Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Non-Classical Light

E R Pike frs, Sarben Sarkar

Published Dec 7, 1995• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract The processes that we have already described in quantum optics undoubtedly produce effects which are specifically quantum or ‘non-classical’ in nature. In this chapter we will first give more precise criteria for our notion of nonclassical light and then consider specific examples of non-classical experiments in optics. We conclude with a detailed discussion of parametric down-conversion as an example of a practical source of non-classical light.

DOI
10.1093/oso/9780198520320.003.0010

Related papers

Nonclassical light and metrological power: An introductory review

Kok Chuan Tan, Hyunseok Jeong

In this review, the authors introduce the notion of quantum nonclassicality of light and the role of nonclassicality in optical quantum metrology. The first part of this paper focuses on defining and characterizing the notion of nonclassicality and how it may be quantified in radiation fields. Several prominent examples of nonclassical light are also discussed. The second part of this paper deals with quantum metrology through the lens of nonclassicality. The authors introduce key concepts such as the Quantum Fisher information, the Cramér-Rao bound, the standard quantum limit, and the Heisenberg limit and discuss how nonclassical light may be exploited to beat classical limitations in high precision measurements. The discussion here will be largely theoretical, with some references to specific experimental implementations.

arXiv:1909.00942•AVS Quantum Science•Nov 19, 2019•70 citations

Engineering and characterization of nonclassical sources of light (Conference Presentation)

Sergey Vladimirovich Polyakov

A great deal of research in optics concentrates on developing quantum methods ranging from precision measurement to optical telecommunication, and from quantum information processing to fundamental tests of nature. To this aim, engineering and characterization of quantum states of light becomes extremally important. Nonclassical sources are based on various underlying physical phenomena, from parametric downconversion and four-wave mixing to solid state and atomic single emitters to ensembles of atoms or ions. I will discuss recent efforts in engineering and characterization of nonclassical light states applicable to a broad range of sources, predominantly based on tunable narrow-band filtering.

Components and Packaging for Laser Systems•Mar 14, 2018•0 citations

Multimode and continuous-mode quantum optics

R. Loudon

Abstract The single-mode theory of Chapter 5 is inherently limited to the description of experiments that use time-independent light beams. The light is essentially nonergodic, in that its statistical fluctuations may be described by an ensemble, but these are not apparent in a time series of experiments made on the single member of the ensemble corresponding to a practical realization of the state. Identical measurements always give the same results and there are no time-dependent correlations of the kind considered in the classical theory of Chapter 3. Many of the nonclassical properties of light can be understood in terms of single-mode theory but other properties involve excitations of two or more modes. Practical observations of nonclassical effects are usually made on time-dependent light beams.

•Sep 7, 2000•1 citation

The Quantum Theory of Light

R. Loudon, Thomas Von Foerster

Abstract This third edition, like its two predecessors, provides a detailed account of the basic theory needed to understand the properties of light and its interactions with atoms, in particular the many nonclassical effects that have now been observed in quantum-optical experiments. The earlier chapters describe the quantum mechanics of various optical processes, leading from the classical representation of the electromagnetic field to the quantum theory of light. The later chapters develop the theoretical descriptions of some of the key experiments in quantum optics. Over half of the material in this third edition is new. It includes topics that have come into prominence over the last two decades, such as the beamsplitter theory, squeezed light, two-photon interference, balanced homodyne detection, travelling-wave attenuation and amplification, quantum jumps, and the ranges of nonliner optical processes important in the generation of nonclassical light. The book is written as a textbook, with the treatment as a whole appropriate for graduate or postgraduate students, while earlier chapters are also suitable for final- year undergraduates. Over 100 problems help to intensify the understanding of the material presented.

American Journal of Physics•Nov 1, 1974•1,887 citations

Introduction to Quantum Optics

Partha Pratim Mondal

Light has long been perceived as a wave, or more specifically as an EM wave, and this is valid with respect to everyday observations. However, experiments involving light have produced surprising results that fall outside the realm of the wave nature of light. These experiments for the first time necessitated that light not be perceived as a wave but more like a particle. Some of these observations include photoelectric, Compton, and two-photon effects. In these experiments, light behaves more as an object filling a space just like a particle rather than a continuous entity like a wave. This is surprising given what we have learned in classical optics. In this chapter, we intend to analyze and understand the particle nature of light and its consequences.

