We theoretically address squeezed light generation through the spontaneous breaking of the rotational invariance occuring in a type I degenerate optical parametric oscillator (DOPO) pumped above threshold. We show that a DOPO with spherical mirrors, in which the signal and idler fields correspond to first order Laguerre-Gauss modes, produces a perfectly squeezed vacuum with the shape of a Hermite-Gauss mode, within the linearized theory. This occurs at any pumping level above threshold, hence the phenomenon is non-critical. Imperfections of the rotational symmetry, due e.g. to cavity anisotropy, are shown to have a small impact, hence the result is not singular.
Tunable interaction between two atoms in a cavity is realized by interacting the two atoms with an extra controllable single-mode squeezed field. Such a controllable interaction can be further used to control entanglement between the two atoms against amplitude damping decoherence caused by spontaneous emissions. For the independent amplitude damping decoherence channel, entanglement will be lost completely without controls, while it can be partially preserved by the proposed strategy. For the collective amplitude damping decoherence channel, our strategy can enhance the entanglement compared …
We study the quantum correlations induced by spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) of a frequency comb. We derive a theoretical method to find the output state corresponding to a pump with an arbitrary spectral profile. After applying it to the relevant example of a spectrally chirped pump, we run an optimization algorithm to numerically find the pump profiles maximizing some target functions. These include the number of independently squeezed modes and the variances of nullifiers defining cluster states used in many continuous-variable quantum information protocols. To assess the adva…
In the last years we have proposed the use of the mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking with the purpose of generating perfect quadrature squeezing. Here we review previous work dealing with spatial (translational and rotational) symmetries, both on optical parametric oscillators and four-wave mixing cavities, as well as present new results. We then extend the phenomenon to the polarization state of the signal field, hence introducing spontaneous polarization symmetry breaking. Finally we propose a Jaynes-Cummings model in which the phenomenon can be investigated at the single-photon-pair…
We discuss the possibilities of studying in detail the dynamics of spontaneous emission of a single photon by a single atom and measuring the transient degree of squeezing by means of full solid angle fluorescence detection.
Squeezed states are a versatile class of quantum states with applications ranging from quantum computing to high-precision detection. We propose a method for generating tunable squeezed states of light with multiple modes encoded in frequency bins. Our method uses custom-engineered spontaneous parametric downconversion pumped by a pulse-shaped pump field. The multi-mode squeezed states are generated in a single pass and can be tuned in real time by adjusting the properties of the pump field. Exploring new quantum states of light, encoded in new degrees of freedom, can be a fruitful path toward…
In this article, we use quantum Langevin equations to provide a theoretical understanding of the non-classical behavior of Kerr optical frequency combs when pumped below and above threshold. In the configuration where the system is under threshold, the pump field is the unique oscillating mode inside the resonator, and triggers the phenomenon of spontaneous four-wave mixing, where two photons from the pump are symmetrically up- and down-converted in the Fourier domain. This phenomenon can only be understood and analyzed from a fully quantum perspective as a consequence of the coupling between …
We study the properties of bi-squeezed tripartite Gaussian states created by two spontaneous parametric down-conversion processes that share a common idler. We give a complete description of the quantum correlations across of all partitions, as well as of the genuine multipartite entanglement, obtaining analytical expressions for most of the quantities of interest. We find that the state contains genuine tripartite entanglement, in addition to the bipartite entanglement among the modes that are directly squeezed. We also investigate the effect of homodyne detection of the photons in the common…
We propose a scheme to realize the two-axis counter-twisting spin-squeezing Hamiltonian inside an optical cavity with the aid of phase-locked atom-photon coupling. By careful analysis and extensive simulation, we demonstrate that our scheme is robust against dissipation caused by cavity loss and atomic spontaneous emission, and it can achieve significantly higher squeezing than one axis twisting. We further show how our idea can be extended to generate two-mode spin-squeezed states in two coupled cavities. Due to its easy implementation and high tunability, our scheme is experimentally realiza…
We report a scheme for generation of high-order vortex states using two-mode photon-number squeezed states, generated via the non-linear process of Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion. By applying a parametric rotation in quadrature space $(X,Y)$, using a $ϕ$ converter, the Gaussian quadrature profile of the photon-number squeezed input state can be mapped into a superposition of Laguerre-Gauss modes with $N$ vortices or singularities, for an input state containing $N$ photons, thus mapping photon-number fluctuations to interference effects in quadrature space. Our scheme has the potential …
Nearly a century after Einstein first predicted the existence of gravitational waves, a global network of earth-based gravitational wave observatories is seeking to directly detect this faint radiation using precision laser interferometry. Photon shot noise, due to the quantum nature of light, imposes a fundamental limit on the attometer level sensitivity of the kilometer-scale Michelson interferometers deployed for this task. Here we inject squeezed states to improve the performance of one of the detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) beyond the quantum no…
