192 research outputs found
Fluctuation properties of laser light after interaction with an atomic system: comparison between two-level and multilevel atomic transitions
The complex internal atomic structure involved in radiative transitions has
an effect on the spectrum of fluctuations (noise) of the transmitted light. A
degenerate transition has different properties in this respect than a pure
two-level transition. We investigate these variations by studying a certain
transition between two degenerate atomic levels for different choices of the
polarization state of the driving laser. For circular polarization,
corresponding to the textbook two-level atom case, the optical spectrum shows
the characteristic Mollow triplet for strong laser drive, while the
corresponding noise spectrum exhibits squeezing in some frequency ranges. For a
linearly polarized drive, corresponding to the case of a multilevel system,
additional features appear in both optical and noise spectra. These differences
are more pronounced in the regime of a weakly driven transition: whereas the
two-level case essentially exhibits elastic scattering, the multilevel case has
extra noise terms related to spontaneous Raman transitions. We also discuss the
possibility to experimentally observe these predicted differences for the
commonly encountered case where the laser drive has excess noise in its phase
quadrature.Comment: New version. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Energy-time entangled qutrits: Bell tests and quantum communication
We have developed a scheme to generate, control, transmit and measure
entangled photonic qutrits (two photons each of dimension d = 3). A Bell test
of this source has previously been reported elsewhere [1], therefore, here we
focus on how the control of the system is realized. Motivated by these results,
we outline how the scheme can be used for two specific quantum protocols,
namely key distribution and coin tossing and discuss some of their advantages
and disadvantages.Comment: For the conference proceedings of QCMC 200
Polarization entangled photon-pair source based on a type-II PPLN waveguide emitting at a telecom wavelength
We report the realization of a fiber coupled polarization entangled
photon-pair source at 1310 nm based on a birefringent titanium in-diffused
waveguide integrated on periodically poled lithium niobate. By taking advantage
of a dedicated and high-performance setup, we characterized the quantum
properties of the pairs by measuring two-photon interference in both
Hong-Ou-Mandel and standard Bell inequality configurations. We obtained, for
the two sets of measurements, interference net visibilities reaching nearly
100%, which represent important and competitive results compared to similar
waveguide-based configurations already reported. These results prove the
relevance of our approach as an enabling technology for long-distance quantum
communication.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, to appear in New Journal of Physic
Two-photon interference between disparate sources for quantum networking
Quantum networks involve entanglement sharing between multiple users.
Ideally, any two users would be able to connect regardless of the type of
photon source they employ, provided they fulfill the requirements for
two-photon interference. From a theoretical perspective, photons coming from
different origins can interfere with a perfect visibility, provided they are
made indistinguishable in all degrees of freedom. Previous experimental
demonstrations of such a scenario have been limited to photon wavelengths below
900 nm, unsuitable for long distance communication, and suffered from low
interference visibility. We report two-photon interference using two disparate
heralded single photon sources, which involve different nonlinear effects,
operating in the telecom wavelength range. The measured visibility of the
two-photon interference is 80+/-4%, which paves the way to hybrid universal
quantum networks
Temporal intensity correlation of light scattered by a hot atomic vapor
We present temporal intensity correlation measurements of light scattered by
a hot atomic vapor. Clear evidence of photon bunching is shown at very short
time-scales (nanoseconds) imposed by the Doppler broadening of the hot vapor.
Moreover, we demonstrate that relevant information about the scattering
process, such as the ratio of single to multiple scattering, can be deduced
from the measured intensity correlation function. These measurements confirm
the interest of temporal intensity correlation to access non-trivial spectral
features, with potential applications in astrophysics
Quantum correlations versus Multisimultaneity: an experimental test
Multisimultaneity is a causal model of relativistic quantum physics which
assigns a real time ordering to any set of events, much in the spirit of the
pilot-wave picture. Contrary to standard quantum mechanics, it predicts a
disappearance of the correlations in a Bell-type experiment when both analysers
are in relative motion such that, each one in its own inertial reference frame,
is first to select the output of the photons. We tested this prediction using
acousto-optic modulators as moving beam-splitters and interferometers separated
by 55 m. We didn't observe any disappearance of the correlations, thus refuting
Multisimultaneity.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTex 4 versio
Integrated optical source of polarization entangled photons at 1310 nm
We report the realization of a new polarization entangled photon-pair source
based on a titanium-indiffused waveguide integrated on periodically poled
lithium niobate pumped by a CW laser at . The paired photons are
emitted at the telecom wavelength of within a bandwidth of .
The quantum properties of the pairs are measured using a two-photon coalescence
experiment showing a visibility of 85%. The evaluated source brightness, on the
order of pairs , associated with its
compactness and reliability, demonstrates the source's high potential for
long-distance quantum communication.Comment: There is a typing mistake in the previous version in the visibility
equation. This mistake doesn't change the result
Low-voltage nanodomain writing in He-implanted lithium niobate crystals
A scanning force microscope tip is used to write ferroelectric domains in
He-implanted single-crystal lithium niobate and subsequently probe them by
piezoresponse force microscopy. Investigation of cross-sections of the samples
showed that the buried implanted layer, \,\textmu m below the surface,
is non-ferroelectric and can thus act as a barrier to domain growth. This
barrier enabled stable surface domains of \,\textmu m size to be written
in 500\,\textmu m-thick crystal substrates with voltage pulses of only 10\,V
applied to the tip
Photon-bunching measurement after 2x25km of standard optical fibers
To show the feasibility of a long distance partial Bell-State measurement, a
Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment with coherent photons is reported. Pairs of
degenerate photons at telecom wavelength are created by parametric down
conversion in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide. The photon pairs
are separated in a beam-splitter and transmitted via two fibers of 25km. The
wave-packets are relatively delayed and recombined on a second beam-splitter,
forming a large Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Coincidence counts between the
photons at the two output modes are registered. The main challenge consists in
the trade-off between low count rates due to narrow filtering and length
fluctuations of the 25km long arms during the measurement. For balanced paths a
Hong-Ou-Mandel dip with a visibility of 47.3% is observed, which is close to
the maximal theoretical value of 50% developed here. This proves the
practicability of a long distance Bell state measurement with two independent
sources, as e.g. required in an entanglement swapping configuration in the
scale of tens of km.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
- …