Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:quant-ph/0606201 · Optics Letters

Joint multipartite photon statistics by on/off detection

G. Brida, Marco Genovese, Fabrizio Piacentini, Matteo G. A. Paris

Published Nov 9, 2006• 15 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We demonstrate a method to reconstruct the joint photon statistics of two or more modes of radiation by using on/off photodetection performed at different quantum efficiencies. The two-mode case is discussed in detail, and experimental results are presented for the bipartite states obtained after a beam splitter fed by a single photon state or a thermal state.

DOI
10.1364/ol.31.003508

Related papers

NONTRIVIAL PHOTON STATISTICS WITH LOW RESOLUTION-THRESHOLD PHOTON COUNTERS

Guido Zambra, Alessia Allevi, Alessandra Andreoni +2 more

We address the reconstruction of photon statistics using realistic photodetectors having low quantum efficiency and finite resolution as photon counters. Using a maximum-likelihood method, based on measurements taken at different quantum efficiencies, we experimentally reconstruct the nontrivial photon statistics of the state obtained by mixing at a beam-splitter two phase-averaged coherent states. The effect of using different resolution thresholds is also discussed.

International Journal of Quantum Information•Feb 1, 2007•13 citations

On reconstructing photon statistics by on/off detectors: Toward the multi-partite case

G. Brida, Marco Genovese, Matteo G. A. Paris +3 more

Reconstruction of photon statistics of optical states provides fundamental information on the nature of any optical field and finds various relevant applications. Nevertheless, no detector that can accurately discriminate the number of incident photons is available, whereas reconstruction by quantum tomography is not an easily implementable technique suited for a diffuse use. Even if on/off detectors, as usual avalanche photodiodes operating in Geiger mode, seem useless as photocounters, recently it was shown that reconstruction of photon statistics is possible by considering variable quantum efficiency. We have experimentally demonstrated the potential of this technique by reconstructing photon statistics for various optical fields both in the cw and pulsed regime ranging from heralded photon states to multi-thermal and coherent ones. In this paper, after having introduced the method, a review of the results obtained for the mono-partite case is given and the extension to bi-partite case is presented in detail.

Optics and Spectroscopy•Jul 1, 2007•4 citations

Measuring the photon distribution with ON/OFF photodetectors

Marco Genovese, Marco Gramegna, G. Brida +5 more

Reconstruction of photon statistics of optical states provides fundamental information on the nature of any optical field and helps with various relevant applications. Nevertheless, no detector that can reliably discriminate the number of incident photons is available. On the other hand, the alternative of reconstructing the density matrix by quantum tomography leads to various technical difficulties that are particularly severe in the pulsed regime (where mode matching between a signal and local oscillator is very challenging). Even if on/off detectors, as usual avalanche photodiodes operating in Geiger mode, seem useless as photo-counters, it was recently shown how reconstruction of photon statistics is possible by considering a variable quantum efficiency. Here we present experimental reconstructions of photon number distributions of both continuous-wave and pulsed light beams in a scheme based on on/off avalanche photodetection assisted by maximum-likelihood estimation. Reconstructions of the distribution for both semiclassical and quantum states of light (as single photon, coherent, pseudothermal, and multithermal states) are reported for single-mode and multimode beams. The stability and good accuracy obtained in the reconstruction of these states clearly demonstrate the interesting potentialities of this simple technique.

arXiv:quant-ph/0601175•Laser Physics•Feb 1, 2006•32 citations

On/off Detection Method for Reconstructing the Statistics of Quantum Optical States: An Overview

G. Brida, Marco Genovese, Marco Gramegna +3 more

We give a brief overview of the demonstration of a photon statistics reconstruction method based on Maximum Likelihood estimation and on/off detection. This method has been successfully applied to a large number of cases and, recently, extended to a scheme for a full reconstruction of the density matrix. Experimental results concerning the heralded single-photon state and the seeded parametric down-conversion are presented in some details.

International Conference on Quantum, Nano and Micro Technologies (ICQNM)•Feb 1, 2009•0 citations

Quantum and classical correlations of intense beams of light investigated via joint photodetection

Andrea Agliati, Maria Bondani, Alessandra Andreoni +2 more

We address joint photodetection as a method for discriminating between the classical correlations of a thermal beam divided by a beam splitter and the quantum entanglement of a twin beam obtained by parametric down-conversion. We show that for intense beams of light the detection of the difference photocurrent may be used, in principle, in order to reveal entanglement, while the simple measurement of the correlation coefficient is not sufficient. We have experimentally measured the correlation coefficient and the variance of the difference photocurrent for several classical and quantum states. Results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions taking into account the extra noise in the generated fields that is due to the pump laser fluctuations.

arXiv:quant-ph/0508047•Journal of Optics B Quantum and Semiclassical Optics•Nov 22, 2005•69 citations

Photon number statistics of entanglement generated by multiple single photon sources

