Fluctuations and Noise in Photonics and Quantum Optics

P. Heszler

Philip Hemmer, Julio R. Gea-Banacloche, P. Heszler +1 more

Leon W. Cohen

Derek Abbott, Jeffrey H. Shapiro, Y. Yamamoto

This Special Issue of Journal of Optics B: Quantum and Semiclassical Optics brings together the contributions of various researchers working on theoretical and experimental aspects of fluctuational phenomena in photonics and quantum optics. The topics discussed in this issue extend from fundamental physics to applications of noise and fluctuational methods from quantum to classical systems, and include: • Quantum measurement • Quantum squeezing • Solitons and fibres • Gravitational wave inferometers • Fluorescence phenomena • Cavity QED • Photon statistics • Noise in lasers and laser systems • Quantum computing and information • Quantum lithography • Teleportation.

CHARLES H. HENRY, Rudolf F. Kazarinov

The principles governing quantum noise in photonics are summarized. The quantum description closely resembles classical electromagnetic theory, but with the addition of uncertainty-related field fluctuations and optical frequency spontaneous currents originating from momentum fluctuations of localised electrons.

Stephen R. Friberg, Susumu Machida, Y. Yamamoto

We report the quantum-nondemolition measurement of the photon number of an optical soliton. Taking advantage of the conservation properties of quantum solitons, we were able to read out the photon number of a ``signal'' soliton via the phase of a ``probe'' soliton after a soliton collision in a single-mode low-loss optical fiber. Subsequent noise measurements showed the photon number fluctuations of the signal soliton at the shot-noise limit to be correlated to the phase fluctuations of the probe soliton, signifying a backaction-evading measurement of the photon number.