Yingwen Zhang

Engineering two-photon high-dimensional states through quantum interference.

A simple approach to preparing high-dimensional entangled states by quantum interference. Many protocols in quantum science, for example, linear optical quantum computing, require access to large-scale entangled quantum states. Such systems can be realized through many-particle qubits, but this approach often suffers from scalability problems. An alternative strategy is to consider a lesser number of particles that exist in high-dimensional states. The spatial modes of light are one such candidate that provides access to high-dimensional quantum states, and thus they increase the storage and processing potential of quantum information systems. We demonstrate the controlled engineering of two-photon high-dimensional states entangled in their orbital angular momentum through Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. We prepare a large range of high-dimensional entangled states and implement precise quantum state filtering. We characterize the full quantum state before and after the filter, and are thus able to determine that only the antisymmetric component of the initial state remains. This work paves the way for high-dimensional processing and communication of multiphoton quantum states, for example, in teleportation beyond qubits.

Simulating quantum state engineering in spontaneous parametric down-conversion using classical light.

We present a simple method of simulating the effect of the pumping process in spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) by modulating a classical laser beam with two spatial light modulators through a back projection setup. We simulate a wide range of pump beams for quantum state engineering and confirm that the results are in agreement with theory. Our approach offers high photon count rates, is quick to yield results and can easily be converted back to a SPDC setup. It is likely to be a useful tool before starting more complicated SPDC experiments with custom pump profiles.

Experimentally observed decay of high-dimensional entanglement through turbulence

The evolution of high-dimensional entanglement in atmospheric turbulence is investigated. We study the effects of turbulence on photonic states generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion, both theoretically and experimentally. One of the photons propagates through turbulence, while the other is left undisturbed. The atmospheric turbulence is simulated by a single phase screen based on the Kolmogorov theory of turbulence. The output after turbulence is projected into a three-dimensional (qutrit) basis composed of specific Laguerre-Gaussian modes. Full state tomography is performed to determine the density matrix for each output quantum state. These density matrices are used to determine the amount of entanglement, quantified in terms of the negativity, as a function of the scintillation strength. Theoretically, the entanglement is calculated using a single phase screen approximation. We obtain good agreement between theory and experiment.

Overlap relation between free-space Laguerre Gaussian modes and step-index fiber modes

We investigated the overlap relation of the free-space Laguerre-Gaussian modes to the corresponding linearly polarized modes of a step-index fiber. To maximize the overlap for an efficient coupling of the free-space modes into a fiber, the scale-dependent overlap was theoretically and experimentally determined. The presented studies pave the way for further improvement of free-space to fiber optical connections.

Hong-Ou-Mandel interference of entangled Hermite-Gauss modes

Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference is demonstrated experimentally for entangled photon pairs in the Hermite-Gauss (HG) basis. We use two Dove prisms in one of the paths of the photons to manipulate the entangled quantum state that enters the HOM interferometer. It is demonstrated that, when entangled photon pairs are in a symmetric Bell state in the Laguerre-Gauss (LG) basis, they will remain symmetric after decomposing them into the HG basis, thereby resulting in no coincidence events after the HOM interference. On the other hand, if the photon pairs are in an antisymmetric Bell state in the LG basis, then they will also be antisymmetric in the HG basis, thereby producing only coincidence events as a result of the HOM interference.

Simulating spontaneous parametric down-conversion using classical light

We present a simple way of simulating Spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) by modulating a classical laser beam with two spatial light modulators (SLM) through a back projection setup. This system has the advantage of having very high photon count rates, it can simulate a large range of pump beam profiles simply by modifying the hologram on the SLM, and it can be easily converted to a SPDC setup by simply changing only two of its components without the need to perform realignment. This setup can be used to give an indication whether a SPDC experiment will be feasible in a very short amount of time.

Azimuthal spectrum after parametric down-conversion with radial degrees of freedom

Considering the quantum state produced in type I spontaneous parametric down-conversion with collinear, degenerate signal and idler beams, and a Gaussian pump, we show that the azimuthal Schmidt number in the Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) basis increases when the radial indices of the LG modes detected in the signal and idler beams are different. These observations are confirmed by the good agreement between theoretical and experimental results. The theoretical results are obtained by deriving expressions for the probability amplitude to detect LG modes with any combination of azimuthal and radial indices in a down-converted photonic quantum state.