The experimentally observed spatial profile of partially spatially coherent polarization entangled qubit is reported, with the theoretical study for visibility in polarization entanglement test. This study would benefit free-space quantum communications and imaging.
Partially coherent photonic qubits, owing to their robustness in propagation through random media compared to fully coherent qubits, find applications in free-space communication, quantum imaging, and quantum sensing. However, the reduction of spatial coherence degrades entanglement in qubits, adversely affecting entanglement-based applications. We report the recovery of entanglement in the partially coherent photonic qubits generated using a spontaneous parametric downconversion process despite retaining their multimode nature. This study utilizes an electron multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) to perform coincidence measurements, eliminating the need for raster scanning of single-pixel detectors, which simplifies optical alignment, enhances precision, and reduces time consumption. We demonstrate that the size of apertures used to select biphotons substantially impacts the visibility and S-parameter of polarization-entangled partially coherent qubits. The entanglement is recovered with partial spatial coherence properties by choosing small sizes of the apertures in the captured image plane. This study could help in the advancement of free-space quantum communication, quantum imaging, and quantum metrology.
The generation of two photon fields, to date, has been demonstrated utilizing a fully coherent pump beam. In this paper we demonstrate, the theoretical and experimental generation of polarization entangled single photon pairs by varying the spatial coherence of the pump beam. The effect of the pump beam spatial coherence on the visibility of a polarization-entangled single photon source is investigated. A comparison of the visibility measurements using a fully coherent and partially coherent pump beam is performed. It is shown that the partial coherence of the pump beam contributes to an increase in the visibility. The coherence properties of the beam are significant for free-space optical transmission in particular for long range free-space quantum communication.
Detection of polarization-spatial classical optical entanglement through implementation of partial transpose on measured intensities is explored. A sufficient criterion for polarization-spatial entanglement in partially coherent light fields based on intensities measured at various orientations of the polarizer, as implied through partial transpose, is outlined. Detection of polarization-spatial entanglement using the outlined method is demonstrated experimentally through a Mach-Zehnder interferometer setup.
The problem of bipartite entanglement in partially coherent paraxial vector light fields is addressed. A generalized uncertainty principle suited for the polarization-spatial degrees of freedom is introduced. Partial transpose is implemented through the obtained generalized uncertainty principle. Partial transpose is shown to be necessary and sufficient in detecting entanglement for a class of partially coherent vector light fields which have a spatial part to be Gaussian. An experimental realization of the studied entangled states using classical optical interferometry is outlined.