High-dimensional entangled states in an orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) basis offer several unique advantages for quantum information applications. However, for the optimal performance of a given application, one requires a generation technique for OAM entangled states that is completely postselection-free and fully controllable. Nonetheless, despite several efforts in the past, no such technique currently exists. In this paper, we propose just such a technique and experimentally demonstrate postselection-free generation of up to about 150-dimensional OAM entangled states. We report the generation accuracy, which is a measure of the control, to be more than $98\mathrm{%}$ for states with Gaussian and triangular OAM Schmidt spectra, and up to $90\mathrm{%}$ for the maximally entangled OAM states, which have rectangular spectra.
High-dimensional entangled states in an orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) basis offer several unique advantages for quantum information applications. However, for the optimal performance of a given application, one requires a generation technique for OAM entangled states that is completely postselection-free and fully controllable. Nonetheless, despite several efforts in the past, no such technique currently exists. In this paper, we propose just such a technique and experimentally demonstrate postselection-free generation of up to about 150-dimensional OAM entangled states. We report the generation accuracy, which is a measure of the control, to be more than 98\mathrm{%} for states with Gaussian and triangular OAM Schmidt spectra, and up to 90\mathrm{%} for the maximally entangled OAM states, which have rectangular spectra.
High-dimensional entanglement is a valuable resource for quantum communication, and photon pairs entangled in orbital angular momentum (OAM) are commonly used for encoding high-dimensional quantum states. However, methods for the preparation of maximally entangled states of arbitrary dimensionality are still lacking, and currently used approaches essentially rely on filtering and entanglement concentration. Here, we experimentally realize a method for the generation of high-dimensional maximally entangled OAM states of photon pairs which does not require any of these procedures. Moreover, the prepared state is restricted to the subspace of the specified dimensionality, thus requiring minimal spatial postselection.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: High-dimensional quantum entanglement offers an increase in information capacity per photon; a highly desirable property for quantum information processes such as quantum communication, computation and teleportation. As the orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes of light span an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space, they have become frontrunners in achieving entanglement in higher dimensions. In light of this, we investigate the potential of OAM entanglement of photons by controlling the parameters in both the generation and measurement systems. We show the experimental procedures and apparatus involved in generating and measuring entangled photons in two-dimensions. We verify important quantum tests such as the Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR) paradox using OAM and angle correlations, as well as a violation of a Bell-type inequality. By performing a full state tomography, we characterise our quantum state and show we have a pure, highly entangled quantum state. We demonstrate that this method can be extended to higher dimensions. The experimental techniques used to generate and measure OAM entanglement place an upper bound on the number of accessible OAM modes. As such, we investigate new methods in which to increase the spiral bandwidth of our generated quantum state. We alter the shape of the pump beam in spontaneous parametric down-conversion and demonstrate an effect on both OAM and angle correlations. We also made changes to the measurement scheme by projecting the photon pairs into the Bessel-Gaussian (BG) basis and demonstrate entanglement in this basis. We show that this method allows the measured spiral bandwidth to be optimised by simply varying the continuous radial parameter of the BG modes. We demonstrate that BG modes can be entangled in higher dimensions compared with the commonly used helical modes by calculating and comparing the linear entropy and fidelity for both modes. We also show that quantum entanglement can be accurately simulated using classical light using back-projection, which allows the study of projective measurements and predicts the strength of the coincidence correlations in an entanglement experiment. Finally, we make use of each of the techniques to demonstrate the effect of a perturbation on OAM entanglement measured in the BG basis. We investigate the self-healing property of BG beams and show that the classical property is translated to the quantum regime. By calculating the concurrence, we see that measured entanglement recovers after encountering an obstruction.
ObjectiveQuantum communication is an emerging mode of communication with broad application prospects, combining with classical information science and technology. It offers unconditional security and efficient transmission of information, making it a hot research topic in todayƳs communication field. High-dimensional quantum entanglement often exhibits strong nonlocality, enhancing the security in quantum communication processes and playing a crucial role in quantum communication and computing. To meet the demand for high-dimensional entangled states in quantum information science, this paper proposes a method for generating high-dimensional Bell states based on the Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) of photons, capable of producing the complete set of Bell state basis vectors with high fidelity.MethodsInitially, the Spontaneous Parametric Down-Conversion (SPDC) process involving photon OAM is studied. Furthermore, a Genetic Algorithm (GA) is employed to optimize the quantum state of the pump light, aiming to obtain the required high-dimensional maximally entangled states. We analyze the characteristics of Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams in detail and explore their application in the SPDC process. By optimizing the parameters of the pump light, maximally entangled states are generated in three-dimensional, four-dimensional, and five-dimensional spaces.ResultsA comparison of the spatial mode spectral distribution shows that the optimized entangled states possess higher fidelity to the target states. Additionally, by simulating the generation of 16 Bell states, it is verified that the produced quantum states form a complete basis for a four-dimensional Hilbert space.ConclusionThe proposed scheme not only effectively generates high-dimensional entangled states but also enables longer-distance quantum communication and potentially global quantum communication systems. Moreover, it provides new avenues for the application of high-dimensional entangled states in the fields of quantum communication and computing, significantly contributing to the advancement of quantum information science.
