Radiative interference in two-photon processes (A)

A. Bandilla, H.‐H. Ritze

Steve Smeets, Björn Maes, Gilles Rosolen

Alexandr Petrovich Davydov, N. R. Faizrakhmanov

The time evolution of the interference pattern obtained from numerical simulation of directed radiation to a given point on the screen is demonstrated. This pattern arises from three identical single-photon sources simultaneously emitting photons in a thought experiment of the Young's experiment type. The simulation uses a 6-component coordinate wave function of a photon – a wave packet as a superposition (integral) of generalized eigenfunctions of the photon's energy, momentum, and helicity operators. This wave function is determined by only two free parameters: the wavelength and the emission time of each photon, understood as the average time interval during which a photon can be emitted by a single-photon source. Calculations were performed for a wavelength of 0.05 cm, emission time of 4 ps, distance between radiation sources of 0.25 cm, and distance from sources to the screen of 0.905 cm. As a result, the interference pattern is established for six consecutive time moments from 29.2 to 34.2 ps, covering the most interesting region of its dynamics. A comparison is made between the interference pattern and similar results previously obtained by numerical simulation of two-photon interference under the same radiation parameters and Young's experiment geometry. It is emphasized that the performed simulation of three-photon interference can find application for the theoretical description of possible interference processes accompanying the implementation of quantum computations based on qutrits as basic elements of quantum computers.

R. N. Shakhmuratov, Farit G. Vagizov, J. Odeurs +1 more

Single $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ photon propagation in a dense absorptive medium with two widely spaced resonances is experimentally studied. After an initial fast decay, a revival of the photon amplitude in the form of a bump, exceeding the probability amplitude of the incident photon, is observed. The irradiation time of this bump delays approximately by the lifetime of the excited nuclei in the absorber. This effect is explained by the interference of the incoming radiation with the collectively scattered radiation, the phase of which is modulated with the frequency of the doublet splitting. Initially, the destructive interference changes to a constructive one, distinguishing the storage and retrieval stages of the photon propagation in a dense medium, i.e., the collective absorption and collective re-emission processes.

Jianbin Liu, Yu Zhou, Huaibin Zheng +3 more

Paul G. Kwiat