We experimentally investigate a method of directly characterizing the photon number distribution of nonclassical light beams that is tolerant to losses and makes use only of standard binary detectors. This is achieved in a single measurement by calibrating the detector using some small amount of prior information about the source. We demonstrate the technique on a freely propagating heralded two-photon number state created by conditional detection of a two-mode squeezed state generated by a parametric downconverter.
Nonclassicality cannot be a single-observable property since the statistics of any quantum observable is compatible with classical physics. We develop a general procedure to reveal nonclassical behavior from the joint measurement of multiple observables. This requires enlarged spaces and couplings with auxiliary degrees of freedom so it must be followed by an inversion procedure to infer system properties from the observed statistics. In particular this discloses nonclassical properties of standard examples of classical-like behavior, such as SU(2) and Glauber coherent states. Moreover, when c…
We report the experimental point-by-point sampling of the Wigner function for nonclassical states created in an ultrafast pulsed type-II parametric down-conversion source. We use a loss-tolerant time-multiplexed detector based on a fiber-optical setup and a pair of photon-number-resolving avalanche photodiodes. By capitalizing on an expedient data-pattern tomography, we assess the properties of the light states with outstanding accuracy. The method allows us to reliably infer the squeezing of genuine two-mode states without any phase reference.
Joint measurements of two observables reveal that every state is nonclassical, with the only trivial exception of the state with density matrix proportional to the identity. This naturally includes states considered universally as classical-like, such as SU(2) and Glauber coherent states. We show that this holds because we can always find a joint measurement whose statistics is not separable.
Nonclassical character of statistical mixtures of the single-photon and vacuum optical states
我们从理论和实验上证明，真空态的统计混合|0>和单光子Fock态|1>是非经典的根据Vogel准则（W。Vogel，Phys. Rev. Lett. 84，1849（2000）），而与真空分数无关。通过对由参数下转换产生的双光子进行条件测量来合成该系综，并且使用平衡零差检测来测量其正交统计。对各种量子态非经典性判据进行了比较评述。
Nonclassical photocounting statistics with a single on-off detector
Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine（乌克兰国家科学院博戈留博夫理论物理研究所）；Quantum Technology Laboratories GmbH（量子技术实验室有限公司）；Kyiv Academic University（基辅学术大学）；Kyiv School of Economics（基辅经济学院）
The nonclassical feature of photons in the open finite-size Dicke model is investigated via the two-photon correlation function. The quantum dressed master equation combined with the extended coherent photonic states is applied to analyze the dissipative dynamics of both the photons and qubits. The anti-bunching to bunching transition of photons is clearly observed by tuning the qubit-photon coupling strength. The optimal qubits number is unraveled to enhance the two-photon correlation function. Moreover, the temperature bias of thermal baths induces significant two-photon bunching signature w…
Light is an essential tool for connections between quantum devices and for diagnostic of processes in quantum technology. Both applications deal with advanced nonclassical states beyond Gaussian coherent and squeezed states. Current development requires a loss-tolerant diagnostic of such nonclassical aspects. We propose and experimentally verify a faithful hierarchy of genuine $n$-photon quantum non-Gaussian light. We conclusively witnessed 3-photon quantum non-Gaussian light in the experiment. Measured data demonstrates a direct applicability of the hierarchy for a large class of real states.
Quantum optomechanical system serves as an interface for coupling between photons and phonons due to mechanical oscillations. We used the Heisenberg-Langevin approach under Markovian white noise approximation to study a quadratically coupled optomechanical system which contains a thin dielectric membrane quadratically coupled to the cavity field. A decorrelation method is employed to solve for a larger number of coupled equations. Transient mean numbers of cavity photons and phonons that provide dynamical behaviour are computed for different coupling regime. We have also obtained the two-boson…
According to Born's rule quantum probabilities are given by the overlap between the system state and measurement states in a quite symmetrical way. This means that both contribute to any observed nonclassical effect that is usually attributed just to the observed light state. This is relevant since typical measurement are highly nonclassical by themselves, such as number states and quadrature eigenstates. We show that nonclassical effects only arise provided that the measurement is itself nonclassical. Otherwise there is a classical-like model accounting for the observed statistics.
We theoretically study the emission statistics of a weakly nonlinear photonic dimer during coherent oscillations. We show that the phase and population dynamics allow to periodically meet an optimal intensity squeezing condition resulting in a strongly nonclassical emission statistics. By considering an exciton-polariton Josephson junction resonantly driven by a classical source, we show that a sizeable antibunching should emerge in such semiconductor system where intrinsic nonclassical signatures have remained elusive to date.
