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Journal of Modern Optics

The second- and the fourth-order interferences observed in a two-photon interferometer

Jing Qiu, Yongsheng Zhang, Shensheng Han, Youzhen Gui

Published Nov 7, 2015• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We design a two-photon interferometer in which the second-order interference of ‘two-photon’ can be observed. This is realized by introducing a relative phase shift between different path combinations which the photon pairs choose to take. In this interferometer, both the second- and the fourth-order interferences occur when we adjust the time delay continuously. This phenomenon can help us get a better understanding of the second- and the fourth-order interferences.

DOI
10.1080/09500340.2015.1109149

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We design a two-photon interferometer in which the second-order interference of ‘two-photon’ can be observed. This is realized by introducing a relative phase shift between different path combinations which the photon pairs choose to take. In this interferometer, both the second- and the fourth-order interferences occur when we adjust the time delay continuously. This phenomenon can help us get a better understanding of the second- and the fourth-order interferences.
The second-order interference of two independent photons with different spectra in a Shih–Alley/Hong–Ou–Mandel interferometer is studied in Feynman’s path integral theory. There is a second-order interference pattern for photons with different spectra if the photons are indistinguishable for the employed detection system. The conditions to observe the second-order temporal beating with photons of different spectra are analyzed. The influence of the response time of the detection system on the observed second-order interference pattern is also discussed. It is a direct result of that measurement in quantum mechanics is dependent on the employed measuring apparatus. The results are helpful to understand the physics of two-photon interference in different schemes.
We present experimental demonstrations of two-photon interference involving temporally separated photons within two types of interferometers: a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and a polarization-based Michelson interferometer. The two-photon states are probabilistically prepared in a symmetrically superposed state within the two interferometer arms by introducing a large time delay between two input photons; this state is composed of two temporally separated photons, which are in two different or the same spatial modes. We then observe two-photon interference fringes involving both the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference effect and the interference of path-entangled two-photon states simultaneously in a single interferometric setup. The observed two-photon interference fringes provide simultaneous observation of the interferometric properties of the single-photon and two-photon wavepackets. The observations can also facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the origins of the interference phenomena arising from spatially bunched/anti-bunched two-photon states comprised of two temporally separated photons within the interferometer arms.
The even-order dispersion cancellation effect based on the frequency anti-correlated photon pairs has attracted much attention in the research of quantum dispersion cancellation in two-photon systems.In this letter, we demonstrate a four-photon quantum interferometry in which we can not only observe the even-order dispersion cancellation effect but also the odd-order cancellation.Importantly, the four-photon scheme can get a much better resolution than the two-photon case and help us get a better understanding of the interference phenomenon in a four-photon interferometry.
A new fourth-order interference experiment based on detecting photon pairs in coincidence has been carried out. A Mach-Zehnder type of interferometer is used, with the two photons generated simultaneously in the process of down-conversion as inputs and two photon counting detectors at the two outputs. The optical path difference can be varied piezoelectrically. It is found that the coincidence counting rate, after subtraction of accidentals, exhibits a sinusoidal variation with the optical path difference as predicted by quantum mechanics, but in violation of the laws of classical optics. This is another non-classical interference effeet. By contrast, two light beams derived from a He:Ne laser used as inputs to the interferometer, do not produce any fourth order interference.
A new fourth-order interference experiment has been carried out and analyzed theoretically in classical and in quantum terms. Two photons produced in the process of parametric down-conversion provide the two inputs to a Mach-Zehnder type of interferometer, while two photodetectors coupled to a coincidence counter measure the output. The coincidence rate, after subtraction of accidentals, exhibits a cosine variation with the optical path difference, in agreement with quantum mechanics, but in disagreement with a classical analysis. By contrast, when two coherent light beams from a He:Ne laser are used as inputs to the interferometer, no fourth-order interference is observed.
We report two-photon interference with continuous-wave multi-mode coherent light. We show that the two-photon interference, in terms of the detection time difference, reveals two-photon beating fringes with the visibility V = 0.5. While scanning the optical delay of the interferometer, Hong-Ou-Mandel dips or peaks are measured depending on the chosen detection time difference. The HOM dips/peaks are repeated when the optical delay and the first-order coherence revival period of the multi-mode coherent light are the same. These results help to understand the nature of two-photon interference and also can be useful for quantum information science.