Numerical reconstruction of one-photon mixed states by means of the degree of linear polarisation

In this paper the authors present the idea for reconstructing one-photon states. Reconstructing a quantum state means measuring the probability distribution P that allows one to write the density operator for the analysed state. The most commonly known approach for the quantum reconstruction is the quantum tomography. Our alternative method assumes that the analysed field is coupled with the reference field which is described by the parameters settled during a measurement. In the proposed gedankenexperiment the degree of linear polarisation (DOLP) of this combined beam is measured using a rotating linear polariser. We state that it is possible to obtain the P-function by changing the parameters of reference beams and by preparing the series of DOLP measurements. This series of data leads to the system of equations. The values of the P-function at chosen points are the unknowns of this system. This article focuses on the numerical algorithm for solving these equations.     

Quantum phase measurements and non-classical polarization states of light

Abstract

In our paper we consider the non-classical behaviour of both the Hermitian (observable) Stokes parameters of light and the phase difference of two modes that describe the quantum polarization states of optical field. To characterize the degree of polarization of light we introduce a new quantity taking into account the quantum properties of different quantum states of two orthogonally polarized modes. The problem of determination of the phase difference in two modes of optical field for the quantum polarization states of light is discussed. To describe in general such a quantum field we introduce two pairs of the phase operators: the phase angles for the Stokes parameters of light in a three-dimensional picture of the Poincaré sphere. We also consider a special type of the eight-port polarization interferometer (polarimeter) for simultaneous homodyne detection of both the Stokes parameters of light and the polarization phase operators and their fluctuations as well. Using an anisotropic (spatioperiodic) Kerr-like nonlinear medium associated with the polarization interferometer we could generate and also observe the polarization-squeezed phase states of light. The fluctuations in the phase difference between two orthogonally polarized modes for these non-classical states are less than the fluctuations for light in coherent state.     

Transfer of coherence from atoms to mixed field states in a two-photon lossless micromaser

Abstract

We propose a two-photon micromaser-based scheme for the generation of a non-classical state from a mixed state. We conclude that a faster, as well as a higher degree of field purity, is achieved in comparison to one-photon processes. We investigate the statistical properties of the resulting field states, for initial thermal and (phase-diffused) coherent states. Quasiprobabilities are employed to characterize the state of the generated fields     

Determination of photon statistics and density matrix from double homodyne detection measurements

Abstract

We consider double balanced homodyne detection schemes with and without (local oscillator) phase-randomized detection. We discuss the reconstruction of the photon statistics from phase-randomized measurements. We show how the Wigner function of a photon-number state can be synthesized from phase-randomized double homodyne measurements of two properly prepared field states. Moreover we propose a new procedure to determine the whole density matrix from the Q function. Finally we express the Q function in terms of normally ordered moments and discuss their reconstruction.     

Fock states generation in a kicked cavity with a nonlinear medium

Abstract

We discuss a model of a cavity filled with a passive nonlinear ?Kerr‘ medium and periodically kicked by a series of ultra-short laser pulses. The nonlinear medium is described by the (2q ? 1)th nonlinearity X ^(2q?1). We find analytical formulas describing the field states inside the cavity. We show that such a system can produce, depending on the order of the nonlinearity, superpositions of several Fock states with the small photon numbers (0,1; 0,1,2; etc). In particular, the one-photon state can be approached during the evolution of the system with X ⁽³⁾ nonlinearity provided the cavity losses are negligible. The purity of states generated in this process, however, can be seriously degraded by the cavity damping. We perform numerical calculations to validate our analytical results.     

Pulse-mode study of the quantum correlation of photons in an N-photon Dicke model

Abstract

We find the N-photon state emitted by an N-step Dicke model and provide a method to construct the field coherence functions based on it. Our effort is concentrated on the second order coherence, or the one-photon density matrix. When expressed in its canonical representation, this matrix gives the photon number occupying each ‘pulse eigenmode’. This number serves as an indicator of the correlation between photons. By studying the evolution of the one-photon density matrix we can trace the creation of such correlation during the emission. From the asymptotic solution we are able to find approximate scaling law relations between the photon degeneracy in the eigenmodes and the total number of photons involved.     

