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arXiv:2411.13106 · Physical Review A

Quantum uncertainty of optical coherence

Martti Hanhisalo, M. S. Mirmoosa, Tero Setälä, Łukasz Rudnicki, Andreas Norrman

Published Dec 5, 2024• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Light is known to exhibit quantum uncertainty in terms of its amplitude, phase, and polarization. However, quantum uncertainty related to coherence, which is also a fundamental physical property of light, remains to be considered. Here, we formulate and explore the concept of quantum optical coherence uncertainty. We focus on the first-order coherence of the simplest possible light field, a purely monochromatic plane wave, which is classically completely stable. Starting from a scalar treatment, we show that the field displays zero coherence uncertainty only for a number state. We then proceed to the vectorial regime and establish that any state leads to coherence fluctuations, governed by a set of uncertainty relations depending on the polarization state and space-time points. Our work thus provides fundamental insights into the quantum character of optical coherence, with potential benefits in applications using highly sensitive interferometric and polarimetric techniques.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.110.063702

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Light is known to exhibit quantum uncertainty in terms of its amplitude, phase, and polarization. However, quantum uncertainty related to coherence, which is also a fundamental physical property of light, remains to be considered. Here, we formulate and explore the concept of quantum optical coherence uncertainty. We focus on the first-order coherence of the simplest possible light field, a purely monochromatic plane wave, which is classically completely stable. Starting from a scalar treatment, we show that the field displays zero coherence uncertainty only for a number state. We then proceed to the vectorial regime and establish that any state leads to coherence fluctuations, governed by a set of uncertainty relations depending on the polarization state and space-time points. Our work thus provides fundamental insights into the quantum character of optical coherence, with potential benefits in applications using highly sensitive interferometric and polarimetric techniques.
Quantum mechanical uncertainty After reviewing the main characteristics of the classical description of light, let us discuss those aspects of the quantization of the electromagnetic field which are of relevance for the analysis of the phenomena we are interested in. It seems a reasonable place to start to make clear the fundamental difference between the classical and the quantum mechanical description of nature; we will come across this difference many times when discussing experiments, and it will often give us a headache. We have to deal with the physical meaning of what is called uncertainty. The starting point of the classical description is the conviction that natural processes have a “factual” character. This means that physical variables such as the position or momentum of a particle have, in each single case, a well defined (in general, time dependent) value. However, it will not always be possible to measure all the appropriate variables (for instance, the instantaneous electric field strength of a radiation field); furthermore under normal circumstances we are able to measure only with a finite precision. Hence the basic credo of classical physics should be given in the following form: we are justified in imagining a world with variables possessing well defined values which are not known precisely (or not known at all). In doing this we are not forming any conclusions that contradict our everyday experiences. This is the fundamental concept of classical statistics: we are satisfied with the use of probability distributions for the variables we are interested in, not from fundamental but purely practical reasons.
We introduce the concept of optical coherence squeezing in double-slit interference. We construct Hermitian operators that characterize the coherence at the slits, leading to coherence uncertainty relations and a corresponding squeezing condition. We also analyze states exhibiting such squeezing and show its manifestations in the uncertainty of the magnitudes and positions of the intensity fringes. Our work identifies coherence as a fundamental degree of freedom for squeezing, complementing phase, amplitude, and polarization, which could benefit quantum-enhanced interferometry.
Introduction We will now study the properties of fluctuating electromagnetic fields, paying attention mainly to the optical region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It seems hardly necessary to stress that every electromagnetic field found in nature has some fluctuations associated with it. Even though these fluctuations are, as a rule, much too rapid to be observed directly, one can deduce their existence from suitable experiments that provide information about correlations between the fluctuations at two or more space-time points. The simplest manifestations of correlations in optical fields are the well-known interference effects that arise when two light beams that originate from the same source are superposed. With the availability of modern light detectors and electronic circuitry of very short resolving time, other types of correlations in optical fields began to be studied in more recent times. These investigations, as well as the development of lasers and other novel types of light sources, led to a systematic classification of optical correlation phenomena and the complete statistical description of optical fields. The area of optics concerned with such questions is now generally known as optical coherence theory . The first investigations of coherence phenomena are due to Verdet (1865, 1869) and von Laue (1907a, b). Some early investigations of Stokes (1852) and Michelson (1890, 1891a, b, c, 1892, 1920) although not explicitly mentioning coherence – because this concept is of a much later origin – have also contributed to the clarification and development of this subject.
This thesis is a study of coherence theory in light in classical\nelectromagnetism and quantum optics. %The coherence is quantified\nSpecifically two quantities are studied: The degree of first-order\ntemporal coherence, which quantifies the field-field coherence, and\nthe degree of second-order coherence, quantifying the intensity-intensity\ncoherence. In the first part of the thesis these concepts are applied to classical\nelectric fields; to both the ideal plane wave and to chaotic light.\nWe then study how they can be measured using two interferometer\ntechnologies from optical astronomy, specifically with the\nMichelson stellar interferometer and the intensity interferometer.\n\nIn the second part we define the\nquantum degrees of first- and second-order coherence. These are calculated\nfor light in a quantum coherent state, in a Fock state and for light\nin a mixed thermal state. The results for the coherent state and\nthe thermal state are found to be analogous to\nthose obtained for the ideal plane wave and chaotic light, respectively,\nfrom the classical coherence theory seen in the first part.\n\nWe proceed to investigate the properties of the three-level laser with\nthe aim of showing that far above threshold it develops similar photon\nstatistics and values for the degrees of first- and second-order coherence,\nto light in a coherent state. The mechanism of phase-drift in the laser\nis also looked into. Subsequently the Mølmer-model is discussed, where it is\ndemonstrated that the coherent state is not a necessary construct, but\nmerely a convenient one, in describing phenomena in quantum optics.
Within the new description of the polarization structure of quantum light (given in Part I) some types of generalized coherent states related to the polarization SU(2) group are examined. With their help we give a quasiclassical description of polarization properties of light fields and discuss the concept of squeezing and uncertainty relations for multimode light in the polarization quantum optics. As a consequence, a new classification of polarization states of quantum light is obtained. We also derive geometric phases acquired by different quantum light beams transmitted through "polarization rotators".
The concept of coherence which has conventionally been used in optics is found to be inadequate to the needs of recently opened areas of experiment. To provide a fuller discussion of coherence, a succession of correlation functions for the complex field strengths is defined. The nthn\mathrm{th}nth order function expresses the correlation of values of the fields at 2n2n2n different points of space and time. Certain values of these functions are measurable by means of nnn-fold delayed coincidence detection of photons. A fully coherent field is defined as one whose correlation functions satisfy an infinite succession of stated conditions. Various orders of incomplete coherence are distinguished, according to the number of coherence conditions actually satisfied. It is noted that the fields historically described as coherent in optics have only first-order coherence. On the other hand, the existence, in principle, of fields coherent to all orders is shown both in quantum theory and classical theory. The methods used in these discussions apply to fields of arbitrary time dependence. It is shown, as a result, that coherence does not require monochromaticity. Coherent fields can be generated with arbitrary spectra.