Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Journal of the Optical Society of America A

Quantum polarization fluctuations of an Airy beam in turbulent atmosphere in a slant path

Xia Yin, Licheng Zhang

Published Jun 22, 2016• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Polarization of light has many applications in quantum information processing, including quantum teleportation and dense coding. In this paper, we investigate the polarization fluctuations of Airy beams propagating in a slant turbulent channel under the "few-photon" limit. Using the quantum Stokes parameters and the quantum degree of polarization, we demonstrate that the degree of polarization of Airy beams increases significantly with the large number of the detection photons, and a higher photon-number level can retain the stability of polarization. Numerical simulations show that the longer propagation distance and the stronger turbulence will lead to less oscillatory behaviors and a decrease in the polarization degree of Airy beams, but a bigger exponential truncation factor will cause an increase in the polarization degree of Airy beams. In contrast with Gaussian beams, the degree of polarization of Airy beams is less affected by atmospheric turbulence and propagation distance under the same conditions, which means that Airy beams possess a resilient ability against turbulence-induced perturbations. These results indicate that Airy beams have great potential for applications in long-distance free-space optical communications to improve the performance of a polarization-encoded free-space quantum communication system.

DOI
10.1364/josaa.33.001348

Related papers

DEGREE OF DEPOLARIZATION OF QUANTIZATION HERMITE-GAUSSIAN BEAM IN A TURBULENT ATMOSPHERE

Licheng Zhang, Yixin Zhang, Yun Zhu

Based on quantum Stokes operators and non-Kolmogorov spectrum model of index-of-refraction fluctuation, the analytical formulas for the quantum degree of depolarization of quantization Hermite-Gaussian (QHG) beams propagating in a turbulent atmosphere slant channel are derived.The nonclassical polarization properties of QHG beams propagating in turbulent atmosphere are studied numerically.It is found that the polarization fluctuations of QHG beams are dependent of the turbulence factors such as spectrum powerlaw exponent, refractive index structure parameter at the ground and zenith angle.The degree of depolarization of QHG beams has a saltation and reaches the minimum value at spectrum power-law exponent α = 11/3, the refractive index structure parameter at the ground of the turbulent atmosphere slightly affects the polarization degree of QHG beams which have travelled a long distance, and the change of polarization degree decreases with the increasing zenith angle.Furthermore, the numerical simulations show that QHG beams with higher photonnumber level, lower beam order, shorter wavelength are less affected by the turbulence.These results indicate that One can choose low-order QHG beams with wavelength λ = 690 nm as optical carrier, increase photon number, set the size of transmitting aperture w 0 as about 0.1 m, and detect communication signals at the central region of beams to improve the performance of a polarization-encoded free-space quantum communication system.

Electromagnetic waves•Jan 1, 2013•2 citations

Polarization preservation of partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian beams for multiple-degrees-of-freedom free-space communication

Ji, Ling, Ailin Yang, Xiaofeng Lin +1 more

Multiple-degrees-of-freedom free-space communication combining polarization and high-order spatial modes promises high-capacity communication channel. While high-order spatial modes have been widely exploited for dense coding and high-dimensional quantum information processing, the properties of polarization preservation of high-order spatial beams propagating in turbulent atmosphere have not been comprehensively investigated yet. Here we focus on the properties of polarization preservation of partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian beams propagating along different atmospheric turbulence paths. The analytical expressions for the polarization of partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence along different paths have been derived. It is shown that the larger the coherence length is, and the larger the beam order m, n are, the less the polarization is changed. We find that the evolution properties of the polarization in slant-down paths through turbulent atmosphere are similar to the case in free space if the condition zenith angle ξ

arXiv:1603.05159•Mar 16, 2016•1 citation

Orbital Angular Momentum of Single Photons for Optical Communication in a Slant Path Atmospheric Turbulence

Yixin Zhang, Zhao Gui-yang, Jiancai Xu +1 more

The well defined orbital angular momentum states of photons offer a practical realization of quantum digits and a means of secure single-photon optical communication. The orbital angular momentum is associated with the spatial distribution of the wave function and the number of orbital angular momentum eigenstates is unlimited, giving the possibility of arbitrary base-N digits. The free-space optical communications using angular momentum states of single photons is investigated and the effect of slant path atmospheric turbulence on the angular momentum of the photons is modeled with Rytov approximation and modified von Karman spectrum model of index-of-refraction fluctuation. The analytical modeling for the angular momentum scattering due to the atmospheric turbulence and the orbital angular momentum quantum number for photons propagation in slant path atmospheric turbulence are presented. The refractive index fluctuations in the atmosphere perturb the complex amplitude of a propagating beam so that the photons that were launched in an eigenstate of orbital angular momentum are no longer guaranteed to be in the original eigenstate after propagation.