Population trapping with quantized fields in two-channel models of atomic excitation

Abstract

In this paper, we study several models of two-channel atomic excitation involving quantized fields and search for field states that result in the trapping of the atomic population in a single bare state. This trapping is a result of quantum interference between the two channels. We study the following models: a two-level atom resonantly interacting with two quantized field modes, a two-level atom with competing one and three photon transitions, and a Raman coupled model containing both Stokes and anti-Stokes fields. We find a great variety of trapping states of the field, some of the states being highly non-classical. The effects of dissipation on the stability of the trapping states are discussed and a method for generating some of the states is presented.     

Quantum coherence of optical systems and dissipation

Abstract

We show that in an open optical system with one-photon dissipation formation of a stationary even coherent superposition state is possible, which is a consequence of the fact that the lifetime of the optical system in a coherent superposition state is different for even and odd states.     

Indirect interference of two modes with different frequencies at the one-photon level

Abstract

The possibility of observing interference with two modes of different frequencies in a one-photon state by means of parametric up-conversion is studied. This phenomenon could be utilized for discernment between pure and mixed states. There is also a close connection to the question of the extent of indefiniteness of the photon's path.     

Optical state measurement by information transfer

Abstract

Mathematically, the simplest state of light containing phase information is a superposition of the vacuum and the one-photon state and, as we show in this paper, such a state is reasonably simple to measure. We investigate how the information contained in a more complicated pure state of light, in particular the ratio of successive number-state coefficients, can be transferred selectively to fields in this two-state superposition for subsequent measurement. By this means the number-state representation of the more complicated state can be ascertained, provided there are no gaps in the number state distribution. We also discuss how to correct for the effect of non-unit efficiencies of the photodetectors involved in the transferral process.     

Quantum Fluctuations in the Stokes Parameters of Light Propagating in a Kerr Medium

Abstract

The quantum theory of light propagation in a nonlinear Kerr medium is applied to calculate the Stokes parameters and their variances in the process of light propagation. Exact quantum formulae are derived for the expectation values of the Stokes operators and thus for the azimuth θ and ellipticity η of the beam. The role of quantum fluctuations in light polarization characteristics is discussed. The periodic behaviour of quantum evolution of the light polarization is revealed explicitly. It is shown that the degree of polarization is diminished at early stages of each period of the evolution but then reverts to its initial state of complete polarization at the end of the period. The variances of the Stokes parameters are also periodic and intensity-dependent; however, they never fall below their coherent state values.     

Applications of electromagnetically induced transparency to quantum information processing

Abstract

We provide a broad outline of the requirements that should be met by components produced for a Quantum Information Technology (QIT) industry, and we identify electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) as potentially key enabling science toward the goal of providing widely available few-qubit quantum information processing within the next decade. As a concrete example, we build on earlier work and discuss the implementation of a two-photon controlled phase gate (and, briefly, a one-photon phase gate) using the approximate Kerr nonlinearity provided by EIT. In this paper, we rigorously analyze the dependence of the performance of these gates on atomic dephasing and field detuning and intensity, and we calculate the optimum parameters needed to apply a π phase shift in a gate of a given fidelity. Although high-fidelity gate operation will be difficult to achieve with realistic system dephasing rates, the moderate fidelities that we believe will be needed for few-qubit QIT seem much more obtainable.     

Quantum properties and dynamics of X states

X states are a broad class of two-qubit density matrices that generalize many states of interest in the literature. In this work, we give a comprehensive account of various quantum properties of these states, such as entanglement, negativity, quantum discord and other related quantities. Moreover, we discuss the transformations that preserve their structure both in terms of continuous time evolution and discrete quantum processes.     