Jun-Yi Wu, Holger Friedrich Hofmann

Multiphoton interference results in a wide variety of non-classical photon number statistics, including characteristic signatures of entanglement between two or more sets of optical modes. Here, we consider the photon number statistics observed after applying discrete Fourier transformations (DFTs) to bipartite entangled states generated using single photon sources and beam splitters. It is shown that the output photon number states of DFTs are eigenstates of a translational mode shifting operator in the input. The complex eigenvalues of the mode shift can be identified by a phase number K obtained from the output photon distribution. For each output distribution, the possible input states are limited to mode shift eigenstates with the same K-value. Using this mode shift rule, we can identify the quantum coherence between different photon number distributions in the input with experimentally observable K-values in the output of the DFT. In the case of multi-photon entanglement obtained by post-selection and beam splitting single photons, this coherence is non-local, resulting in correlated pairs of K-values that always sum up to zero. We can therefore observe both the correlations between the input photon number distributions and a complementary correlation between the output photon numbers of two DFTs to obtain a reliable characterization of the entanglement between the two multi-mode multi-photon systems. Importantly, the K-value allows a classification of large sets of possible photon number distributions, resulting in a significant simplification of the experimental evaluation of the multi-photon output statistics and opening up the road towards more efficient applications of non-classical multi-photon states

Quantum Communications and Quantum Imaging•Aug 30, 2017•0 citations
We demonstrate a method to reconstruct the joint photon statistics of two or more modes of radiation by using on/off photodetection performed at different quantum efficiencies. The two-mode case is discussed in detail, and experimental results are presented for the bipartite states obtained after a beam splitter fed by a single photon state or a thermal state.
Reconstruction of photon statistics of optical states provides fundamental information on the nature of any optical field and finds various relevant applications. Nevertheless, no detector that can accurately discriminate the number of incident photons is available, whereas reconstruction by quantum tomography is not an easily implementable technique suited for a diffuse use. Even if on/off detectors, as usual avalanche photodiodes operating in Geiger mode, seem useless as photocounters, recently it was shown that reconstruction of photon statistics is possible by considering variable quantum efficiency. We have experimentally demonstrated the potential of this technique by reconstructing photon statistics for various optical fields both in the cw and pulsed regime ranging from heralded photon states to multi-thermal and coherent ones. In this paper, after having introduced the method, a review of the results obtained for the mono-partite case is given and the extension to bi-partite case is presented in detail.
Reconstruction of photon statistics of optical states provides fundamental information on the nature of any optical field and helps with various relevant applications. Nevertheless, no detector that can reliably discriminate the number of incident photons is available. On the other hand, the alternative of reconstructing the density matrix by quantum tomography leads to various technical difficulties that are particularly severe in the pulsed regime (where mode matching between a signal and local oscillator is very challenging). Even if on/off detectors, as usual avalanche photodiodes operating in Geiger mode, seem useless as photo-counters, it was recently shown how reconstruction of photon statistics is possible by considering a variable quantum efficiency. Here we present experimental reconstructions of photon number distributions of both continuous-wave and pulsed light beams in a scheme based on on/off avalanche photodetection assisted by maximum-likelihood estimation. Reconstructions of the distribution for both semiclassical and quantum states of light (as single photon, coherent, pseudothermal, and multithermal states) are reported for single-mode and multimode beams. The stability and good accuracy obtained in the reconstruction of these states clearly demonstrate the interesting potentialities of this simple technique.
We address joint photodetection as a method for discriminating between the classical correlations of a thermal beam divided by a beam splitter and the quantum entanglement of a twin beam obtained by parametric down-conversion. We show that for intense beams of light the detection of the difference photocurrent may be used, in principle, in order to reveal entanglement, while the simple measurement of the correlation coefficient is not sufficient. We have experimentally measured the correlation coefficient and the variance of the difference photocurrent for several classical and quantum states. Results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions taking into account the extra noise in the generated fields that is due to the pump laser fluctuations.
Multiphoton interference results in a wide variety of non-classical photon number statistics, including characteristic signatures of entanglement between two or more sets of optical modes. Here, we consider the photon number statistics observed after applying discrete Fourier transformations (DFTs) to bipartite entangled states generated using single photon sources and beam splitters. It is shown that the output photon number states of DFTs are eigenstates of a translational mode shifting operator in the input. The complex eigenvalues of the mode shift can be identified by a phase number K obtained from the output photon distribution. For each output distribution, the possible input states are limited to mode shift eigenstates with the same K-value. Using this mode shift rule, we can identify the quantum coherence between different photon number distributions in the input with experimentally observable K-values in the output of the DFT. In the case of multi-photon entanglement obtained by post-selection and beam splitting single photons, this coherence is non-local, resulting in correlated pairs of K-values that always sum up to zero. We can therefore observe both the correlations between the input photon number distributions and a complementary correlation between the output photon numbers of two DFTs to obtain a reliable characterization of the entanglement between the two multi-mode multi-photon systems. Importantly, the K-value allows a classification of large sets of possible photon number distributions, resulting in a significant simplification of the experimental evaluation of the multi-photon output statistics and opening up the road towards more efficient applications of non-classical multi-photon states