265 research outputs found
Unpolarized light in quantum optics
We present a new derivation of the unpolarized quantum states of light, whose
general form was first derived by Prakash and Chandra [Phys. Rev. A 4, 796
(1971)]. Our derivation makes use of some basic group theory, is
straightforward, and offers some new insights.Comment: 3 pages, REVTeX, presented at ICQO'200
Quantum limits on phase-shift detection using multimode interferometers
Fundamental phase-shift detection properties of optical multimode
interferometers are analyzed. Limits on perfectly distinguishable phase shifts
are derived for general quantum states of a given average energy. In contrast
to earlier work, the limits are found to be independent of the number of
interfering modes. However, the reported bounds are consistent with the
Heisenberg limit. A short discussion on the concept of well-defined relative
phase is also included.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, REVTeX, uses epsf.st
Entangled-State Lithography: Tailoring any Pattern with a Single State
We demonstrate a systematic approach to Heisenberg-limited lithographic image
formation using four-mode reciprocal binominal states. By controlling the
exposure pattern with a simple bank of birefringent plates, any pixel pattern
on a grid, occupying a square with the side half a
wavelength long, can be generated from a -photon state.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Assessing the Polarization of a Quantum Field from Stokes Fluctuation
We propose an operational degree of polarization in terms of the variance of
the projected Stokes vector minimized over all the directions of the Poincar\'e
sphere. We examine the properties of this degree and show that some problems
associated with the standard definition are avoided. The new degree of
polarization is experimentally determined using two examples: a bright squeezed
state and a quadrature squeezed vacuum.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Comments welcome
Distance-based degrees of polarization for a quantum field
It is well established that unpolarized light is invariant with respect to
any SU(2) polarization transformation. This requirement fully characterizes the
set of density matrices representing unpolarized states. We introduce the
degree of polarization of a quantum state as its distance to the set of
unpolarized states. We use two different candidates of distance, namely the
Hilbert-Schmidt and the Bures metric, showing that they induce fundamentally
different degrees of polarization. We apply these notions to relevant field
states and we demonstrate that they avoid some of the problems arising with the
classical definition.Comment: 8 pages, 1 eps figur
Two-photon imaging and quantum holography
It has been claimed that ``the use of entangled photons in an imaging system
can exhibit effects that cannot be mimicked by any other two-photon source,
whatever strength of the correlations between the two photons'' [A. F.
Abouraddy, B. E. A. Saleh, A. V. Sergienko, and M. C. Teich, Phys. Rev. Lett.
87, 123602 (2001)]. While we believe that the cited statement is true, we show
that the method proposed in that paper, with ``bucket detection'' of one of the
photons, will give identical results for entangled states as for appropriately
prepared classically correlated states.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, REVTe
Maximally polarized states for quantum light fields
The degree of polarization of a quantum state can be defined as its
Hilbert-Schmidt distance to the set of unpolarized states. We demonstrate that
the states optimizing this degree for a fixed average number of photons
present a fairly symmetric, parabolic photon statistics, with a
variance scaling as . Although no standard optical process yields
such a statistics, we show that, to an excellent approximation, a highly
squeezed vacuum can be considered as maximally polarized.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps-color figure
Sub-wavelength lithography over extended areas
We demonstrate a systematic approach to sub-wavelength resolution
lithographic image formation on films covering areas larger than a wavelength
squared. For example, it is possible to make a lithographic pattern with a
feature size resolution of by using a particular -photon, multi-mode entangled state, where , and banks of birefringent
plates. By preparing a statistically mixed such a state one can form any pixel
pattern on a pixel grid occupying a square
with a side of wavelengths. Hence, there is a trade-off between
the exposed area, the minimum lithographic feature size resolution, and the
number of photons used for the exposure. We also show that the proposed method
will work even under non-ideal conditions, albeit with somewhat poorer
performance.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, 1 table. Written in RevTe
Simultaneous minimum-uncertainty measurement of discrete-valued complementary observables
We have made the first experimental demonstration of the simultaneous minimum
uncertainty product between two complementary observables for a two-state
system (a qubit). A partially entangled two-photon state was used to perform
such measurements. Each of the photons carries (partial) information of the
initial state thus leaving a room for measurements of two complementary
observables on every member in an ensemble.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX, submitted to PR
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