Coherent superposition states of light and their interference in three-photon absorption process

Abstract

For the process of three-photon absorption in the case of a cubic parametric perturbation a possibility to obtain quantum superposition states of three coherent components is shown. The one-photon and two-photon absorption processes are shown to destroy the interference between the state components: the quantum superposition state decays into the classical mixture of its components. It is shown that the interference between different three-component coherent superposition states formed in the system can, depending on the initial state of the field, result in almost full localization of the optical system in a two-component state, or in destruction of the interference between different coherent components. The Wigner functions and quantum entropy of the system are calculated for a variety of initial states.     

Eliminating the Influence of the Perturbed Reference Wave in Electron Holography

Abstract

A method is developed to eliminate the influence of the perturbed reference wave when long-range electromagnetic fields are investigated by electron holography. Based on phase relationships between the reference wave and the object wave, with digital reconstruction and data processing, we can extract the phase of an object wave from the phase difference between the object wave and the perturbed wave, which is always obtained in normal reconstruction. An example of one-dimension electromagnetic fields is given to verify this method.     

Quantum statistics and dynamics of nonlinear couplers with nonlinear exchange

Abstract

In this paper we derive the quantum statistical and dynamical properties of nonlinear optical couplers composed of two nonlinear waveguides operating by second subharmonic generation, which are coupled linearly through evanescent waves and nonlinearly through non-degenerate optical parametric interaction. Main attention is paid to generation and transmission of non-classical light, based on a discussion of the squeezing phenomenon, the normalized second-order correlation function and quasiprobability distribution functions. Initially coherent, number and thermal states of optical beams are considered. In particular, results are discussed with dependence on the strength of the nonlinear coupling relatively to the linear coupling. We show that if the Fock state |1〉 enters the first waveguide and the vacuume state |0〉 enters the second waveguide, the coupler can serve as a generator of squeezed vacuum state governed by the coupler parameters. Further, if thermal fields enter initially the waveguides the coupler plays a similar role as a microwave Josephson-junction parametric amplifier to generate squeezed thermal light.     

Optical state measurement with a two-component probe

Abstract

A state of light which is a superposition of the vacuum and the one-photon number state is the simplest state containing phase information. Recently we have shown how a field in such a state might be generated and here we explore its usefulness as a probe for measuring unknown states of light. We find that this probe can be used reasonably simply both to determine completely some pure states of light and to measure the diagonal and nearest off-diagonal elements of the density matrix in the number state basis and hence to obtain the mean sine and cosine of the phase of an unknown mixed state. We suggest further how a field in a superposition of the vacuum and the two-photon number state might be generated and how this can be used as a probe, both to measure the off-diagonal matrix elements second nearest to the diagonal of a mixed state density matrix and to measure the variance of the cosine and the sine of the phase. We also examine the experimentally more likely case where the probe fields are in mixed states and show how the same information about the unknown state can still be retrieved.     

The Statistical Properties of a Generalized Two-mode Squeezed Operator

Abstract

In this paper we have employed the generalized two-mode squeeze operator to discuss the effect of squeezing on two-mode coherent states, number states and thermal states. By using the Glauber second-order correlation function we examined the statistical properties of these various squeezed states. The statistical investigations are carried out for the quasi-probability distribution functions (Wigner function and Q function). The P representation is also considered.     

The Beam Ratio in Volume Holography

Abstract

Holograms for potential use as optical interconnects in micro-electronic circuits can be recorded optically by either sequential or simultaneous exposures. It is desirable that these holograms have the highest possible diffraction efficiency. In this paper, we investigate the role of the beam ratio, in both recording modes, in achieving the maximum diffraction efficiency. In the study to determine the optimum beam ratio that is needed in order to obtain the maximum diffraction efficiency on reconstruction, it is usually assumed that either the reference beam intensity, the total object beam intensity, or the average light intensity have been fixed and that the interference fringes have the highest theoretically possible contrast. According to the properties of volume phase holograms, we suggest that the total intensity of all the component beams should be the fixed parameter and that the main refractive index modulation should reach a maximum. Expressions are derived using these assumptions.