•Jan 1, 2009•2 citations

The effects of atmospheric turbulence on entangled orbital angular momentum of single photons for slant quantum communication

Jian Zhang

The offects of the atumospheric turbutence on z-tilt corrected or beam center tracked entangled orbital angular momentum(OAM)states generated by parametric down conversion and propagation in atmospheric communication channel are studied,and the entangled orbital angular momentum states detection probabilities of signal photon which are propagation in slant atmospheric turbulence and include the z-tilt corrected or beam center tracked phase fluctuation and amplitude fluctuation caused by atmospheric turbulence are modelled.The joint detection probabilities of OAM state entangled photons versus propagationdistance for the zenith angle θ=π/6 and θ=π/3 are calculated numerically.The results demonstrate that when propagation distance z 500m,the joint detection probability of entangled photons decays rapidly as propagation distance increases,but when propagation distance z1000m,the decay-rate of the joint detection probability of entangled photons is vary small as propagation distance increases.It is shown that the joint detection probabilities of entangled photons with lower total OAM decay less rapidly than those with higher OAM values.It is also found that the joint detection probabilities of entangled photons with smaller zenith angle decay less rapidly than those with larger zenith angle.

Jiguang zazhi•Jan 1, 2010•0 citations

Quantum polarization fluctuations of partially coherent dark hollow beams in non-Kolmogorov turbulence atmosphere

Xiang Yan, Pengfei Zhang, Jinghui Zhang +2 more

Non-classical polarization properties of dark hollow beams propagating through non-Kolmogorov turbulence are studied. The analytic equation for the polarization degree of the quantization partially coherent dark hollow beams is obtained. It is found that the polarization fluctuations of the quantization partially coherent dark hollow beams are dependent on the turbulence factors and beam parameters with the detection photon numbers. Furthermore, an investigation of the changes in the on-axis propagation point and off-axis propagation point shows that the polarization degree of the quantization partially coherent dark hollow beams presents oscillation for a short propagation distance and gradually returns to zero for a sufficiently long distance.

Chinese Physics B•Jul 26, 2016•11 citations

Investigating absorption and scattering effects of turbulent atmosphere on entangled photon pairs propagating through free-space

Vijit Bedi, Vladimir V. Nikulin, Kathy-Anne Soderberg +6 more

Quantum entanglement is critical to build the backbone of all quantum technologies. Quantum networks, quantum computations, and quantum communication networking is based on long-range distribution of entangled photons and teleportation of photon qubit states. In order to understand quantum entanglement, characterization of atmospheric turbulence and its effects on propagating quantum states in free-space is essential. One method of photon entanglement is using a photon’s polarization. In this paper, we report results using polarization entangled signal and idler photons. The results may be applicable to support various quantum computing, encryption, and other qubit based high-performance communication protocols. Classically, the degradation of beam quality occurs due to many factors but primarily due to the distortion of spatial and temporal fields of refractive index. However, behavior of single photons through similar turbulent media creates a different set of challenges pointing to integrity of quantum states during propagation. We study this behavior by analyzing quantum states and the degree of entanglement in real-time and correlating it to known atmospheric models, (refractive index structure parameter), and relevant propagation path parameters. This experimental study was performed initially in a controlled laboratory environment, and then devised to be implemented outdoors over a 100-meter free space communication link.

