Parametric down and up conversion in the Wigner representation of quantum optics
K. Dechoum, Trevor W. Marshall, Emilio Santos
We study spontaneous parametric processes starting from the quantized field equations in the Heisenberg picture using the common approximation of treating the laser pump as classical. After a (standard) linearization procedure we pass to the Wigner representation and the process becomes formally equivalent to the parametric interaction of two incoming zero-point modes with a pumping laser wave coupled by an optically nonlinear medium. Then the treatment of parametric down conversion and parametric up conversion are described by the Maxwell equations and look like a parametric amplification of the vacuum field. The fourth-order correlation function between the signal and idler fields is obtained in a form that makes for easy comparison with experimental results.
Journal of Modern Optics•Jun 1, 2000•25 citations