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Controlling nonlinear photon-photon interaction via a two-level system

Zhiyuan Dong, Guofeng Zhang

Published Jan 11, 2018• 1 citation
OpenAlex

Abstract

The problem of photon-photon interaction controlled by a two-level system is studied in this paper. Specifically, we have proposed two scenarios: Case 1, how a two-level system changes the pulse shapes of two initially uncorrelated input photons in a single input channel; and Case 2, how a two-level system entangles two counter-propagating photons, one in each input channel. The steady-state output field states for both cases are derived explicitly. For Case 1, the Wigner spectrum is used to exhibit the interesting properties of the output field state. For Case 2, the nonlinear property of the interaction between the two-level system and the two input photons has been revealed by the probabilities of observing photons in the output channels. In addition, two-photon interference, similar to Hong-Ou-Mandel effect, occurs when the two input photons are chosen with the same pulse shape.

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International Journal of Modern Physics B•Jul 20, 2006•4 citations
The problem of photon-photon interaction controlled by a two-level system is studied in this paper. Specifically, we have proposed two scenarios: Case 1, how a two-level system changes the pulse shapes of two initially uncorrelated input photons in a single input channel; and Case 2, how a two-level system entangles two counter-propagating photons, one in each input channel. The steady-state output field states for both cases are derived explicitly. For Case 1, the Wigner spectrum is used to exhibit the interesting properties of the output field state. For Case 2, the nonlinear property of the interaction between the two-level system and the two input photons has been revealed by the probabilities of observing photons in the output channels. In addition, two-photon interference, similar to Hong-Ou-Mandel effect, occurs when the two input photons are chosen with the same pulse shape.
The purpose of this paper is to study the interaction between a two-level system (qubit) and two continuous-mode photons. Two scenarios are investigated: Case 1, how a two-level system changes the pulse shapes of two input photons propagating in a single input channel; and Case 2, how a two-level system responds to two counterpropagating photons, one in each input channel. The steady-state output field states for both cases are derived analytically in both the time and frequency domains. Numerical simulations demonstrate rich and interesting two-photon scattering phenomena induced by a two-level system.
The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamics of a quantum coherent feedback network composed of two two-level systems (qubits) driven by two counter-propagating photons. The coherent feedback network is a marginally stable system, and the spectral entanglement of photons could be enhanced as a consequence of the continuing two-photon interaction inside the feedback loop. By means of quantum stochastic calculus and the input-output framework, the analytic form of the steady-state output field states are derived in the Heisenberg picture for the first time. Based on the analytic form, significant enhancement of photon-photon interaction can be observed. In particular, we demonstrate that the famous Hong-Ou-Mandel effect can be created using this coherent feedback structure. The proposed framework is also applicable in the single-photon scenario.
Ideally, strong nonlinearities could be used to implement quantum gates for photonic qubits by well-controlled two-photon interactions. However, the dependence of the nonlinear interaction on frequency and time makes it difficult to preserve a coherent pulse shape that could justify a single-mode model for the time-frequency degree of freedom of the photons. In this paper, we analyze the problem of temporal multimode effects by considering the pulse shape of the average output field obtained from a coherent input pulse. It is shown that a significant part of the two-photon state transformation can be derived from this semiclassical description of the optical nonlinearity. The effect of a nonlinear system on a two-photon state can then be determined from the density-matrix dynamics of the coherently driven system using input-output theory. As an example, the resonant nonlinearity of a single two-level atom is characterized. The results indicate that the most efficient nonlinear effect may not be the widely studied single-mode phase shift, but the transfer of one of the photons to an orthogonal mode distinguished by its temporal and spectral properties.
Two-photon interference effects arise because photons are indistinguishable particles. In the wellknown Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) effect, the transmission of two photons at a beam splitter interferes destructively with the reflection of both photons, requiring both photons to "bunch up" by leaving the beam splitter on the same side. Here, we show that the interference between locally propagating photons and photons exchanged by a mode swap can be implemented by post-selecting spatially separated photon outputs of a four-path interferometer. Even though the photons detected at spatially separated locations must have travelled along paths that never met up at the same beam splitter, the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect can be observed in correlations between the output ports that originate from the association of detection events with non-local output modes defined by the two single photon inputs. Local phase shifts can be used to map out non-classical correlations between the photons detected at different output locations, clarifying the role of linear optics in generating entanglement between spatially separated photons. Our work thus establishes a fundamental relation between multiphoton interference and entanglement, opening the door to new possibilities in optical quantum technologies.
We investigate the two-photon scattering properties of a Jaynes-Cummings (JC) nonlinearity consisting of a two-level system (qubit) interacting with a single-mode cavity, which is coupled to two waveguides, each containing a single incident photon wave packet initially. In this scattering setup, we study the interplay between the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) effect arising due to quantum interference and effective photon-photon interactions induced by the presence of the qubit. We calculate the two-photon scattering matrix of this system analytically and identify signatures of interference and interaction in the second-order auto- and cross-correlation functions of the scattered photons. In the dispersive regime, when qubit and cavity are far detuned from each other, we find that the JC nonlinearity can be used as an almost linear, in situ tunable beam splitter giving rise to ideal Hong-Ou-Mandel interference, generating a highly path-entangled two-photon NOON state of the scattered photons. The latter manifests itself in strongly suppressed waveguide cross-correlations and Poissonian photon number statistics in each waveguide. If the two-level system and the cavity are on resonance, the JC nonlinearity strongly modifies the ideal HOM conditions leading to a smaller degree of path entanglement and sub-Poissonian photon number statistics. In the latter regime, we find that photon blockade is associated with bunched autocorrelations in both waveguides, while a two-polariton resonance can lead to bunched as well as antibunched correlations.
Exploiting the field-amplification effect of a cavity, the possibility of optical nonlinearity by only two photons was indicated experimentally. In the present article, we review our recent analysis of the two-photon dynamics in a cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) system. Since a cavity-QED system is highly dispersive around its resonances, the shapes of photonic pulses are significantly deformed through interaction with the system. Thus, the present analysis is based on a formalism beyond single-mode approximations. The external photon field is treated rigorously as a continuum, which enables us to handle the two-photon wavefunction in the space representation. The degree of optical nonlinearity in a two-photon state is quantified by comparing the output wavefunction with the linear output wavefunction. It is revealed that the semiclassical optical response theory can be applied for evaluation of the two-photon optical nonlinearity. The two-photon nonlinearity appears not purely as a phase shift in the output wavefunction. The degradation of the fidelity between the output wavefunction and the linear output wavefunction always occurs, which hinders the application of this nonlinear effect as a quantum phase gate. The optimum condition for maximizing the two-photon nonlinearity is clarified, suggesting that pulse shape control is more essential than the Q-value control of the cavity QED system.