Quantum Communications and Quantum Imaging•Oct 4, 2022•4 citations
Polarization of light has many applications in quantum information processing, including quantum teleportation and dense coding. In this paper, we investigate the polarization fluctuations of Airy beams propagating in a slant turbulent channel under the "few-photon" limit. Using the quantum Stokes parameters and the quantum degree of polarization, we demonstrate that the degree of polarization of Airy beams increases significantly with the large number of the detection photons, and a higher photon-number level can retain the stability of polarization. Numerical simulations show that the longer propagation distance and the stronger turbulence will lead to less oscillatory behaviors and a decrease in the polarization degree of Airy beams, but a bigger exponential truncation factor will cause an increase in the polarization degree of Airy beams. In contrast with Gaussian beams, the degree of polarization of Airy beams is less affected by atmospheric turbulence and propagation distance under the same conditions, which means that Airy beams possess a resilient ability against turbulence-induced perturbations. These results indicate that Airy beams have great potential for applications in long-distance free-space optical communications to improve the performance of a polarization-encoded free-space quantum communication system.
Based on quantum Stokes operators and non-Kolmogorov spectrum model of index-of-refraction fluctuation, the analytical formulas for the quantum degree of depolarization of quantization Hermite-Gaussian (QHG) beams propagating in a turbulent atmosphere slant channel are derived.The nonclassical polarization properties of QHG beams propagating in turbulent atmosphere are studied numerically.It is found that the polarization fluctuations of QHG beams are dependent of the turbulence factors such as spectrum powerlaw exponent, refractive index structure parameter at the ground and zenith angle.The degree of depolarization of QHG beams has a saltation and reaches the minimum value at spectrum power-law exponent α = 11/3, the refractive index structure parameter at the ground of the turbulent atmosphere slightly affects the polarization degree of QHG beams which have travelled a long distance, and the change of polarization degree decreases with the increasing zenith angle.Furthermore, the numerical simulations show that QHG beams with higher photonnumber level, lower beam order, shorter wavelength are less affected by the turbulence.These results indicate that One can choose low-order QHG beams with wavelength λ = 690 nm as optical carrier, increase photon number, set the size of transmitting aperture w 0 as about 0.1 m, and detect communication signals at the central region of beams to improve the performance of a polarization-encoded free-space quantum communication system.
Multiple-degrees-of-freedom free-space communication combining polarization and high-order spatial modes promises high-capacity communication channel. While high-order spatial modes have been widely exploited for dense coding and high-dimensional quantum information processing, the properties of polarization preservation of high-order spatial beams propagating in turbulent atmosphere have not been comprehensively investigated yet. Here we focus on the properties of polarization preservation of partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian beams propagating along different atmospheric turbulence paths. The analytical expressions for the polarization of partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence along different paths have been derived. It is shown that the larger the coherence length is, and the larger the beam order m, n are, the less the polarization is changed. We find that the evolution properties of the polarization in slant-down paths through turbulent atmosphere are similar to the case in free space if the condition zenith angle ξ
The well defined orbital angular momentum states of photons offer a practical realization of quantum digits and a means of secure single-photon optical communication. The orbital angular momentum is associated with the spatial distribution of the wave function and the number of orbital angular momentum eigenstates is unlimited, giving the possibility of arbitrary base-N digits. The free-space optical communications using angular momentum states of single photons is investigated and the effect of slant path atmospheric turbulence on the angular momentum of the photons is modeled with Rytov approximation and modified von Karman spectrum model of index-of-refraction fluctuation. The analytical modeling for the angular momentum scattering due to the atmospheric turbulence and the orbital angular momentum quantum number for photons propagation in slant path atmospheric turbulence are presented. The refractive index fluctuations in the atmosphere perturb the complex amplitude of a propagating beam so that the photons that were launched in an eigenstate of orbital angular momentum are no longer guaranteed to be in the original eigenstate after propagation.
The offects of the atumospheric turbutence on z-tilt corrected or beam center tracked entangled orbital angular momentum(OAM)states generated by parametric down conversion and propagation in atmospheric communication channel are studied,and the entangled orbital angular momentum states detection probabilities of signal photon which are propagation in slant atmospheric turbulence and include the z-tilt corrected or beam center tracked phase fluctuation and amplitude fluctuation caused by atmospheric turbulence are modelled.The joint detection probabilities of OAM state entangled photons versus propagationdistance for the zenith angle θ=π/6 and θ=π/3 are calculated numerically.The results demonstrate that when propagation distance z 500m,the joint detection probability of entangled photons decays rapidly as propagation distance increases,but when propagation distance z1000m,the decay-rate of the joint detection probability of entangled photons is vary small as propagation distance increases.It is shown that the joint detection probabilities of entangled photons with lower total OAM decay less rapidly than those with higher OAM values.It is also found that the joint detection probabilities of entangled photons with smaller zenith angle decay less rapidly than those with larger zenith angle.
Non-classical polarization properties of dark hollow beams propagating through non-Kolmogorov turbulence are studied. The analytic equation for the polarization degree of the quantization partially coherent dark hollow beams is obtained. It is found that the polarization fluctuations of the quantization partially coherent dark hollow beams are dependent on the turbulence factors and beam parameters with the detection photon numbers. Furthermore, an investigation of the changes in the on-axis propagation point and off-axis propagation point shows that the polarization degree of the quantization partially coherent dark hollow beams presents oscillation for a short propagation distance and gradually returns to zero for a sufficiently long distance.
Quantum entanglement is critical to build the backbone of all quantum technologies. Quantum networks, quantum computations, and quantum communication networking is based on long-range distribution of entangled photons and teleportation of photon qubit states. In order to understand quantum entanglement, characterization of atmospheric turbulence and its effects on propagating quantum states in free-space is essential. One method of photon entanglement is using a photon’s polarization. In this paper, we report results using polarization entangled signal and idler photons. The results may be applicable to support various quantum computing, encryption, and other qubit based high-performance communication protocols. Classically, the degradation of beam quality occurs due to many factors but primarily due to the distortion of spatial and temporal fields of refractive index. However, behavior of single photons through similar turbulent media creates a different set of challenges pointing to integrity of quantum states during propagation. We study this behavior by analyzing quantum states and the degree of entanglement in real-time and correlating it to known atmospheric models, (refractive index structure parameter), and relevant propagation path parameters. This experimental study was performed initially in a controlled laboratory environment, and then devised to be implemented outdoors over a 100-meter free space communication link.