•May 25, 2022•3 citations

Nonclassical effects in two-photon interference experiments: an event-by-event simulation

Kristel F. L. Michielsen, Fengping Jin, Hans A. De Raedt

It is shown that both the visibility V =1/2 predicted for two-photon interference experiments with two independent sources and the visibility V = 1 predicted for two-photon interference experiments with a parametric down-conversion source can be explained in terms of a locally causal, adaptive, corpuscular, classical (non-Hamiltonian) dynamical system. Hence, there is no need to invoke quantum theory to explain the so-called nonclassical effects in the interference of signal and idler photons in parametric down conversion and a revision of the commonly accepted criterion of the nonclassical nature of light is called for.

arXiv:1312.6357•Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Oct 1, 2013•0 citations
Abstract The processes that we have already described in quantum optics undoubtedly produce effects which are specifically quantum or ‘non-classical’ in nature. In this chapter we will first give more precise criteria for our notion of nonclassical light and then consider specific examples of non-classical experiments in optics. We conclude with a detailed discussion of parametric down-conversion as an example of a practical source of non-classical light.
In this review, the authors introduce the notion of quantum nonclassicality of light and the role of nonclassicality in optical quantum metrology. The first part of this paper focuses on defining and characterizing the notion of nonclassicality and how it may be quantified in radiation fields. Several prominent examples of nonclassical light are also discussed. The second part of this paper deals with quantum metrology through the lens of nonclassicality. The authors introduce key concepts such as the Quantum Fisher information, the Cramér-Rao bound, the standard quantum limit, and the Heisenberg limit and discuss how nonclassical light may be exploited to beat classical limitations in high precision measurements. The discussion here will be largely theoretical, with some references to specific experimental implementations.
A great deal of research in optics concentrates on developing quantum methods ranging from precision measurement to optical telecommunication, and from quantum information processing to fundamental tests of nature. To this aim, engineering and characterization of quantum states of light becomes extremally important. Nonclassical sources are based on various underlying physical phenomena, from parametric downconversion and four-wave mixing to solid state and atomic single emitters to ensembles of atoms or ions. I will discuss recent efforts in engineering and characterization of nonclassical light states applicable to a broad range of sources, predominantly based on tunable narrow-band filtering.
Abstract The single-mode theory of Chapter 5 is inherently limited to the description of experiments that use time-independent light beams. The light is essentially nonergodic, in that its statistical fluctuations may be described by an ensemble, but these are not apparent in a time series of experiments made on the single member of the ensemble corresponding to a practical realization of the state. Identical measurements always give the same results and there are no time-dependent correlations of the kind considered in the classical theory of Chapter 3. Many of the nonclassical properties of light can be understood in terms of single-mode theory but other properties involve excitations of two or more modes. Practical observations of nonclassical effects are usually made on time-dependent light beams.
Abstract This third edition, like its two predecessors, provides a detailed account of the basic theory needed to understand the properties of light and its interactions with atoms, in particular the many nonclassical effects that have now been observed in quantum-optical experiments. The earlier chapters describe the quantum mechanics of various optical processes, leading from the classical representation of the electromagnetic field to the quantum theory of light. The later chapters develop the theoretical descriptions of some of the key experiments in quantum optics. Over half of the material in this third edition is new. It includes topics that have come into prominence over the last two decades, such as the beamsplitter theory, squeezed light, two-photon interference, balanced homodyne detection, travelling-wave attenuation and amplification, quantum jumps, and the ranges of nonliner optical processes important in the generation of nonclassical light. The book is written as a textbook, with the treatment as a whole appropriate for graduate or postgraduate students, while earlier chapters are also suitable for final- year undergraduates. Over 100 problems help to intensify the understanding of the material presented.
Light has long been perceived as a wave, or more specifically as an EM wave, and this is valid with respect to everyday observations. However, experiments involving light have produced surprising results that fall outside the realm of the wave nature of light. These experiments for the first time necessitated that light not be perceived as a wave but more like a particle. Some of these observations include photoelectric, Compton, and two-photon effects. In these experiments, light behaves more as an object filling a space just like a particle rather than a continuous entity like a wave. This is surprising given what we have learned in classical optics. In this chapter, we intend to analyze and understand the particle nature of light and its consequences.
It is shown that both the visibility V =1/2 predicted for two-photon interference experiments with two independent sources and the visibility V = 1 predicted for two-photon interference experiments with a parametric down-conversion source can be explained in terms of a locally causal, adaptive, corpuscular, classical (non-Hamiltonian) dynamical system. Hence, there is no need to invoke quantum theory to explain the so-called nonclassical effects in the interference of signal and idler photons in parametric down conversion and a revision of the commonly accepted criterion of the nonclassical nature of light is called for.