In this Letter we experimentally implement a single photon Bell test based on the ideas of S. Tan et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 252 (1991)]] and L. Hardy [Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 2279 (1994)]]. A double homodyne measurement is used to measure correlations in the Fock space spanned by zero and one photons. Local oscillators used in the correlation measurement are distributed to two observers by copropagating it in an orthogonal polarization mode. This method eliminates the need for interferometrical stability in the setup, consequently making it a robust and scalable method.
In this Letter we experimentally implement a single photon Bell test based on the ideas of S. Tan et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 252 (1991)]] and L. Hardy [Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 2279 (1994)]]. A double homodyne measurement is used to measure correlations in the Fock space spanned by zero and one photons. Local oscillators used in the correlation measurement are distributed to two observers by copropagating it in an orthogonal polarization mode. This method eliminates the need for interferometrical stability in the setup, consequently making it a robust and scalable method.
Entanglement does not always require one particle per party. It was predicted some thirty years ago that a single photon traversing a beam splitter could violate a Bell inequality. Although initially debated, single-photon nonlocality was eventually demonstrated via homodyne measurements. Here, we present an alternate realisation that avoids the complexity of homodyne measurements and potential loopholes in their implementation. We violate a Bell inequality by performing joint measurements on two copies of the same single-photon entangled state, where one photon acts as a phase reference for the other, making it self-referential. We observe CHSH parameters of 2.71±0.09 and 2.23±0.07, depending on the joint measurements implemented. This offers a new perspective on single-photon nonlocality and a more accessible experimental route, potentially applicable to general mode-entangled states in diverse platforms.
We report the first experimental demonstration of distillation of quantum nonlocality, confirming the recent theoretical protocol [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 120401 (2009)]. Quantum nonlocality is described by a correlation box with binary inputs and outputs, and the nonlocal boxes are realized through appropriate measurements on polarization entangled photon pairs. We demonstrate that nonlocality is amplified by connecting two nonlocal boxes into a composite one through local operations and four-photon measurements.
A physical scrutiny of experimental results published in Physical Review Letters (December 2015, M. Giustina, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 250401, and L. K. Shalm et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 250402) is undertaken. These articles reported that measured outcomes were fitted with quantum states possessing a dominant component of non-entangled photons, thereby contradicting their own claim of quantum nonlocality. With probabilities of photon detections lower than 0.1 %, the alleged quantum nonlocality cannot be classified as a resource for developing quantum computing devices, despite recent publicity. Experimental evidence of a feasible process for quantum-strong correlations has been identified (M. Iannuzzi, et al., Phys. Lett. A, 384 (9), 126200, 2020) in terms of correlations between independent and multi-photon states evaluated as Stokes vectors on the Poincaré sphere. As single-photon sources are not needed, the design and implementation of quantum computing operations will be significantly streamlined.
A physical scrutiny of experimental results published in Physical Review Letters (December 2015, M. Giustina, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 250401, and L. K. Shalm et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 250402) is undertaken. These articles reported that measured outcomes were fitted with quantum states possessing a dominant component of non-entangled photons, thereby contradicting their own claim of quantum nonlocality. With probabilities of photon detections lower than 0.1 %, the alleged quantum nonlocality cannot be classified as a resource for developing quantum computing devices, despite recent publicity. Experimental evidence of a feasible process for quantum-strong correlations has been identified (M. Iannuzzi, et al., Phys. Lett. A, 384 (9), 126200, 2020) in terms of correlations between independent and multi-photon states evaluated as Stokes vectors on the Poincaré sphere. As single-photon sources are not needed, the design and implementation of quantum computing operations will be significantly streamlined.
A single-photon incident on a beam splitter produces an entangled field state, and in principle could be used to violate a Bell inequality, but such an experiment (without postselection) is beyond the reach of current experiments. Here we consider the somewhat simpler task of demonstrating Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering with a single photon (also without postselection). We demonstrate that Alice's choice of measurement on her portion of the entangled state can affect Bob's portion of the entangled state in his laboratory, in a sense rigorously defined by us and Doherty [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 140402 (2007)]. Previous work by Lvovsky and coworkers [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 047903 (2004)] has addressed this phenomenon (which they called remote preparation) experimentally using homodyne measurements on a single photon. Here we show that, unfortunately, their experimental parameters do not meet the bounds necessary for a rigorous demonstration of EPR steering with a single photon. However, we also show that modest improvements in the experimental parameters, and the addition of photon counting to the arsenal of Alice's measurements, would be sufficient to allow such a demonstration.
Single-photon entanglement is one of the primary resources for quantum networks, including quantum repeater architectures. Such entanglement can be revealed with only local homodyne measurements through the entanglement witness presented in Morin et al (2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 130401 ). Here, we provide an extended analysis of this witness by introducing analytical bounds and by reporting measurements confirming its great robustness with regard to losses. This study highlights the potential of optical hybrid methods, where discrete entanglement is characterized through continuous-variable measurements.