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Annual Meeting Optical Society of America

Phase-sensitive tests of nonlocality of quantum-mechanical fields

Sze N. Tan, Murray Holland, Daniel F. Walls

Published Jan 1, 1990• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Nonlocal effects associated with quantum-mechanical states have been theoretically interesting because they emphasize the differences between classical and quantum mechanics. We describe a system in which a single input photon causes a nonlocal influence on two spatially separated homodyne detectors, as evidenced by a violation of Bell's inequalities. Unlike previous configurations for violating Bell's inequalities, the correlation is not imposed on a pair of particles that spatially separate before being detected. Rather, the correlation arises from the interaction of the local oscillators at each homodyne detector with the spatially extended field of the input photon. The above effect is only one of a class of situations in which nonlocal correlations can be imposed on separated homodyne detectors by quantum mechanical fields. By deriving the conditions for violating Bell's inequality with phase-sensitive detectors, new tests can be developed that relate to squeezed light and other nonclassical fields.

DOI
10.1364/oam.1990.mr4

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Nonlocal effects associated with quantum-mechanical states have been theoretically interesting because they emphasize the differences between classical and quantum mechanics. We describe a system in which a single input photon causes a nonlocal influence on two spatially separated homodyne detectors, as evidenced by a violation of Bell's inequalities. Unlike previous configurations for violating Bell's inequalities, the correlation is not imposed on a pair of particles that spatially separate before being detected. Rather, the correlation arises from the interaction of the local oscillators at each homodyne detector with the spatially extended field of the input photon. The above effect is only one of a class of situations in which nonlocal correlations can be imposed on separated homodyne detectors by quantum mechanical fields. By deriving the conditions for violating Bell's inequality with phase-sensitive detectors, new tests can be developed that relate to squeezed light and other nonclassical fields.
It is theoretically and experimentally shown that photons emitted by statistically independent incoherent classical light sources and measured in the far field in spatially separated modes may display spatial correlations akin to path-entanglement of photons produced by quantum sources. By measuring higher order photon-correlations at different locations, i.e., mmm photons in one mode and one photon in another mode, we experimentally demonstrate for m≥6m \geq 6m≥6 a violation of Bell-type inequalities for spatial degrees of freedom. The spatial correlations among the photons can be understood from state projection where the detection of the first mmm photons projects the sources onto a state which emits the subsequent photon in a strongly correlated manner. From this perspective the entanglement and violation of Bell's inequalities appears as a consequence of nonvanishing cross correlations between noncommuting quadrature phase components of the two spatially separated fields after mmm photons have been recorded. In this way we show that classical systems may produce spatial field correlations violating local realistic theories.
We analyze nonclassical correlations between outcomes of measurements conducted on two spatial radiation modes. These correlations cannot be simulated with statistical mixtures of coherent states or, more generally, with non-negative phase-space functions of quantum states and measurements. We argue that nonclassical correlations are naturally related to Bell nonlocality, the former being a more general class of quantum correlations. Indeed, it is known that local realistic as well as noncontextual models correspond to non-negative solutions to a system of linear equations for the joint probability distributions of all observables. We demonstrate that nonclassical correlations correspond to a particular solution to this system, which may have negative values even if local realism is not violated. A modification of Bell inequalities enables us to test such correlations. At the same time, our approach leads to a formulation of Bell inequalities applicable also to continuous variables. The results are illustrated with two-mode squeezed vacuum states and with hybrid entangled states (Schr\"odinger-Cat states), one mode being analyzed by balanced and the other one by unbalanced homodyne detection.
Abstract We reconsider the all-optical weak homodyne-measurement based experimental schemes aimed at revealing Bell nonclassicality (‘nonlocality’) of a single photon. We focus on the schemes put forward by Tan et al (TWC, 1991) and Hardy (1994). In our previous work we show that the TWC experiment can be described by a local hidden variable model, hence the claimed nonclassicality is apparent. The nonclassicality proof proposed by Hardy remains impeccable. We investigate which feature of the Hardy’s approach is crucial to disclose the nonclassicality. There are consequential differences between TWC and Hardy setups: (i) the initial state of Hardy is a superposition of a single photon excitation with vacuum in one of the input modes of a 50–50 beamsplitter. In the TWC case there is no vacuum component. (ii) In the final measurements of Hardy’s proposal the local settings are specified by the presence or absence of a local oscillator field (on/off). In the TWC case the auxiliary fields are constant, only phases are varied. We show that in Hardy’s setup the violation of local realism occurs due to the varying strength of the local oscillators. Still, one does not need to operate in the fully on/off detection scheme. Thus, the nonclassicality in a Hardy-like setup cannot be attributed to the single-photon state alone. It is a consequence of its interference with the photons from auxiliary local fields. Neither can it be attributed to the joint state of the single photon excitation and the local oscillator modes, as this state is measurement setting dependent. Despite giving spurious violations of local realism, the TWC scheme can serve as an entanglement indicator, for the TWC state. Nevertheless an analogue indicator based on intensity rates rather than just intensities overperforms it.
The balanced homodyne detector has made possible the detection of squeezed states of light. The essential feature of this detector is that it allows measurement of an arbitrary linear combination of the canonically conjugate observables of the electromagnetic field. We show that it is precisely this feature of the detector which provides a means for studying EPR nonlocality and Bell's inequality. A simple physical statement of this is that a homodyne detector is to its signal field as a Stern-Gerlach magnet is to a spin. Thus a pair of homodyne detectors can be used in the same manner as the magnets in Bohm’s gedanken experiment for studying the EPR question. The quantum mechanical state which demonstrates a violation of Bell's inequality in this system has correlations between the modes entering the two homodyne detectors. It should be noted that this correlation is not between the polarizations of the modes, as in all past EPR experiments using light, rather it is between the occupation numbers of the two modes.
We provide a detailed analysis of the recently proposed setup for a loophole-free test of Bell inequality violation using conditionally generated non-Gaussian states of light and balanced homodyning. In the proposed scheme, a two-mode squeezed vacuum state is de-Gaussified by subtracting a single photon from each mode with the use of an unbalanced beam splitter and a standard low-efficiency single-photon detector. We thoroughly discuss the tolerance of the achievable Bell violation in the various experimentally relevant parameters such as the detector efficiencies, the electronic noise, the mixedness of the initial Gaussian state, and the probability of false triggers. We also consider several alternative schemes involving squeezed states, linear optical elements, conditional photon subtraction, and homodyne detection.
There have been studies on the formation of quantum-nonlocal states in two spatially separate cavities. We suggest a nonlocal test for a field prepared in two cavities. We couple classical driving fields with cavities where a nonlocal state is prepared. Two independent two-level atoms are then sent through respective cavities to interact off-resonantly with the cavity fields. The atomic states are measured after the interaction. Bell's inequality can be tested by the joint probabilities of the two-level atoms being in their excited or ground states. We find that a violation of Bell's inequality can also be tested using a single atom sequentially interacting with the two cavities. Potential experimental errors are also considered. We show that with the present experimental condition of 5% error in the atomic velocity distribution, the violation of Bell's inequality can be measured.