Nonseparability in classical and quantum states of light gives rise to the notions of classical (local) and quantum (nonlocal) entanglement, usually defined as global features of the fields and states. Here we use concurrence as a measure of this nonseparability and show that it can be spatially resolved, revealing regions of maximum nonseparability and regions with no nonseparability. We use the topical examples of vectorial structured light and its quantum analog, a hybrid spatial mode and polarization entangled states, to test the approach on both local and nonlocal forms of entanglement. Our work has wide reaching implications, for instance, in understanding the spatial dependence of coherence and polarization in vectorial light, as well as in quantum entangled states for imaging, where spatial correlations are vital.
Nonseparability in classical and quantum states of light gives rise to the notions of classical (local) and quantum (nonlocal) entanglement, usually defined as global features of the fields and states. Here we use concurrence as a measure of this nonseparability and show that it can be spatially resolved, revealing regions of maximum nonseparability and regions with no nonseparability. We use the topical examples of vectorial structured light and its quantum analog, a hybrid spatial mode and polarization entangled states, to test the approach on both local and nonlocal forms of entanglement. Our work has wide reaching implications, for instance, in understanding the spatial dependence of coherence and polarization in vectorial light, as well as in quantum entangled states for imaging, where spatial correlations are vital.
One of the most prominent features of quantum entanglement is its invariability under local unitary transformations, which implies that the degree of entanglement or nonseparability remains constant during free-space propagation, true for both quantum and classically entangled modes. Here we demonstrate an exception to this rule using a carefully engineered vectorial light field, and we study its nonseparability dynamics upon free-space propagation. We show that the local nonseparability between the spatial and polarization degrees of freedom dramatically decays to zero while preserving the purity of the state and hence the global nonseparability. We show this by numerical simulations and corroborate it experimentally. Our results evince novel properties of classically entangled modes and point to the need for new measures of nonseparability for such vectorial fields, while paving the way for novel applications for customized structured light.
Complex vectorial light fields, nonseparable in their polarization and spatial degree of freedom, are of relevance in a wide variety of research areas encompassing microscopy, metrology, communication, and topological studies. Controversially, they have been suggested as analogs to quantum entanglement, raising fundamental questions on the relation between nonseparability in classical systems, and entanglement in quantum systems. We perform basis-independent tomography of arbitrary pure vectorial light fields using spatially resolved Stokes projections. Moreover, we propose and demonstrate that concurrence, as a nonseparability witness for any pure vectorial light field, can be extracted from global Stokes projections, without assessing the spatial degree of freedom.
As structured optical fields with spatially inhomogeneous polarization distributions, vector beams have attracted widespread attention for their great applications across multiple fields. The coupling between spatial modes and polarization states in vector beams results in nonseparability analogous to quantum entangled states, referred to as classical entanglement. This concept has garnered considerable scholarly interest, due to its capacity to facilitate quantum-inspired approaches for the characterization of vector optical fields, leading to noteworthy applications such as metrological sensing, communication encryption, and quantum computing. However, most investigations concerning classical entanglement have focused on vector optical fields within the spatial domain, while the classical entanglement characteristics of ultrafast vector beam pulses in the temporal domain remain to be revealed. Here, we investigate the classical local entanglement of ultrafast vector beam pulses in the temporal domain. Through theoretical interpretation and experimental verification, time-varying nonseparability has been demonstrated throughout the pulse duration. The dynamic evolution of spatially vectorial polarization states on femtosecond timescales was measured. The temporal evolution of the classical entanglement and the associated density matrix were analyzed using quantum state tomography. This research provides, to our knowledge, novel perspectives for investigating quantum-classical optical analogies in the temporal domain, advancing deeper fundamental understanding of entanglement.
It is well known that entanglement is invariant to local unitary transformations, this implies the degree of entanglement or non-separability remains constant during free-space propagation, which is true for both quantum and classically-entangled modes. Here we demonstrate an exception to this rule using a carefully engineered vectorial light field, and study its non-separability dynamics upon free-space propagation. We show that the local non-separability between the spatial and polarisation degrees of freedom dramatically decays to zero, while preserving the purity of the state and hence the global non-separability. We show this by numerical simulations and corroborate it experimentally. Our results evince novel properties of classically-entangled modes, point to the need for new measures of non-separability for such vectorial fields, while paving the way to novel applications for customised structured light.
There is a fruitful interplay in the literature between quantum information theory and the study of vector beams, inspired by the mathematical structure shared by quantum entanglement and classical beams of light. As an example, measures of entanglement, notably concurrence, are widely used as measures of the quality of a vector beam. In addition, there is a close analogy, previously exploited in the literature, between polarimetry and qubit state tomography, which become identical tasks in the single photon limit. In this talk I will discuss the use of so-called POVM measurements in spatially-resolved polarimetry to characterise structured light beams.
We explore the concepts of coherence and entanglement as they apply to both the classical and quantum natures of light. In the classical domain, we take inspiration from the tools and concepts developed in foundational quantum mechanics and quantum information science to gain a better understanding of classical coherence theory of light with multiple degrees of freedom (DoFs). First, we use polarization and spatial parity DoFs to demonstrate the notion of classical entanglement, and show that Bell's measure can serve as a useful tool in distinguishing between classical optical coherence theory. Second, we establish a methodical yet versatile approach called 'optical coherency matrix tomography' for reconstructing the coherency matrix of an electromagnetic beam with multiple DoFs. This technique exploits the analogy between this problem in classical optics and that of tomographically reconstructing the density matrix associated with multipartite quantum states in quantum information science. Third, we report the first experimental measurements of the 4 x 4 coherency matrix associated with an electromagnetic beam in which polarization and a spatial DoF are relevant, ranging from the traditional two-point Young's double slit to spatial parity and orbital angular momentum modes. In the quantum domain, we use the modal structure of classical fields to develop qubits and structure Hilbert spaces for use in quantum information processing. Advancing to three-qubit logic gates is an important step towards the success of optical schemes for quantum computing. We experimentally implement a variety of two- and three- qubit, linear and deterministic, single-photon, controlled, quantum logic gates using polarization and spatial parity qubits. Lastly, we demonstrate the implementation of two-qubit single-photon logic using polarization and orbital angular momentum qubits.