Huguenin, Antonio Zelaquett Khoury
Abstract
It is possible to prepare classical optical beams which cannot be characterized by a tensor product of vectors describing each of their degrees of freedom. Here we report the experimental creation of such a nonseparable, tripartite GHZ-like state of path, polarization, and transverse modes of a classical laser beam. We use a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with an additional mirror and other optical elements to perform measurements that violate Mermin's inequality. This demonstration of a classical optical analogue of tripartite entanglement paves the path to novel optical applications inspired by multipartite quantum information protocols.