Philipp Sulzer

Subcycle quantum electrodynamics

Squeezed states of electromagnetic radiation have quantum fluctuations below those of the vacuum field. They offer a unique resource for quantum information systems and precision metrology, including gravitational wave detectors, which require unprecedented sensitivity. Since the first experiments on this non-classical form of light, quantum analysis has been based on homodyning techniques and photon correlation measurements. These methods currently function in the visible to near-infrared and microwave spectral ranges. They require a well-defined carrier frequency, and photons contained in a quantum state need to be absorbed or amplified. Quantum non-demolition experiments may be performed to avoid the influence of a measurement in one quadrature, but this procedure comes at the expense of increased uncertainty in another quadrature. Here we generate mid-infrared time-locked patterns of squeezed vacuum noise. After propagation through free space, the quantum fluctuations of the electric field are studied in the time domain using electro-optic sampling with few-femtosecond laser pulses. We directly compare the local noise amplitude to that of bare (that is, unperturbed) vacuum. Our nonlinear approach operates off resonance and, unlike homodyning or photon correlation techniques, without absorption or amplification of the field that is investigated. We find subcycle intervals with noise levels that are substantially less than the amplitude of the vacuum field. As a consequence, there are enhanced fluctuations in adjacent time intervals, owing to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, which indicate generation of highly correlated quantum radiation. Together with efforts in the far infrared, this work enables the study of elementary quantum dynamics of light and matter in an energy range at the boundary between vacuum and thermal background conditions.

Analysis of the carrier-envelope phase noise of passively phase-locked Er:Fiber frequency combs up to the Nyquist frequency

We study the carrier-envelope phase noise of an Er:fiber frequency comb which is passively phase-locked at the full repetition rate of 100 MHz. A novel characterization method determines an out-of-loop phase jitter of only 250 mrad when integrated over 12 orders of magnitude: from 50 μHz up to the Nyquist frequency.

Subcycle multi-terahertz quantum electrodynamics

Quantum field theory offers the most exact description of the physics of microscopic interactions. The process offield quantization necessitates the existence of a vacuum field with a corresponding zero-point energy [1]. From this point of view, the ability to directly measure and manipulate electrodynamic quantum vacuum field is an attractive prospect for experimental physics. It is bound to shed new light on the processes governing macroscopic properties of quantum matter [2, 3] as well as to motivate table-top investigations of fundamental constituents of the quantum fields and their intrinsic connections the structure of spacetime [4, 5].

Characterization of carrier-envelope phase noise of passively phase-locked fiber-based frequency combs up to the nyquist frequency

Applications of optical frequency combs in high precision metrology [1] require low-noise stabilization of its carrier-envelope offset (CEO) frequency. This task is commonly achieved via active feedback. Fully passive elimination of the CEO frequency based on difference frequency generation (DFG) between two octave-separated comb sections followed by amplification of the DFG signal in the EDFA has been demonstrated recently in an all-fiber design [2]. In this work, we develop a novel broadband characterization method of carrier-envelope phase (CEP) noise and apply it to study the passively phase-locked 100 MHz Er:fiber comb [3].

Simultaneous sampling of electric field quadratures in the time domain

We directly detect the multi-terahertz vacuum field and analyze its dependence on the probed space-time volume. A scheme for sensing the time derivative of the field enables time-domain quantum tomography with simultaneous sampling of both quadratures.

Passively phase-locked Er:Fiber frequency comb

Modern precision metrology ever more strongly relies on the availability of optical frequency combs. We review our approach to passive stabilization of the carrier envelope phase (CEP) of a pulse train at full repetition rate via difference frequency generation. Using this approach, we demonstrate a inherently offset-free Er:fiber comb directly locked onto an optical reference (85Rb) together with a possibility of an actively narrowed sub-500 mHz linewidth. This performance highlights an attractive potential of robust all-fiber comb systems toward applications in ultrahigh-precision metrology.