Multiphoton hyperentangement is fundamental in optical quantum information processing. Existing theory and experiments usually focus on producing two-photon hyperentanglement and multiphoton entangled states encoded in a single degree of freedom. Multiphoton entangled states have until now relied on the outcome postselection, a procedure where only the measurement results corresponding to the desired state are considered. Such an approach severely limits the usefulness of the resulting entangled states. We present the protocols of direct production of three- and four-photon hyperentanglement and extend the approach to an arbitrary number of photons through a straightforward cascade of spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) sources. The generated multiphoton hyperentangled states are encoded in polarization-spatial modes and polarization-time bin degrees of freedom, respectively. Numerical calculation shows that if the average photon number $\ensuremath{\mu}$ is 1, the down-conversion efficiency is $7.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$ and the repetition frequency of the laser is ${10}^{9}$ Hz, the number of the generation of three-photon and four-photon hyperentanglement after cascading can reach about $5.78\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ and $4.44\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}$ pairs per second, respectively. By eliminating the constraints of outcome postselection, our protocols may represent progresses for multiphoton hyperentangement generation and provide a pivotal role in future multiparty and high-capacity communication networks.
Multiphoton hyperentangement is fundamental in optical quantum information processing. Existing theory and experiments usually focus on producing two-photon hyperentanglement and multiphoton entangled states encoded in a single degree of freedom. Multiphoton entangled states have until now relied on the outcome postselection, a procedure where only the measurement results corresponding to the desired state are considered. Such an approach severely limits the usefulness of the resulting entangled states. We present the protocols of direct production of three- and four-photon hyperentanglement and extend the approach to an arbitrary number of photons through a straightforward cascade of spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) sources. The generated multiphoton hyperentangled states are encoded in polarization-spatial modes and polarization-time bin degrees of freedom, respectively. Numerical calculation shows that if the average photon number \ensuremathμ is 1, the down-conversion efficiency is 7.6\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10\ensuremath−6 and the repetition frequency of the laser is 109 Hz, the number of the generation of three-photon and four-photon hyperentanglement after cascading can reach about 5.78\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10\ensuremath−2 and 4.44\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10\ensuremath−7 pairs per second, respectively. By eliminating the constraints of outcome postselection, our protocols may represent progresses for multiphoton hyperentangement generation and provide a pivotal role in future multiparty and high-capacity communication networks.
Nowadays,the generation of multiphoton entangled states is almost realized by combining the coupled entangled photons emitted from spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) with the first-order term.In this case,one may focus mainly on the first-order term,and then avoid multipair emission events by restricting experimental parameters.On the other hand,for the higher-order terms in SPDC source,these emitted entangled photons have interesting features.For example,they are entangled maximally not only in photon number for the spatial modes,but also in polarization degree of freedom.In general,two photons,which are entangled in two or more degrees of freedom,are called hyperentangled pair of photons or hyperentangled state.We present a scheme to generate the four-photon hyperentangled state based on four indistinguishable photons emitted from SPDC source with the second-order term.Consider two SPDC sources with equal probability of emission of photons in respective spatial modes.With the passive linear optical devices,i.e., beam splitters,half wave plates,polarizing beam splitters,etc.,under the condition of registering a specified four-photon coincidence,we can obtain the four-photon hyperentangled state in which the photons are entangled in both polarization and spatial-mode degrees of freedom.Here,of course,for an arbitrary fourfold coincidence detection,one obtains a canonical four-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state.Then we show the results of fourfold coincidence detections and the corresponding probabilities for the four-photon GHZ states,where the generation of the four-photon hyperentangled state is included as long as we are not to distinguish the two detectors located at the same locations. As a result,our scheme has two notable features.When we only consider the second-order emission,since it is not needed for us to distinguish between the two SPDC sources,the present scheme is simple and feasible.Also,based on the postselection with fourfold coincidence detection,our scheme is suitable for the normal first-order emission where we restrict the four photons emitted from the same source.In this sense,our scheme is efficient.In a word,we describe a method to generate the four-photon hyperentangled state with the second-order emission in SPDC source,which may contribute to the exploration of multipair entanglement with higher-order emissions from the SPDC source.
Non-classical states of light are of fundamental importance for emerging quantum technologies. All optics experiments producing multi-qubit entangled states have until now relied on outcome post-selection, a procedure where only the measurement results corresponding to the desired state are considered. This method severely limits the usefulness of the resulting entangled states. fiere, we show the direct production of polarization- entangled photon triplets by cascading two entangled down-conversion processes[1]. First, a Sagnac source [2] produces non-degenerate entangled photon pairs at 776 nm and 842 nm in a Bell state. The 776 nm photon is sent through a polarizing Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a down-conversion crystal in each arm. If it is down-converted, a photon pair is created in modes 2 and 3 with a polarization state depending on the pump photon. The quantum stete describing the photon triplets is:
Nowadays, the nonlinear optical process of spontaneous parametric down-conversion is considered as the canonical approach for creating entangled-photon pairs. We consider three pairs of entangled photons emitted by the parametric down-conversion source, and introduce a setup for evolving these photons based on linear optics, which is composed of several polarizing beam splitters, beam splitters, and half wave plates. By using the parametric down-conversion source and the setup, we carefully design an efficient scheme for preparing six-photon hyperentangled states in both the polarization and the spatial degrees of freedom. Because we use almost all possible behaviors of the three pairs of entangled photons, the present scheme is efficient for creating six-photon hyperentangled states. Next, in the regime of weak nonlinearity we design a quantum nondemolition detection to distinguish the two cases of photons in two special spatial modes. It is worth pointing out that our scheme is much easier to realize, since the strength of the nonlinearities in the process of quantum nondemolition detection can be restricted to the scalable orders of magnitude in practicality.
