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Tailoring the Modal Structure of Bright Squeezed Vacuum States of Light via Selective Amplification

Samuel Lemieux

Published Jan 1, 2016• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The bright squeezed vacuum state of light is a macroscopic nonclassical state found at the output of a strongly pumped unseeded travelling-wave optical parametric amplifier. It has been applied to quantum imaging, quantum communication, and phase supersensitivity, to name a few. Bright squeezed states are in general highly multimode, while most applications require a single mode. We separated two nonlinear crystals in the direction of propagation of the pump in order to narrow the angular spectrum down to a nearly-single angular mode. We observed noise reduction in the photon number difference between the two down-converted channels, which constitutes of proof of nonclassicality. By introducing a dispersive medium between the two nonlinear crystals, we were able to tailor the frequency spectrum of bright squeezed vacuum and to dramatically reduce the number of frequency modes down to 1.82 ± 0.02, bringing us closer to truly single-mode bright squeezed vacuum.

DOI
10.20381/ruor-6162

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The bright squeezed vacuum state of light is a macroscopic nonclassical state found at the output of a strongly pumped unseeded travelling-wave optical parametric amplifier. It has been applied to quantum imaging, quantum communication, and phase supersensitivity, to name a few. Bright squeezed states are in general highly multimode, while most applications require a single mode. We separated two nonlinear crystals in the direction of propagation of the pump in order to narrow the angular spectrum down to a nearly-single angular mode. We observed noise reduction in the photon number difference between the two down-converted channels, which constitutes of proof of nonclassicality. By introducing a dispersive medium between the two nonlinear crystals, we were able to tailor the frequency spectrum of bright squeezed vacuum and to dramatically reduce the number of frequency modes down to 1.82 ± 0.02, bringing us closer to truly single-mode bright squeezed vacuum.
Bright squeezed vacuum, a promising tool for quantum information, can be generated by high-gain parametric down-conversion. However, its frequency and angular spectra are typically quite broad, which is undesirable for applications requiring single-mode radiation. We tailor the frequency spectrum of high-gain parametric down-conversion using an SU(1,1) interferometer consisting of two nonlinear crystals with a dispersive medium separating them. The dispersive medium allows us to select a narrow band of the frequency spectrum to be exponentially amplified by high-gain parametric amplification. The frequency spectrum is thereby narrowed from (56.5±0.1) to (1.22±0.02) THz and, in doing so, the number of frequency modes is reduced from approximately 50 to 1.82±0.02. Moreover, this method provides control and flexibility over the spectrum of the generated light through the timing of the pump.
Control over the spectral properties of the bright squeezed vacuum (BSV), a highly multimode nonclassical macroscopic state of light that can be generated through high-gain parametric down conversion, is crucial for many applications. In particular, in several recent experiments BSV is generated in a strongly pumped SU(1,1) interferometer to achieve phase supersensitivity, perform broadband homodyne detection, or tailor the frequency spectrum of squeezed light. In this work, we present an analytical approach to the theoretical description of BSV in the frequency domain based on the Bloch-Messiah reduction and the Schmidt-mode formalism. As a special case we consider a strongly pumped SU(1,1) interferometer. We show that different moments of the radiation at its output depend on the phase, dispersion, and the parametric gain in a nontrivial way, thereby providing additional insights on the capabilities of nonlinear interferometers. In particular, a dramatic change in the spectrum occurs as the parametric gain increases.
In a strongly pumped nondegenerate traveling-wave optical parametric amplifier, we produce a two-color squeezed vacuum with up to millions of photons per pulse. Our approach to registering this macroscopic quantum state is direct detection of a large number of transverse and longitudinal modes, which is achieved by making the detection time and area much larger than the coherence time and area, respectively. Using this approach, we obtain a record value of twin-beam squeezing for direct detection of bright squeezed vacuum. This makes direct detection of macroscopic squeezed vacuum a practical tool for quantum information applications.
We investigate both theoretically and experimentally strong correlations in macroscopic (bright) quantum states of light generated via unseeded parametric down-conversion and four-wave mixing. The states generated this way contain only quantum noise, without a classical component, and are referred to as bright squeezed vacuum (BSV). Their important advantage is the multimode structure, which offers a larger capacity for the encoding of quantum information. For the theoretical description of these states and their correlation features we introduce a generalized fully analytical approach, based on the concept of independent collective (Schmidt) modes and valid for the cases of both weak and strong nonlinear interaction. In experiment, we generate states of macroscopic BSV with up to 1010{10}^{10}1010 photons per mode and examine large photon-number spatial correlations that are found to be very well described by our theoretical approach.
Non-Gaussian states of light are a critical resource for fault-tolerant quantum computing and enhanced metrology, but are typically faint and often obtained via post-selection. Here, we demonstrate the deterministic generation of a bright non-Gaussian state by introducing a Kerr nonlinearity to a macroscopic state of light called bright squeezed vacuum (BSV). To characterize the resulting state, we use a single-shot f-2f interferometer to sample its Husimi function. We observe a clear transformation from a 2D Gaussian distribution to an 'S'-shaped non-Gaussian profile, which is the direct statistical evidence of the intensity-dependent nonlinear phase. The negativity of the Wigner function, which is an intrinsic property of any pure non-Gaussian state, cannot be observed because BSV is a mixed state even under minute optical loss. However, we show that BSV can be considered as a mixture of pure squeezed coherent states, for some of which Kerr-induced Wigner-function negativity is quite tolerant to loss. This work bridges the gap between quantum optics and ultrafast nonlinear optics, opening a path to quantum applications that require high photon flux.