Kaisa Laiho

A 2D quantum walk simulation of two-particle dynamics

Here, There, Everywhere Random walks are a powerful mathematical method that can be used to simulate certain processes in biology, chemistry, or even the stock market. They present a statistical method for mapping the possible routes that processes can take. Quantum walks are expected to be able to probe multiple paths simultaneously. Quantum walks have been demonstrated for one-dimensional, or straight-line, walks. Now, Schreiber et al. (p. 55, published online 8 March) demonstrate an optical system that can simulate quantum walks over a two-dimensional system, thereby providing the capability of describing much more complex processes. An optical approach extends quantum walk methodology from one to two dimensions. Multidimensional quantum walks can exhibit highly nontrivial topological structure, providing a powerful tool for simulating quantum information and transport systems. We present a flexible implementation of a two-dimensional (2D) optical quantum walk on a lattice, demonstrating a scalable quantum walk on a nontrivial graph structure. We realized a coherent quantum walk over 12 steps and 169 positions by using an optical fiber network. With our broad spectrum of quantum coins, we were able to simulate the creation of entanglement in bipartite systems with conditioned interactions. Introducing dynamic control allowed for the investigation of effects such as strong nonlinearities or two-particle scattering. Our results illustrate the potential of quantum walks as a route for simulating and understanding complex quantum systems.

Probing multimode squeezing with correlation functions

Broadband multimode squeezers constitute a powerful quantum resource with promising potential for different applications in quantum information technologies such as information coding in quantum communication networks or quantum simulations in higher-dimensional systems. However, the characterization of a large array of squeezers that coexist in a single spatial mode is challenging. In this paper, we address this problem and propose a straightforward method for determining the number of squeezers and their respective squeezing strengths by using broadband multimode correlation function measurements. These measurements employ the large detection windows of the state of the art avalanche photodiodes in order to simultaneously probe the fullHilbert space of the generatedstate, which enables us tobenchmark the squeezed states. Moreover, due to the structure of correlation functions, our measurements are not affected by losses. This is a significant advantage, since detectors with low efficiencies are sufficient. Our approach is less costly than tomographic methods relying on multimode homodyne detection, which is based on much more demanding measurement and analysis tools and appear to be impractical for large Hilbert spaces.

Chirality arising from small defects in gold nanoparticle arrays

The symmetry of metal nanostructures may be broken by their overall features or small-scale defects. To separate the roles of these two mechanisms in chiral symmetry breaking, we prepare gold nanostructures with chirality occurring on different levels. Linear optical measurements reveal small chiral signatures, whereas the chiral responses from second-harmonic generation are enormous. The responses of all structures are remarkably similar, suggesting that uncontrollable defects play an important role in symmetry breaking.

Accessing higher order correlations in quantum optical states by time multiplexing.

We experimentally measured higher order normalized correlation functions (nCF) of pulsed light with a time-multiplexing-detector. We demonstrate excellent performance of our device by verifying unity valued nCF up to the eighth order for coherent light, and factorial dependence of the nCF for pseudothermal light. We applied our measurement technique to a type-II parametric downconversion source to investigate mutual two-mode correlation properties and ascertain nonclassicality.

Spatial modes in waveguided parametric down-conversion

The propagation of several spatial modes has a significant impact on the structure of the emission from parametric down-conversion in a nonlinear waveguide. This manifests itself not only in the spatial correlations of the photon pairs but also, due to new phase-matching conditions, in the output spectrum, radically altering the degree of entanglement within each pair. Here we investigate both theoretically and experimentally the results of higher-order spatial-mode propagation in nonlinear waveguides. We derive conditions for the creation of pairs in these modes and present observations of higher-order mode propagation in both the spatial and spectral domains. Furthermore, we observe correlations between the different degrees of freedom and finally we discuss strategies for mitigating any detrimental effects and optimizing pair production in the fundamental mode.

Photon Number Statistics of Multimode Parametric Down-Conversion

We experimentally analyze the complete photon number statistics of parametric down-conversion and ascertain the influence of multimode effects. Our results clearly reveal a difference between single-mode theoretical description and the measured distributions. Further investigations assure the applicability of loss-tolerant photon number reconstruction and prove strict photon number correlation between signal and idler modes.

Probing the Negative Wigner Function of a Pulsed Single Photon Point by Point

We investigate quantum properties of pulsed light fields point by point in phase space. We probe the negative region of the Wigner function of a single photon generated by the means of waveguided parametric down conversion. This capability is achieved by employing loss-tolerant photon-number resolving detection, allowing us to directly observe the oscillations of the photon statistics in dependence of applied displacements in phase space. Our scheme is highly mode sensitive and can reveal the single-mode character of the signal state.

Spatio-spectral characteristics of parametric down-conversion in waveguide arrays

High dimensional quantum states are of fundamental interest for quantum information processing. They give access to large Hilbert spaces and, in turn, enable the encoding of quantum information on multiple modes. One method to create such quantum states is parametric down-conversion (PDC) in waveguide arrays (WGAs) which allows for the creation of highly entangled photon pairs in controlled, easily accessible spatial modes, with unique spectral properties.In this paper we examine both theoretically and experimentally the PDC process in a lithium niobate WGA. We measure the spatial and spectral properties of the emitted photon pairs, revealing correlations between spectral and spatial degrees of freedom of the created photons. Our measurements show that, in contrast to prior theoretical approaches, spectrally dependent coupling effects have to be taken into account in the theory of PDC in WGAs. To interpret the results, we developed a theoretical model specifically taking into account spectrally dependent coupling effects, which further enables us to explore the capabilities and limitations for engineering the spatial correlations of the generated quantum states.

Accessing the purity of a single photon by the width of the Hong–Ou–Mandel interference

We demonstrate a method for determining the spectral purity of single photons. The technique is based on the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference between a single-photon state and a suitably prepared coherent field. We show that the temporal width of the HOM dip is related not only to the reciprocal of the spectral width but also to the underlying quantum coherence. Therefore, by measuring the width of both the HOM dip and the spectrum, one can directly quantify the degree of spectral purity. The distinct advantage of our proposal is that it obviates the need for perfect mode matching, since it does not rely on the visibility of the interference. Our method is particularly useful for characterizing the purity of heralded single-photon states.

Producing high fidelity single photons with optimal brightness via waveguided parametric down-conversion

Parametric down-conversion (PDC) offers the possibility to control the fabrication of non-Gaussian states such as Fock states. However, in conventional PDC sources energy and momentum conservation introduce strict frequency and photon number correlations, which impact the fidelity of the prepared state. In our work we optimize the preparation of single-photon Fock states from the emission of waveguided PDC via spectral filtering. We study the effect of correlations via photon number resolving detection and quantum interference. Our measurements show how the reduction of mixedness due to filtering can be evaluated. Interfering the prepared photon with a coherent state we establish an experimentally measured fidelity of the produced target state of 78%.