Multidimensional entangled photon states represent a useful resource for large-scale quantum communication networks. By leveraging multiple degrees of freedom (DoFs) of photons, the dimensionality of the Hilbert space can be expanded without increasing the number of particles, enhancing the efficiency of quantum information processing. Specifically, hyperentanglement, i.e. simultaneous entanglement across multiple DoFs, is robust against decoherence, thus providing strengthened performance in noisy quantum communication protocols with respect to n-photon quantum states [1].
Hyperentanglement, as a high-dimensional quantum entanglement phenomenon with multiple degrees of freedom, plays a critical role in quantum communication, quantum computing, and high-dimensional quantum state manipulation. Unlike entangled states in a single degree of freedom, hyperentangled states establish entanglement relationships simultaneously in multiple degrees of freedom, such as polarization, path, and orbital angular momentum. Through entanglement-based distribution techniques, high-dimensional quantum information networks can be constructed. On this basis, a fully connected quantum network with hyperentanglement is constructed in this work, and the polarization and time-bin degree-of-freedom hyperentanglement is realized through the process of second-harmonic generation and spontaneous parametric down-conversion in periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide cascades. The hyperentangled state is then multiplexed into a single-mode fiber by using dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology for transmission to terminal users. The quality of the entangled states in the two degrees of freedom is characterized using Franson-type interference and photon-pair coincidence measurement techniques. Polarization entangled states are subjected to quantum state tomography, and entanglement distribution technology is employed to achieve long-distance distribution and quantum key transmission within the network. Experimental results show that the two-photon interference visibility of both polarization and time-bin entanglement is greater than 95%, demonstrating the high quality of the hyperentanglement in the network. After 100-km-entanglement distribution, the fidelity of the quantum states in both degrees of freedom remains above 88%, indicating the effectiveness of long-distance entanglement distribution in this network. Additionally, it is verified that this network supports the distribution of quantum keys over a distance of more than 50 km between users. These results confirm the feasibility of a fully connected quantum network with hyperentanglement and demonstrate the potential for constructing large-scale metropolitan networks by using hyperentanglement. As a higher-dimensional entanglement, hyperentangled states can significantly enhance the capacity and efficiency of quantum information processing. Although the quantum communication is still in its early stages of development, achieving stable storage and transmission of entangled states in large-scale metropolitan networks remains a great challenge. By utilizing the frequency conversion properties and high integration characteristics of the periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides, the three-user hyperentangled quantum network constructed in this work provides a new solution for developing the large-scale metropolitan networks with high-dimensional quantum information networks. It is expected to provide a new platform for quantum tasks such as superdense coding and quantum teleportation.
Multi-particle entangled states are becoming more and more interesting for different applications in quantum information, such as quantum multi-particle teleportation, entangled based cryptography and quantum communication schemes based on multi-particle states, but also for fundamental reasons such as testing local realism by means of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states (GHZ) arguments . The advantage of multiparticle entanglement versus the most common two particle one lies in the fact that the greater the number of particles involved in the entangled state, the more clearly the quantum effects are exhibited. Our final goal is to exploit the multi-photon entangled states for quantum metrology. By the interaction of those states with nanostructures (mostly nanoholes, but in a future also nanospheres), we expect to reach sub-wavelength sensitivity phase measurements beating the Standard Quantum Limit as well as to detect plasmonic effects. In this thesis we present our work consisting on designing and building an experimental setup for the generation of states of 4-photon entangled in the transverse linear momentum. In the first part we explain some basics in the form of a technical introduction. We then adapt a general theoretical model to our particular case, explaining the physics of the process of generation of entangled states of photons. We proceed explaining the details of our setup, as well as the procedure of measurement. We then present the results of our tests in a "standard" 2-photon regime to show the correct functioning of the setup itself. Some more sophisticated measurements using structured light in the form of a first-order Hermite-Gaussian mode has been performed to generate entanglement in higher spatial modes are also presented. We conclude with theoretical and experimental details regarding the 4-photon experiments feasible with our setup. Our source is based on Spontaneous Parametric Down-Conversion (SPDC). In the last two decades it has been extensively studied for the generation of two-photon entangled states, since Kwiat et al. published in 1995 the new scheme based on polarization entangled photons. Most of the studies regarding entangled states involving more than two photons are indeed based on quantum correlations in the polarization or in the path of the down converted beams. The great advantage of entangling a spatial degree of freedom (as we do) is related to the dimensionality of the Hilbert space in which the state is defined. In the particular case of linear momentum, which is a continuous variable, we are dealing with infinite dimensions. Since in each dimension of the state one quanta of information can be encoded, the advantage of having multidimension entanglement for the field of quantum communication and computing is clear. The specs of our setup include a periodically-poled KTP crystals offering high conversion efficiency and cut for type-0 SPDC. The photons generated are well known to be inherently entangled in different degrees of freedom such as polarization, energy-time, linear momentum, and orbital angular momentum. Since each single SPDC event generates one photon pair, in order to reach four photon we entangle two consecutive SPDC events per each state. Furthermore, it is possible to manipulate (to enhance) the dimensionality of the entanglement by properly tailoring the pump spatial profile. The key point for the generation of four-photon entangled states is that, under some conditions, two consecutive pairs generated via SPDC cannot be described as two independent pairs but necessarily as a four-photon state showing genuine entanglement. This can happen when using a pulsed laser to generate the entangled photons; in particular, in the regime in which the coherence time of the down-converted photons τc is (much) longer than the temporal length of the pumping pulse Δt. In this condition the emission of a second pair is stimulated by the presence of the first one. That effect can be ultimately seen as a constructive multi-particle interference effect, the deep origin of which has to be sought in the boson statistic of photons.