The question of an efficient multimode description of optical pulses is studied. We show that a relatively very small number of nonmonochromatic modes can be sufficient for a complete quantum description of pulses with Gaussian quadrature statistics. For example, a three-mode description was enough to reproduce the experimental data of photon number correlations in optical solitons [S. Sp\"alter, N. Korolkova, F. K\"onig, A. Sizmann, and G. Leuchs, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 786 (1998)]. This approach is very useful for a detailed understanding of squeezing properties of soliton pulses with the main potential for quantum communication with continuous variables. We show how homodyne detection and/or measurements of photon number correlations can be used to determine the quantum state of the multimode field. We also discuss a possible way of physical separation of the nonmonochromatic modes.
Summary form only given.Spectral filtering of optical solitons has been demonstrated to squeeze their photon-number uncertainty up to a measured value of 3.8 dB. The squeezing has been explained in terms of an uneven spectral distribution of photon-number noise caused by the Kerr nonlinearity of the fiber. Some indication for correlations among different frequency components has been found in a numerical analysis. We present the first experimental evidence for such spectral correlations. The experimental setup is shown. Pulses of 130 fs centered at 1.5 /spl mu/m are launched into a 2.9-m polarization-presenting single-mode optical fiber with energies close to the fundamental soliton energy.
Intrapulse quantum spectral correlation of photon numbers of a femtosecond optical pulse, which propagates a 5-m-long optical fiber, is presented in a matrix format for quantum noise study by numerical calculation. The calculation includes the higher-order optical effects such as intrapulse-stimulated Raman scattering and self-steepening effects, as well as self-phase modulation and group velocity dispersion. The quantum correlations between spectral components (spectral resolution of 0.7 nm) which evolve with the pulse energy are provided in a matrix format at soliton orders including the low orders,
N=0.1 to 1.0 (a 0.1 step), to give the detailed properties of spectral correlation evolutions in the matrix format. It is shown that the photon-number correlations between spectral components near the pulse spectrum center form strong correlations of a square shape in the matrix, at a soliton order
N ($\ensuremath{\le}$0.4), and then are redistributed into those between spectral components near the spectrum wings such that the cross-shaped correlation pattern in the matrix begin to be visible at
N=0.5 before their further redistribution as $N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1.0$. In addition, significant anticorrelations can be increasingly extended to be found between spectral components near the spectrum center as $N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1.0$, leading to the expectation that the degree of photon-number squeezing by spectral filtering for subsolitons can be lower than that for solitons. Intrapulse-stimulated Raman scattering that starts to become visible at around
N=0.6 produces an asymmetric correlation structure with respect to the spectrum center in the correlation matrices while the relevant pulse self-frequency shift becomes visible at $N\ensuremath{\ge}0.8$. The calculation presented indicates that the measurement of nonlinear effects which are not detectable distinctly at the classical level is possible at the quantum level.
Using cumulant expansion in Gaussian approximation, the internal quantum statistics of damped soliton-like pulses in Kerr media are studied numerically, considering both narrow and finite bandwidth spectral pulse components. It is shown that the sub-Poissonian statistics can be enhanced, under certain circumstances, by absorption, which damps out some destructive interferences. Further, it is shown that both the photon-number correlation and the correlation of the photon-number variance between different pulse components can be highly nonclassical even for an absorbing fiber. Optimum frequency windows are determined in order to realize strong nonclassical behavior, which offers novel possibilities of using solitons in optical fibers as a source of nonclassically correlated light beams.
Summary form only given. Recent experiments have demonstrated more than 50% of photon number squeezing of optical pulses by spectral filtering method in nonlinear optical fibers. For such squeezing quantum correlations between the spectral components of the pulses play a crucial role. The intermode correlations in the squeezed pulses are mainly induced by the second-order dispersion and the third-order nonlinearity (the self-phase modulation (SPM) effect) of fibers. We numerically study the dependence of the initial pulse waveform on spectral filtering squeezing and the optimization of pulses to obtain the further squeezing. Calculations are performed by solving the quantum nonlinear Schrodinger equation (QNLSE) in the positive P representation.
Using cumulant expansion in Gaussian approximation, the internal quantum statistics of damped soliton-like pulses in Kerr media are studied numerically, considering both narrow and finite bandwidth spectral pulse components. It is shown that the sub-Poissonian statistics can be enhanced, under certain circumstances, by absorption, which damps out some destructive interferences. Further, it is shown that both the photon-number correlation and the correlation of the photon-number variance between different pulse components can be highly nonclassical even for an absorbing fiber. Optimum frequency windows are determined in order to realize strong nonclassical behavior, which offers novel possibilities of using solitons in optical fibers as a source of nonclassically correlated light beams.