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arXiv:2504.20590 · eLight

Quantum skyrmions and high dimensional entanglement mediated by nanophotonics

Amit Kam, Shai Tsesses, Lior Fridman, Yigal Ilin, Amir Sivan, Guy Sayer, Stav Lotan, Kobi J. Cohen, Amit Shaham, Liat Nemirovsky-Levy, Larisa Popilevsky, Aviv Karnieli, Meir Orenstein, Mordechai Segev, Guy Bartal

Published Apr 7, 2026• 10 citations

Abstract

Abstract Quantum nanophotonics offers essential tools and technologies for controlling quantum states, while maintaining a miniature form factor and high scalability. Nanophotonic platforms can transfer information from the traditional degrees of freedom (DoFs) of photons, such as spin angular momentum (SAM) and orbital angular momentum (OAM), to the DoFs of the nanophotonic platform—and back, opening new directions for quantum information processing. Recent experiments have utilized, for entanglement the total angular momentum (TAM) of a photon—as a unique DoF of nanophotonic platforms—for demonstrating entanglement in TAM. Here, we unravel the morphing of quantum states of heralded single photons as they couple into and out of the near-field of a nanophotonic system. Through quantum state tomography, we discover that the TAM state of the near-field transforms to a free-space entangled state within a larger Hilbert space of SAM and OAM. Furthermore, we show that this entangled single photon state is in fact a quantum optical Stokes skyrmion with a topological invariant of $$\pm 2$$ ± 2 . The concepts described here bring new ideas and methodologies in developing high-dimensional quantum circuitry on a chip.

DOI: 10.1186/s43593-026-00124-1

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\pm 2

± 2 . The concepts described here bring new ideas and methodologies in developing high-dimensional quantum circuitry on a chip.

Quantum skyrmions are topological structures that have garnered significant interest due to their demonstrated robustness and versatility across diverse optical platforms. However, existing approaches for their generation are limited to producing pre-determined two dimensional qubit states with a single topology. Here we create multi-dimensional topological states by introducing a non-local interaction between high-dimensional photonic entanglement and a metasurface, where the topological transformation induced by the metasurface is made non-deterministic by the probabilistic nature of the interfacing entangled state. Within this framework, we demonstrate that individual quantum states can host multiple co-existing topologies that are only revealed upon measurement, allowing for their parallel transport within distinct spatial mode channels. We confirm this by revealing the rich topological landscape within our modified Hilbert space while controlling the desired output topology by orbital angular momentum (OAM) projections on one of the entangled photons, producing multiple non-local polarization-OAM entangled states characterized by distinct topological classes, all from a single metasurface device. Our results reveal new capability when structured high-dimensional entanglement is interfaced with structured matter capable of coupling photonic degrees of freedom, establishing a new pathway for the compact generation of complex quantum states.

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