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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Squeezing and first-order coherence

H.‐H. Ritze, A. Bandilla

Published Oct 1, 1987• 17 citations
Publisher

Abstract

First-order coherence properties, which can be understood as the ability to interfere with a coherent reference beam, limit the minimum possible fluctuations of one electric-field-strength component of a single radiation mode with a given photon number. The maximum accuracy of single amplitude and phase measurements using squeezed light is obtained.

DOI
10.1364/josab.4.001641

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Complement 5A: Squeezed states of light: the reduction of quantum fluctuations

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We showed in Section 5.2 of the present chapter that according to quantum theory the value of the electric field of an electromagnetic wave could not be predicted to arbitrarily high precision, this being a consequence of the uncertainty relation satisfied by the two quadrature components of the field (Equation 5.32), which imposed a finite limit on the product of their variances. This limit is more than an abstract theoretical limit; it is often the overriding factor determining the resolution of high-precision optical measurements. In such situations measurements by photodetectors on the field exhibit uncontrollable fluctuations of quantum origin known as quantum noise . Fortunately, as we shall show in this complement, it is possible to overcome this by using non-classical states of the radiation field, namely the squeezed states , provided measurements are made of a single one of a pair of conjugate field variables. A field mode prepared in such a state exhibits reduced quantum noise in one of the variables at the expense of increased noise in the other, so that the uncertainty relation involving their variances is still satisfied. The potential of such states for increasing the obtainable precision of optical measurements is self-evident. However, the practical realization of the potential benefits requires delicate experimental techniques that we describe only briefly here.

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Sep 2, 2010•0 citations
First-order coherence properties, which can be understood as the ability to interfere with a coherent reference beam, limit the minimum possible fluctuations of one electric-field-strength component of a single radiation mode with a given photon number. The maximum accuracy of single amplitude and phase measurements using squeezed light is obtained.
The first-order coherence condition is derived in terms of correlations between different field modes. Fluctuations of the electromagnetic field are shown to play an important role in the concept of coherence. The coherent states are shown to be the only ones which reduce these fluctuations to their minimum value. For the case of a field in which the different field modes are independent, the degree of first-order coherence and the visibility of interference fringes are shown to be specified completely by these fluctuations. Measurements of this visibility yield information on the statistical properties of radiation fields. For squeezed states, this visibility is expressed as a function of squeezed parameters. Moreover, the difference between generalized coherent states becomes manifest in measurements of this visibility.
Light in which the quantum fluctuations have been squeezed is often proposed as a means of obtaining an improved phase reference compared to that available from coherent light. Such a phase reference contains information about the phase of the squeezed light, so it is important to calculate the limits to the amount of ``phase information'' available. I define a phase resolution and show how this scales as we increase the number of photons available when using squeezed light generated by a parametric oscillator. Simple schemes for creating squeezed coherent light using a beam-splitter and an interferometer are analyzed, and it is shown that the results agree with earlier claims [Kinsler] that when using squeezed coherent light as a phase reference, the gain is not one of improved accuracy, but of lower power.
The amplitude of the electric field of a mode of the electromagnetic field is not a fixed quantity: there are always quantum mechanical fluctuations. The amplitude, having both a magnitude and a phase, is a complex number and is described by the mode annihilation operator a. It is also possible to characterize the amplitude by its real and imaginary parts which correspond to the Hermitian and anti-Hermitian parts of a, X sub 1 = 1/2(a(sup +) + a) and X sub 2 = i/2(a(sup +) - a), respectively. These operators do not commute and, as a result, obey the uncertainty relation (h = 1) delta X sub 1(delta X sub 2) greater than or = 1/4. From this relation we see that the amplitude fluctuates within an 'error box' in the complex plane whose area is at least 1/4. Coherent states, among them the vacuum state, are minimum uncertainty states with delta X sub 1 = delta X sub 2 = 1/2. A squeezed state, squeezed in the X sub 1 direction, has the property that delta X sub 1 is less than 1/2. A squeezed state need not be a minimum uncertainty state, but those that are can be obtained by applying the squeeze operator.
A squeezed state of light is usually taken to mean a state in which the fluctuations of one of the quadratures are below the level associated with a coherent or vacuum state. These squeezed fluctuations are phase sensitive in the sense that they vary periodically as the field evolves, but the relationship between squeezing and phase fluctuations is not trivial. While squeezed states can exhibit an arbitrarily low level of phase fluctuations, the phase states, which are eigenstates of the Hermitian optical phase operator are not themselves quadrature squeezed. A phasesqueezed state is one with a lower level of phase fluctuations than a coherent state with the same mean photon number. Phase squeezing is fundamentally different from quadrature squeezing in much the same way that sub-Poissonian photon statistics is different. For this reason optimally squeezed states and states with minimum phase noise will be distinct. We derive the form of the states which minimum phase noise for a given intensity. These have an Airy function behavior for the photon number probability distribution. These phase squeezed states have a far better phase resolution than coherent states of similar intensity, but do not seem to offer a significant reduction of phase fluctuations compared with conventional squeezed states.
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.
We showed in Section 5.2 of the present chapter that according to quantum theory the value of the electric field of an electromagnetic wave could not be predicted to arbitrarily high precision, this being a consequence of the uncertainty relation satisfied by the two quadrature components of the field (Equation 5.32), which imposed a finite limit on the product of their variances. This limit is more than an abstract theoretical limit; it is often the overriding factor determining the resolution of high-precision optical measurements. In such situations measurements by photodetectors on the field exhibit uncontrollable fluctuations of quantum origin known as quantum noise . Fortunately, as we shall show in this complement, it is possible to overcome this by using non-classical states of the radiation field, namely the squeezed states , provided measurements are made of a single one of a pair of conjugate field variables. A field mode prepared in such a state exhibits reduced quantum noise in one of the variables at the expense of increased noise in the other, so that the uncertainty relation involving their variances is still satisfied. The potential of such states for increasing the obtainable precision of optical measurements is self-evident. However, the practical realization of the potential benefits requires delicate experimental techniques that we describe only briefly here.