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Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics

Stochastic quantum trajectories in a QND measurement of photon number

Alexander A. Bukach, S. Ya. Kilin

Published Mar 14, 2007• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

An analysis is presented of the time evolution of an optical field during a quantum nondemolition measurement of photon number using the cross-Kerr interaction between the signal and probe fields. It is shown that the signal field state collapses into a Fock state only asymptotically (in the infinite time limit), remaining in a superposition of two Fock states (Fock-state qubit) throughout most of the measurement period. Estimates are obtained both for the time required to measure photon number to the desired accuracy and for the Fock-state qubit lifetime.

DOI
10.1134/s106377610702001x

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An analysis is presented of the time evolution of an optical field during a quantum nondemolition measurement of photon number using the cross-Kerr interaction between the signal and probe fields. It is shown that the signal field state collapses into a Fock state only asymptotically (in the infinite time limit), remaining in a superposition of two Fock states (Fock-state qubit) throughout most of the measurement period. Estimates are obtained both for the time required to measure photon number to the desired accuracy and for the Fock-state qubit lifetime.
Kerr effect cross-phase-modulation between signal and probe beams has been proposed and demonstrated as a means for quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement of the signal beam's photon number by homodyne detection of the probe beam. Recently, such QND measurements have been suggested as providing a new route to photonic quantum computation. For a signal-beam qubit, whose computational basis is the vacuum and one-photon states, the QND detector's error probability is shown to be determined by the qubit fidelity after the cross-phase-modulation interaction, with the former increasing from 0 to 12\frac{1}{2}21​ as the latter increases from 23\frac{2}{3}32​ to 1. This relationship is shown to hold regardless of the probe beam's input state. It also applies, without modification, when the cross-phase-modulation interaction is replaced with a more general unitary transformation.
This paper proposes a quantum nondemolition measurement scheme for the photon number. The signal and probe optical waves interact via the optical Kerr effect. The optical phase of the probe wave is selected as the readout observable for the measurement of the photon number of the signal wave. The measurement accuracy \ensuremath{\Delta}n and the imposed phase noise \ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\varphi} of the signal wave satisfy Heisenberg's uncertainty principle with an equality sign, 〈(\ensuremath{\Delta}n)2{)}^{2})2〉〈(\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\varphi})2{)}^{2})2〉=(1/4). .AE
A photon-number quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement theory that takes dissipative losses into account is presented. A QND measurement criterion is developed to determine the feasibility of QND measurements in a lossy optical medium. Using an analysis based on loss-error characteristics, we examine a lossy Kerr medium. We obtain restrictions on the losses and requirements for the nonlinearity and signal and probe powers necessary to observe the QND effect. We calculate the expected results for an experimental system meeting such requirements. We conclude that QND measurements are possible in existing media.
The role of decoherence of an electromagnetic field in the process of quantum nondemolition measurement of the number of photons using a nonlinear Mach-Zehnder interferometer is investigated. This decoherence is caused by distributed losses in a Kerr medium. A long interaction time between the field and the medium is required to achieve a high accuracy in the photon number measurement. The losses in the Kerr medium accompanying the resonance four-wave interaction between the measured and the probe fields lead to a measurement error close to unity at γτ ≫1 (γ is the rate of losses in the medium, and τ is the time of interaction between the field and the medium); consequently, nondemolition quantum measurement turns out to be impossible in the scheme considered. Under these conditions, an increase in the intensity of the probe field does not result in achievement of the required measurement accuracy.
A scheme for the preparation of a Fock state is proposed. We study two lights interacting in a Kerr media with self-phase modulation. The signal light and the probe light whose initial states are both coherent states will be entangled via interaction, then when a quadrature component of the probe light is measured, the photon number distribution of the signal light is modulated. Repeating the process, we find the signal will collapse into a Fock state finally, and the physical principle of this evolution is based on the cross-phase modulation, the self-phase modulation may hinder the preparation of a Fock state.
The parity of photonic number states is known to be an important observable for quantized electromagnetic fields with applications to quantum information processing and to Heisenberg-limited measurement of phase shifts in quantum interferometry performed with maximally entangled states and with twin number states. In this paper we describe an approach to the quantum nondemolition measurement of parity for quantized optical fields. The method proposed involves the use of a cross-Kerr interaction where we assume a large Kerr nonlinearity is available through the techniques of electromagnetically induced transparency. Our proposed method does not require the measurement of photon number but rather measures parity directly. The method not only allows for the quantum nondemolition measurement of parity but also allows for the von Neumann projection of parity eigenstates from an arbitrary field state. The generation and detection of higher-order parity eigenstates is also discussed. Losses from dissipation and the effects of detector efficiency are considered.