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arXiv:2404.15908 · Physical Review Letters

Hybrid Source of Quantum Light for Generation of Frequency Tunable Fock States

Aleksa Krstić, Priyanshu Tiwari, Florian Höhe, Frank Setzpfandt, Ulf Peschel, Joachim Ankerhold, Sina Saravi

Published Nov 15, 2024• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We propose a scheme for quantum-light generation in a nonlinear cavity hybridized with a two-level system and theoretically show that, when excited by a series of controlled pump pulses, the hybrid source generates Fock states with high probabilities, e.g., one- and two-photon states can be generated near on demand, and Fock states with up to seven photons with a probability above 50%. The tailorable nature of the nonlinear cavity allows for generating Fock states with arbitrary frequencies, even with a fixed two-level system, creating fundamentally new opportunities in all areas of quantum technologies.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.133.203605

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We propose a scheme for quantum-light generation in a nonlinear cavity hybridized with a two-level system and theoretically show that, when excited by a series of controlled pump pulses, the hybrid source generates Fock states with high probabilities, e.g., one- and two-photon states can be generated near on demand, and Fock states with up to seven photons with a probability above 50%. The tailorable nature of the nonlinear cavity allows for generating Fock states with arbitrary frequencies, even with a fixed two-level system, creating fundamentally new opportunities in all areas of quantum technologies.
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The quantization of the electromagnetic field leads directly to the existence of quantum mechanical states, called Fock states, with an exact integer number of photons. Despite these fundamental states being long-understood, and despite their many potential applications, generating them is largely an open problem. For example, at optical frequencies, it is challenging to deterministically generate Fock states of order two and beyond. Here, we predict the existence of an effect in nonlinear optics, which enables the deterministic generation of large Fock states at arbitrary frequencies. The effect, which we call an n -photon bound state in the continuum, is one in which a photonic resonance (such as a cavity mode) becomes lossless when a precise number of photons n is inside the resonance. Based on analytical theory and numerical simulations, we show that these bound states enable a remarkable phenomenon in which a coherent state of light, when injected into a system supporting this bound state, can spontaneously evolve into a Fock state of a controllable photon number. This effect is also directly applicable for creating (highly) squeezed states of light, whose photon number fluctuations are (far) below the value expected from classical physics (i.e., shot noise). We suggest several examples of systems to experimentally realize the effects predicted here in nonlinear nanophotonic systems, showing examples of generating both optical Fock states with large n ( n > 10), as well as more macroscopic photonic states with very large squeezing, with over 90% less noise (10 dB) than the classical value associated with shot noise.
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.
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Nonlinear dynamics provide an indispensable resource for creating quantum states of light, as well as other bosonic systems. Seminal work using second- and third-order nonlinear optical crystals, cavity quantum electrodynamics, and superconducting circuits, have enabled generating squeezed states, as well as various non-Gaussian quantum states (e.g., single photons, cat states) at both infrared and microwave frequencies. Nevertheless, it remains challenging to generate quantum states of light in broad portions of the electromagnetic spectrum: for example, at terahertz frequencies and at ultraviolet and X-ray frequencies. In this Perspective, I discuss a variety of emerging material platforms, as well as emerging theoretical and experimental tools, which enable overcoming these challenges. The main argument of this Perspective is that advances in driving nonlinear dynamics of material excitations, will enable generating quantum states of these material excitations as well as quantum states of light at new frequency ranges. I will further argue that in order to realize much of the promise of this nascent field, there is a need for innovation in the laser systems used to drive these nonlinear dynamics: specifically, innovations in realizing high-power laser sources that have very low noise, having quantum statistics similar to coherent states of light which describe lower intensity laser systems. I will highlight some experimental and theoretical work, in understanding quantum noise dynamics in complex laser systems, that can address these challenges.