How to prepare deterministically non-Gaussian entangled states is a fundamental question for continuous-variable quantum information technology. Here, we theoretically demonstrate through numerical methods that the triple-photon state generated by three-photon spontaneous parametric down-conversion is a pure super-Gaussian resource of non-Gaussian entanglement. Interestingly, the degree of entanglement between the modes of the triple-photon state is stronger than that corresponding to the two-mode squeezed vacuum state produced by a quadratic Hamiltonian with the same parameters. Furthermore, …
We predict the generation of noncritically squeezed light through the spontaneous rotational symmetry breaking occurring in a Kerr cavity. The model considers a $χ^{(3)}$ cavity that is pumped by two Gaussian beams of frequencies $ω_{1}$ and $ω_{2}$. The cavity configuration is such that two signal modes of equal frequency $ω_{\mathrm{s}}=(ω_{1}% +ω_{2})/2$ are generated, these signal fields being first order Laguerre--Gauss modes. In this system a spontaneous breaking of the rotational symmetry occurs as the signal field corresponds to a Hermite--Gauss TEM mode. This symmetry breaking leads t…
We investigate (non-relativistic) atomic systems interacting with quantum electromagnetic field (QEF). The resulting model describes spontaneous emission of light from a two-level atom surrounded by various initial states of the QEF. We assume, that the quantum field interacts with the atom via the standard, minimal-coupling Hamiltonian, with the $A^2$ term neglected. We also assume, that there will appear at most single excitations (photons). By conducting the analysis on a general level we allow for an arbitrary initial state of the QEF (which can be for instance: the vacuum, the ground stat…
Squeezed light is a critical resource in quantum sensing and information processing. Due to the inherently weak optical nonlinearity and limited interaction volume, considerable pump power is typically needed to obtain efficient interactions to generate squeezed light in bulk crystals. Integrated photonics offers an elegant way to increase the nonlinearity by confining light strictly inside the waveguide. For the construction of large-scale quantum systems performing many-photon operations, it is essential to integrate various functional modules on a chip. However, fabrication imperfections an…
We analyze the long-time quantum dynamics of degenerate parametric down-conversion from an initial sub-harmonic vacuum (spontaenous down-conversion). Standard linearization of the Heisenberg equations of motions fails in this case, since it is based on an expansion around an unstable classical solution and neglects pump depletion. Introducing a mean-field approximation we find a periodic exchange of energy between the pump and subharmonic mode goverened by an anharmonic pendulum equation. From this equation the optimum interaction time or crystal length for maximum conversion can be determined…
We propose a scheme generating robust squeezed light by using double cavity optomechanical system driven by a blue detuned laser in one cavity and by a red detuned laser in the other. This double cavity system is shown to mimic effectively an interaction that is similar to the one for the downconverter, which is known to be a source of strong squeezing for the light fields. There are however distinctions as the phonons, which lead to such an interaction, can contribute to the quantum noise. We show that the squeezing of the output fields in the order of $10$dB can be achieved even at the mirro…
We investigate the process of entangled state of light generation while propagation along a one dimensional array of single-mode nonlinear waveguides. We consider a situation when entanglement is formed due to spontaneous parametric down-conversion of the pump which is present only in a signal waveguide. In the considered process the generated state of light is multi-mode squeezed. We demonstrate that starting from certain distance of light propagation only pairs of waveguides, located symmetrically with respect to the pumped one, occur to be entangled. Also there is an optimal pump amplitude …
Continuous-variable (CV) entanglement is a valuable resource in the field of quantum information. One source of CV entanglement is the correlations between the position and momentum of photons in a two-mode squeezed state of light. In this paper, we theoretically study the generation of squeezed states, via spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC), inside a two-mode lossy cavity that is pumped with a classical optical pulse. The dynamics of the density operator in the cavity is modelled using the Lindblad master equation, and we show that the exact solution to this model is the density ope…
We propose a scheme for the generation of a two-mode field squeezed state in cavity QED. It is based on two-channel Raman excitations of a beam of three-level atoms with random arrival times by two classical fields and two high-Q resonator modes. It is shown that by suitably choosing the intensities and detunings of fields the dynamical processes can be selective and two-mode squeezing between the cavity modes can be generated at steady state. This proposal does not need the preparation of the initial states of atoms and cavity modes, and is robust against atomic spontaneous decay.
We provide a framework to solve generic models describing the dissociation of multiple molecular Bose-Einstein condensates in a nonadiabatic regime. The competition between individual chemical reactions can lead to non-trivial dependence on critical components such as path interference and symmetries, thus, affecting the final distribution of atomic population. We find an analytical solution for an illustrative example model involving four atomic modes. When the system parameters satisfy $CPT$ symmetry, where $C$ is charge conjugation, $P$ is parity, and $T$ is time-reversal symmetry, our solu…
