No Arabic abstract
Photons in optical networks can be used in multi-path interferometry and various quantum information processing and communication protocols. Large networks, however, are often not free from defects, which can appear randomly between the lattice sites and are caused either by production faults or deliberate introduction. In this work we present numerical simulations of the behaviour of a single photon injected into a regular lattice of beam-splitting components in the presence of defects that cause perfect backward reflections. We find that the photon dynamics is quickly dominated by the backscattering processes, and a small fraction of reflectors in the paths of the beam-splitting array strongly affects the percolation probability of the photon. We carefully examine such systems and show an interesting interplay between the probabilities of percolation, backscattering and temporary localization. We also discuss the sensitivity of these probabilities to lattice size, timescale, injection point, fraction of reflectors and boundary conditions.
In this paper, we investigate the phase sensitivities in two-path optical interferometry with asymmetric beam splitters. Here, we present the optimal conditions for the transmission ratio and the phase of the beam splitter to gain the highest sensitivities for a general class of non-classical states with parity symmetry. Additionally, we address the controversial question of whether the scheme with a combination of coherent state and photon-added or photon-subtracted squeezed vacuum state is better or worse than the most celebrated one using a combination of coherent state and squeezed vacuum state.
Two experiments of four-photon interference are performed with two pairs of photons from parametric down-conversion with the help of asymmetric beam splitters. The first experiment is a generalization of the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference effect to two pairs of photons while the second one utilizes this effect to demonstrate a four-photon de Broglie wavelength of $lambda/4$ by projection measurement.
We discuss the observability of strong coupling between single photons in semiconductor microcavities coupled by a chi(2) nonlinearity. We present two schemes and analyze the feasibility of their practical implementation in three systems: photonic crystal defects, micropillars and microdisks, fabricated out of GaAs. We show that if a weak coherent state is used to enhance the chi(2) interaction, the strong coupling regime between two modes at different frequencies occupied by a single photon is within reach of current technology. The unstimulated strong coupling of a single photon and a photon pair is very challenging and will require an improvement in mirocavity quality factors of 2-4 orders of magnitude to be observable.
Harnessing nonlinearities strong enough to allow two single photons to interact with one another is not only a fascinating challenge but is central to numerous advanced applications in quantum information science. Currently, all known approaches are extremely challenging although a few have led to experimental realisations with attenuated classical laser light. This has included cross-phase modulation with weak classical light in atomic ensembles and optical fibres, converting incident laser light into a non-classical stream of photon or Rydberg blockades as well as all-optical switches with attenuated classical light in various atomic systems. Here we report the observation of a nonlinear parametric interaction between two true single photons. Single photons are initially generated by heralding one photon from each of two independent spontaneous parametric downconversion sources. The two heralded single photons are subsequently combined in a nonlinear waveguide where they are converted into a single photon with a higher energy. Our approach highlights the potential for quantum nonlinear optics with integrated devices, and as the photons are at telecom wavelengths, it is well adapted to applications in quantum communication.
The random Lorentz gas (RLG) is a minimal model of transport in heterogeneous media. It also models the dynamics of a tracer in a glassy system. These two perspectives, however, are fundamentally inconsistent. Arrest in the former is related to percolation, and hence continuous, while glass-like arrest is discontinuous. In order to clarify the interplay between percolation and glassiness in the RLG, we consider its exact solution in the infinite-dimensional $drightarrowinfty$ limit, as well as numerics in $d=2ldots 20$. We find that the mean field solutions of the RLG and glasses fall in the same universality class, and that instantonic corrections related to rare cage escapes destroy the glass transition in finite dimensions. This advance suggests that the RLG can be used as a toy model to develop a first-principle description of hopping in structural glasses.