High-dimensional maximally entangled orbital angular momentum (OAM) states are a promising resource for enhancing information capacity and robustness in quantum communication. However, it still lacks an effective method to increase the state dimensionality. Here, we theoretically propose an efficient scheme to generate maximally entangled OAM states of ultrahigh dimensionality by manipulating the radial components of a Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) pump beam. By optimizing the complex amplitudes of multiple radial modes of the LG pump light, one can feasibly achieve 101-dimensional OAM-based maximally entangled states. Our scheme has potential applications in high capacity quantum communication networks.
Orbital angular momentum (OAM) is one of the most recently discovered properties of light, and it is only in the past decade its quantum properties have been the subject of experimental investigations and have found applications. Unlike polarization, which is only bidimensional, orbital angular momentum provides, with relative ease, unprecedented access to a theoretically unbounded discrete state space. The process of spontaneous parametric down-conversion has long been used as a source of two-photon states that can be entangled in several degrees of freedom, including OAM. In this thesis, the properties of the natural OAM spectrum associated with the entangled states produced by parametric down-conversion were investigated. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the production and detection of tunable high-dimensional OAM entanglement in a down-conversion system. By tuning the phase-matching conditions and improving the detection stage, a substantial increase in the half-width of the OAM correlation spectrum was observed. The conjugate variable of OAM, angular position, was also considered when examining high-dimensional states entangled in OAM. In order to efficiently determine their dimension, high-dimensional entangled states were probed by implementing a technique based on phase masks composed of multiple angular sectors, as opposed to narrow single-sector analysers. Presented in chapter 4, this technique allows the measurements of tight angular correlations while maintaining high optical throughput. The states so produced were then used for a number of applications centred around the concept of mutually unbiased bases. One can define sets of mutually unbiased bases for arbitrary subspaces of the OAM state space. Two bases are mutually unbiased if the measurement of a state in one basis provides no information about the state as described in the other basis. Complete measurements in mutually unbiased bases of high-dimensional OAM spaces are presented in chapter 5. Measurements in sets of mutually unbiased bases are integral to quantum science and can be used in a variety of protocols that fully exploit the large size of the OAM state space; we describe their use in efficient quantum state tomography, quantum key distribution and entanglement detection. Caution is however necessary when dealing with state spaces embedded in higher-dimensional spaces, such as that provided by OAM. Experimental tests of Bell-type inequalities allow us to rule out local hidden variable theories in the description of quantum correlations. Correlations inconsistent with the states observed, or even with quantum mechanics, known as super-quantum correlations, have however been recorded previously in experiments that fail to comply with the fair-sampling conditions. Chapter 6 describes an experiment that uses a particular choice of transverse spatial modes for which super-quantum correlations persist even if the detection is made perfectly efficient. The sets of modes carrying OAM allow a complete description of the transverse field. The ability to control and combine additional degrees of freedom provides the possibility for richer varieties of entanglement and can make quantum protocols more powerful and versatile. One such property of light, associated with transverse modes possessing radial nodes in the field distribution, can be accessed within the same type of experimental apparatus used for OAM. In chapter 7, the radial degree of freedom is explored, together with OAM, in the context of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference.
Orbital angular momentum (OAM)-entangled states produced by spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) are considered ideal for realizing high-dimensional entangled states, which have several advantages for quantum technologies. However, the limited sensitivity of current two-photon OAM detectors is a major roadblock not only for realizing such technologies but also for resolving foundational questions, such as OAM conservation in SPDC. The current theoretical understanding is that OAM is not conserved in Type-II SPDC but is conserved in Type-I. Experimentally, although non-conservation in TypeII has not been demonstrated, conservation in Type-I has been reported frequently and has become an underlying assumption for techniques generating high-dimensional OAM entangled states. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate a high-sensitivity two-photon OAM detector, using which, contrary to the current understanding, we report non-conservation of OAM in Type-I SPDC. We attribute this to a spatial walk-off effect and prove it using a framework free of standard phase-matching approximations.