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Laser Physics Letters

High-efficiency interaction-free measurement with an unbalanced Mach–Zehnder interferometer

Liu Chao, Liu Jinhong, Zhang Junxiang, Zhu Shiyao

Published May 11, 2018• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract The presence of an object can be detected without the absorption of photons in an interaction-free measurement (IFM) system based on the Zeno effect in chained Mach–Zehnder interferometers (MZIs). In this paper, we propose a scheme with an unbalanced MZI to perform the transmission of two frequency components of input light simultaneously. The two components are separated at two output ports of the MZI, achieving a high probability of asserting the absence of the object. The two final outputs of the MZI can also be extended to perform special information processing via IFM. As a result, this proposal contributes to the improvement of efficiency in interaction-free measurements with a very small number of interferometers for potential practical implementations of quantum information technology.

DOI
10.1088/1612-202x/aab2b2

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Abstract The presence of an object can be detected without the absorption of photons in an interaction-free measurement (IFM) system based on the Zeno effect in chained Mach–Zehnder interferometers (MZIs). In this paper, we propose a scheme with an unbalanced MZI to perform the transmission of two frequency components of input light simultaneously. The two components are separated at two output ports of the MZI, achieving a high probability of asserting the absence of the object. The two final outputs of the MZI can also be extended to perform special information processing via IFM. As a result, this proposal contributes to the improvement of efficiency in interaction-free measurements with a very small number of interferometers for potential practical implementations of quantum information technology.
The state of the quantum system will inevitably be disturbed and changed in the testing process. Using interaction-free measurement (IFM), the information can be extracted without any interaction between objects and photons or particles. Here we present a novel approach that the refractive index can be measured accurately with "no-touch" measurement between testing materials and light beam. The design system is a non-traditional model of interaction-free measurement with an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer (UMZI), which is combined with the chain quantum Zeno effect and the technique for spatial separation of light field. We select two beams with different intensity distribution in cross-section and different frequency as the transmission source, and the refractive index of samples can be obtained from the contrast degree of two beams under the condition of a few beam splitters existing. The scheme could prevent the damage to the radiation-sensitive optical materials, and provide a new idea for the research and application of precision measurement.
"Interaction-free measurements" (IFM) originate from the latest quantum interferometric technologies. The latest research of quantum optics demonstrates, by using the complementary wavelike and particlelike natures of photons, it is possible to make interaction-free measurements by which the presence of an object can be determined with no photons being absorbed. The paper introduces the concept of "Interaction-free Measurement" (IFM), the original Elitzur-Vaidman scheme, the "High Efficiency Interaction-free Measurement", the application of quantum Zeno effect and the improved scheme proposed by Kwiat et al. The EV scheme is implemented in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Theoretically this paper also draws a conclusion in IFM feasibility by analyzing the wave functions of photon at various locations in the interferometer.
An interaction-free measurement system with a polarization-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure is analyzed for semitransparent objects. Here, it is shown that the interaction-free measurement of such objects with 100% detection efficiency is possible in principle if the system loss is negligible. The influence of two system imperfections, the system loss and the low quantum efficiency of the photon detectors, on the interaction-free measurement is also analyzed. Although the two system imperfections limit the maximal detection efficiency that can be achievable, the quantum efficiency of the photon detectors is less important when the system loss becomes small.
The phenomenon of quantum interrogation allows one to optically detect the presence of an absorbing object, without the measuring light interacting with it. In an application of the quantum Zeno effect, the object inhibits the otherwise coherent evolution of the light, such that the probability that an interrogating photon is absorbed can in principle be arbitrarily small. We have implemented this technique, achieving efficiencies of up to 7373%73, and consequently exceeding the 5050%50 theoretical maximum of the original ``interaction-free'' measurement proposal. We have also predicted and experimentally verified a previously unsuspected dependence on loss.
Abstract This paper experimentally and theoretically investigates improving interaction free measurement (IFM) efficiency using a chain of multiple interferometers with transmissive beam splitters of reflectivity less than 50%. The object measured with IFM is present or absent from one of the interferometer paths depending on the polarization of the incident light. The ability to effectively move an object in and out of the system without physically moving it makes implementing a multiple chain interferometer more practical. It also allows verifying the desired interferometer phase while simultaneously making the IFM measurement. A recursive phase model of a chain of interferometers is presented which accounts for both losses and arbitrary phase differences between each pair of arms in the chain. The recursive model predicts the photodiode power and is experimentally validated for a chain of interferometers of lengths one and two.
We demonstrate a first-order interference between coherent light at 1580 nm and 795 nm by using a frequency-domain Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). The MZI is implemented by two frequency-domain BSs based on a second-order nonlinear optical effect in a periodically-poled lithium niobate waveguide with a strong pump light. The observed visibility is over 0.99 at 50% conversion efficiencies of the BSs. Toward photonic quantum information processing, sufficiently small background photon rate is necessary. From measurement results with a superconducting single photon detector (SSPD), we discuss the feasibility of the frequency-domain MZI in a quantum regime. Our estimation shows that the single photon interference with the visibility above 0.9 is feasible with practical settings.