The squeezed state of the electromagnetic field can be generated in many nonlinear optical processes and finds a wide range of applications in quantum information processing and quantum metrology. This article reviews the basic properties of single-a
nd dual-mode squeezed light states, methods of their preparation and detection, as well as their quantum technology applications.
Schroedingers famous thought experiment involves a (macroscopic) cat whose quantum state becomes entangled with that of a (microscopic) decaying nucleus. The creation of such micro-macro entanglement is currently being pursued in several fields, incl
uding atomic ensembles, superconducting circuits, electro-mechanical and opto-mechanical systems. For purely optical systems, there have been several proposals to create micro-macro entanglement by greatly amplifying one half of an initial microscopic entangled state of light, but experimental attempts have so far been inconclusive. Here we experimentally demonstrate micro-macro entanglement of light. The macro system involves over a hundred million photons, while the micro system is at the single-photon level. We show that microscopic differences (in field quadrature measurements) on one side are correlated with macroscopic differences (in the photon number variance) on the other side. On the other hand, we demonstrate entanglement by bringing the macroscopic state back to the single-photon level and performing full quantum state tomography of the final state. Our results show that it is possible to create and demonstrate micro-macro entanglement for unexpectedly large photon numbers. Schroedingers thought experiment was originally intended to convey the absurdity of applying quantum mechanics to macroscopic objects. Today many quantum physicists believe that quantum principles in fact apply on all scales. By combining the present approach with other (e.g. mechanical) systems, or by applying its basic ideas in different contexts, it may be possible to bring quantum effects ever closer to our everyday experience.
The photon creation and annihilation operators are cornerstones of the quantum description of the electromagnetic field. They signify the isomorphism of the optical Hilbert space to that of the harmonic oscillator and the bosonic nature of photons. W
e perform complete experimental characterization (quantum process tomography) of these operators. By measuring their effect on coherent states, we obtain their process tensor in the Fock basis, which explicitly shows the raising and lowering properties of these operators with respect to photon number states. This is the first experimental demonstration of complete tomography of non-deterministic quantum processes.
We observe and investigate, both experimentally and theoretically, electromagnetically-induced transparency experienced by evanescent fields arising due to total internal reflection from an interface of glass and hot rubidium vapor. This phenomenon m
anifests itself as a non-Lorentzian peak in the reflectivity spectrum, which features a sharp cusp with a sub-natural width of about 1 MHz. The width of the peak is independent of the thickness of the interaction region, which indicates that the main source of decoherence is likely due to collisions with the cell walls rather than diffusion of atoms. With the inclusion of a coherence-preserving wall coating, this system could be used as an ultra-compact frequency reference.
Quantum memory is important to quantum information processing in many ways: a synchronization device to match various processes within a quantum computer, an identity quantum gate that leaves any state unchanged, and a tool to convert heralded photon
s to photons-on-demand. In addition to quantum computing, quantum memory would be instrumental for the implementation of long-distance quantum communication using quantum repeaters. The importance of this basic quantum gate is exemplified by the multitude of optical quantum memory mechanisms being studied: optical delay lines, cavities, electromagnetically-induced transparency, photon-echo, and off-resonant Faraday interaction. Here we report on the state-of-the-art in the field of optical quantum memory, including criteria for successful quantum memory and current performance levels.
We propose and experimentally verify a scheme to engineer arbitrary states of traveling light field up to the two-photon level. The desired state is remotely prepared in the signal channel of spontaneous parametric down-conversion by means of conditi
onal measurements on the idler channel. The measurement consists of bringing the idler field into interference with two ancilla coherent states, followed by two single-photon detectors, which, in coincidence, herald the preparation event. By varying the amplitudes and phases of the ancillae, we can prepare any arbitrary superposition of zero- one- and two-photon states.
Heralded single photons are prepared at a rate of ~100 kHz via conditional measurements on polarization-nondegenerate biphotons produced in a periodically poled KTP crystal. The single-photon Fock state is characterized using high frequency pulsed op
tical homodyne tomography with a fidelity of (57.6 +- 0.1)%. The state preparation and detection rates allowed us to perform on-the-fly alignment of the apparatus based on real-time analysis of the quadrature measurement statistics.
We experimentally and theoretically analyze the transmission of continuous-wave and pulsed squeezed vacuum through rubidium vapor under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. Frequency- and time-domain homodyne tomography is used
to measure the quadrature noise and reconstruct the quantum states of the transmitted light. A simple theoretical model explains the spectrum and degradation of the transmitted squeezing with high precision.
We produce a 600-ns pulse of 1.86-dB squeezed vacuum at 795 nm in an optical parametric amplifier and store it in a rubidium vapor cell for 1 us using electromagnetically induced transparency. The recovered pulse, analyzed using time-domain homodyne
tomography, exhibits up to 0.21+-0.04 dB of squeezing. We identify the factors leading to the degradation of squeezing and investigate the phase evolution of the atomic coherence during the storage interval.
The Schrodinger motion of a charged quantum particle in an electromagnetic potential can be simulated by the paraxial dynamics of photons propagating through a spatially inhomogeneous medium. The inhomogeneity induces geometric effects that generate
an artificial vector potential to which signal photons are coupled. This phenomenon can be implemented with slow light propagating through an a gas of double-Lambda atoms in an electromagnetically-induced transparency setting with spatially varied control fields. It can lead to a reduced dispersion of signal photons and a topological phase shift of Aharonov-Bohm type.
