We use the quantum jump approach to study two-photon interference effects with cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED) single photon sources arranged against a 50-50 beam splitter.
We present a quantum jump/trajectory analysis of the two-photon interference phenomenon in the context of the Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) effect. In particular, we consider the standard setup of the HOM effect, which consists of two-photon sources firing single photons from opposite sides of a 50/50 beam splitter and two perfect detectors placed at the output ports to record photodetection events. For single-photon sources, we consider two special cases: (1) two excited two-level atoms and (2) two atom–cavity setups with initially present single photons in both cavities. For both cases, we report analytic results as well as quantum jump-based Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate the signatures of these single-photon sources on the HOM effect under different working conditions (e.g., strong- and weak-coupling regimes of cavity quantum electrodynamics). The HOM effect offers applications in the areas of linear optics quantum computing, as well as in protocols that test the indistinguishability of single-photon sources.
Abstract The Hong−Ou−Mandel (HOM) effect was long believed to be a two-photon interference phenomenon. It describes the fact that two indistinguishable photons mixed at a beam splitter will bunch together to one of the two output modes. Considering the two single-photon emitters such as trapped ions, we explore a hidden scenario of the HOM effect, where entanglement can be generated between the two ions when a single photon is detected by one of the detectors. A second photon emitted by the entangled photon sources will be subsequently detected by the same detector. However, we can also control the fate of the second photon by manipulating the entangled state. Instead of two-photon interference, the phase of the entangled state is responsible for the photon’s path in our proposal. Toward a feasible experimental realization, we conduct a quantum jump simulation on the system to show its robustness against experimental errors.