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arXiv:quant-ph/0006056 · Physical Review A

Experimental observation of nonclassical effects on single-photon detection rates

Kevin J. Resch, Jeff S. Lundeen, Aephraim M. Steinberg

Published Jan 11, 2001• 37 citations
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Abstract

It is often asserted that quantum effects can be observed in coincidence detection rates or other correlations, but never in the rate of single-photon detection. We observe nonclassical interference in a singles rate, thanks to the intrinsic nonlinearity of photon counters. This is due to a dependence of the effective detection efficiency on the quantum statistics of the light beam. Such measurements of detector response to photon pairs promise to shed light on the microscopic aspects of silicon photodetectors, and on general issues of quantum measurement and decoherence.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.63.020102

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It is often asserted that quantum effects can be observed in coincidence detection rates or other correlations, but never in the rate of single-photon detection. We observe nonclassical interference in a singles rate, thanks to the intrinsic nonlinearity of photon counters. This is due to a dependence of the effective detection efficiency on the quantum statistics of the light beam. Such measurements of detector response to photon pairs promise to shed light on the microscopic aspects of silicon photodetectors, and on general issues of quantum measurement and decoherence.
Summary form only given. In any optical system, quantum and classical theory yield identical predictions for the mean intensity. The quantum mechanical predictions diverge from the classical theory only for higher order correlations. For this reason, typical quantum-interference experiments are performed by measuring coincidence rates between two or more detectors. The usual approximation, following Glauber, is that a single-photon counter fires at a rate proportional to the intensity, or number of incident photons per unit time. This approximation is so good and so entrenched that one routinely assumes that all singles-detection rates are insensitive to quantum effects. However, if one of these detectors fires, it cannot fire again for a characteristic time, called the dead-time. This characteristic of the detectors makes them highly nonlinear over times shorter than the dead-time, and thus sensitive to the higher order intensity correlations. In other words the detector has a different response for two photons arriving at different times, than for two photons arriving at the same time. We use the process of spontaneous parametric-downconversion (SPDC) to create correlated photon-pairs and send them through a polarization-based Hong-Ou-Mander interferometer. This quantum interferometer allows us to change the photon statistics without changing the intensity of the beams.
Although we tend to think of optical interference as a classical wave phenomenon, recent experiments have revealed a number of effects that are not describable in classical terms. This is particularly true of interference effects involving the detection of a photon pair. We shall refer to them as fourth order interference, on the grounds that the joint probability density for the detection of one photon at r sub 1 at time t and another r sub 2 at time t is proportional to the fourth order correlation function of the field. This probability is readily measured when two photodetectors are positioned at r sub 1 and r sub 2 and the signals from the two detectors are fed to a coincidence counter that registers 'simultaneous' detections by the two detectors in coincidence. The topics covered include: fourth order interference measurements; the Franson experiment; and experimental test of the de Broglie guided wave theory.
Two-photon interference effects and correlated-photon statistics have traditionally been observed in the coincidence detection rate between two detectors. Here, we report observations of correlated-photon statistics, which are due to two-photon entanglement and interference, in the single-photon detection rate. The observed effects are explained by considering all possible photon number states that reach the detector, rather than considering just the state post-selected by the coincidence circuit.
We report experimental observations of correlated-photon statistics in the single-photon detection rate. The usual quantum interference in a two-photon polarization interferometer always accompanies a dip in the single-detector counting rate, regardless of whether a dip or a peak is seen in the coincidence rate. This effect is explained by taking into account all possible photon number states that reach the detector, rather than considering just the state postselected by the coincidence measurement. We also report an interferometeric scheme in which the interference peak or dip in the coincidence corresponds directly to a peak or a dip in the single-photon detection rate.
We report an experimental observation of correlated-photon statistics using a single detector. The usual coincidence dip in a two-photon polarization interferometer is accompanied by a dip in single-photon detection rates. Surprisingly, a dip in the singles rate is also observed when the interferometer is aligned for a coincidence peak, or anti-dip. This effect is explained by taking into account all possible photon number states that reach the detector, rather than considering just the state post-selected by the coincidence measurement.
A new fourth-order interference experiment has been carried out and analyzed theoretically in classical and in quantum terms. Two photons produced in the process of parametric down-conversion provide the two inputs to a Mach-Zehnder type of interferometer, while two photodetectors coupled to a coincidence counter measure the output. The coincidence rate, after subtraction of accidentals, exhibits a cosine variation with the optical path difference, in agreement with quantum mechanics, but in disagreement with a classical analysis. By contrast, when two coherent light beams from a He:Ne laser are used as inputs to the interferometer, no fourth-order interference is observed.