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Physical Review A

Double-slit experiment with multiple vortex beams

Mairikena Aili, Pan Liu, Xiao-Xiao Chen, Qingyuan Wu, Zhe Meng, Jia-Zhi Yang, Jian Li, An‐Ning Zhang

Published Jan 29, 2024• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of a vortex beam has already found significant potential applications in both quantum and classical communication systems. In this study, a realization of a double-slit experiment using a Sagnac interferometer is conducted for the detection and discrimination of vortex beams. Based on the advantages of convenient and adjustable double-slit parameters of our device, we detected multiple vortex beams carrying different OAM modes and superpositions of OAM modes under laser and single-photon illumination. We also analyzed the influence of the slit parameters on the interference pattern of the vortex beams. The results show that by comparing the differences in these interference patterns, we can achieve the measurement of topological charge and complete distinction of OAM states carried by the vortex beams. Our study contributes to coding research on laser and quantum communication.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.109.013521

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The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of a vortex beam has already found significant potential applications in both quantum and classical communication systems. In this study, a realization of a double-slit experiment using a Sagnac interferometer is conducted for the detection and discrimination of vortex beams. Based on the advantages of convenient and adjustable double-slit parameters of our device, we detected multiple vortex beams carrying different OAM modes and superpositions of OAM modes under laser and single-photon illumination. We also analyzed the influence of the slit parameters on the interference pattern of the vortex beams. The results show that by comparing the differences in these interference patterns, we can achieve the measurement of topological charge and complete distinction of OAM states carried by the vortex beams. Our study contributes to coding research on laser and quantum communication.
Orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photons has applications both in classical and quantum information due to its features of optical vortex and infinite dimensions. This paper studies the interference effects of optical vortex beams carrying mixed, conjugate, and single-mode OAM states based on the Sagnac interferometer with light sources of a laser and single photon. We compare our results with numerical simulations and show that the light intensity distribution and phase characteristics can directly characterize the absolute value of the topological charge (TC) carried by vortex beams. Furthermore, our scheme can also classify the photon with positive and negative signs of TC in the mixed mode OAM state by changing the relative phase. The results not only extend the manipulation methods for high-dimensional quantum states, but also lay a solid foundation for the application of vortex beams in a single-photon field.
This work presents a single-pass diffraction experiment that demonstrates that single photons in a vortex beam in passing through three slits arranged in an equilateral triangle can interfere with themselves and provide quantitative information of their total amount of orbital angular momentum (OAM) they carry. For the experiment presented the aperture has been reduced to a very thin triangular slit. A vortex beam is created by a diffractive optical element (DOE) and then it is made to pass through the slit. This work is considered as an extension to the Young double slit experiment.
Orbital angular momentum (OAM) is a unique degree of freedom for vortex beams. It is very important to study the interference of vortex beams carrying OAM in quantum information science. In this paper, we study the interference phenomenon of vortex beams based on a stable and adjustable Mach–Zehnder (MZ) interferometer using a laser and a single-photon as light sources. Furthermore, we also show the evolution of the different initial states in the MZ interferometer, and the interferograms of initial states vary with changing the interferometer phase. Our research not only helps us to understand the special phenomenon of OAM in the MZ interferometer but also provides some theoretical and experimental support for OAM as a quantum information carrier.
Optical orbital angular momentum (OAM) is a special property of photons and has evoked research onto the light–matter interaction in both classical and quantum regimes. In classical optics, OAM is related to an optical vortex with a helical phase structure. In quantum optics, photons with a twisted or helical phase structure will carry a quantized OAM. To our knowledge, however, so far, no experiment has demonstrated the fundamental property of the OAM at the single-photon level. In this Letter, we have demonstrated the average photon trajectories of twisted photons in a double-slit interference. We have experimentally captured the double-slit interference process of twisted photons by a time-gated intensified charge-coupled device camera, which is trigged by a heralded detection. Our work provides new perspectives for understanding the micro-behaviors of twisted particles and enables new applications in imaging and sensing.
Orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photons has both classical and quantum applications due to its feature of optical vortex and infinite dimension. OAM discrimination is one of the basic problems, which has been paid much attention recently. Here we present an interferometer method in which a Sagnac interferometer with a Dove prism is placed on each arm to separate the different OAM of photons into different output ports, namely, OAM sorters. We demonstrate experimentally the feasibility of OAM sorter by dividing different OAM states into different output ports. Using the cascade interferometers, we also sort the superposition state successfully. Experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. Compared with other methods, this method is more stable and can be used to separate superposition states into single photon levels. Furthermore, this method can also be used to couple OAM modes with spatial modes, a very important method for manipulating OAM states. It is a useful method and has potential applications in high-capacity optical communication, quantum entanglement, quantum cryptography, quantum computation and quantum information.
We propose and perform an interference experiment involving a distributed angular double-slit and the orbital angular momentum (OAM) correlations of thermal light. In the experiment, two spatially separated angular apertures are placed in two correlated light beams generated by splitting the thermal light beam via a beam splitter. The superposition of the two spatially separated slits constitutes an angular double-slit in two-photon measurements. The angular interference pattern of the distributed double-slit is measured even though each beam interacts with a different part of the object. This scheme allows us to discriminate among different angular amplitude objects using a classical incoherent light source. This procedure has potential applications in remote sensing or optical metrology in the OAM domain.