Machine-learning and neural-network approaches have gained huge attention in the context of quantum science and technology in recent years. One of the most essential tasks for the future development of quantum technologies is the verification of nonclassical resources. Here, we present an artificial neural network approach for the identification of nonclassical states of light based on recorded measurement statistics. In particular, we implement and train a network which is capable of recognizing nonclassical states based on the click statistics recorded with multiplexed detectors. We use simu…
Derivation and experimental violation of Bell-like inequalities involve the measurement of in-compatible observables. Simple complementarity forbids the existence of such joint probabilitydistribution. Moreover, the measurement of incompatible observables requires different experimen-tal procedures, which no necessarily must share a common joint statistics. In this work, we avoidthese difficulties by proposing a joint simultaneous measurement experiment. We can obtain theexact individual statistics of all the observables involved in the Bell inequalities after a suitable datainversion. A lack …
We study, in theory and experiment, the quantum properties of correlated light fields measured with click-counting detectors providing incomplete information on the photon statistics. We establish a correlation parameter for the conditional statistics, and we derive the corresponding nonclassicality criteria for detecting conditional quantum correlations. Classical bounds for Pearson's correlation parameter are formulated that allow us, once they are violated, to determine nonclassical correlations via the joint statistics. On the one hand, we demonstrate nonclassical correlations in terms of …
The efficient certification of nonclassical effects of light forms the basis for applications in optical quantum technologies. We derive general correlation conditions for the verification of nonclassical light based on multiplexed detection. The obtained nonclassicality criteria are valid for imperfectly-balanced multiplexing scenarios with on-off detectors and do not require any knowledge about the detector system. In this sense they are fully independent of the detector system. In our experiment, we study light emitted by clusters of single-photon emitters, whose photon number may exceed th…
Two twin beams with a shared signal beam and separated idler beams are used together with the photon-number-resolving postselection in the signal beam to arrive at two coupled beams with anticorrelations in photon-number fluctuations. Moreover, the beams exhibit the sub-Poissonian photon-number statistics in their marginal distributions under suitable conditions. The postselected fields with the increasing mean photon numbers are reconstructed from the experimental photocount histograms by the maximum likelihood approach. Also a suitable Gaussian fit of both original twin beams and simulation …
Nonclassical properties of photon added and photon subtracted squeezed coherent states have been compared with specific focus on the higher order nonclassicalities, such as higher order squeezing, higher order sub-Poissonian photon statistics, higher order antibunching. It is observed that both photon added and photon subtracted squeezed coherent states are highly nonclassical as they satisfy criteria for all of the above mentioned nonclassicalities and a set of other criteria including negativity of Wigner function, Klyshko's criterion and Agarwal's $(A_{3})$ parameter. Further, the amount of…
Photon statistics is one of the key properties of the photon state for the study of quantum coherence and quantum information techniques. Here, we discuss the photon indistinguishability induced bunching effect which can significantly change photon statistics. Through the measurement of the second-order degree of coherence of a mixed photon state composed of a single-photon state and a weak coherent state, the statistical transition from a classical behavior to a nonclassical behavior is experimentally demonstrated by modifying the indistinguishability of the two-photon states. The study will …
We study the characteristics of the light generated by few emitters in a cavity at strong light-matter coupling. By means of the Glauber $g^{(2)}$-function we can identify clearly distinguished parameter regimes with super-Poissonian and sub-Poissonian photon statistics. We establish a relation between the emission characteristics for one and multiple emitters, and explain its origin in terms of the photon-dressed emitter states. Cooperative effects lead to the generation of nonclassical light already at reduced light-matter coupling if the number of emitters is increased. Our results are obta…
We report nonclassical aspects of the collective behaviour of two atoms in a cavity by investigating the photon statistics and photon distribution in a very broad domain of parameters. Starting with the dynamics of two atoms radiating in phase into the cavity, we study the photon statistics for arbitrary interatomic phases as revealed by the second-order intensity correlation function at zero time $g^{(2)}(0)$ and the Mandel $Q$ parameter. We find that the light field can be tuned from antibunched to (super-)bunched as well as nonclassical to classical behaviour by merely modifying the atomic …
We investigate the photon induced tunneling phenomena in a photonic crystal cavity containing a strongly coupled quantum dot and describe how this tunneling can be used to generate photon states consisting mainly of a particular Fock state. Additionally, we study experimentally the photon-induced tunneling as a function of excitation laser power and frequency and show the signature of second rung of the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian in the observed photon-statistics.
Nonclassical properties of photon added and subtracted displaced Fock states have been studied using various witnesses of lower- and higher-order nonclassicality. Compact analytic expressions are obtained for the nonclassicality witnesses. Using those expressions, it is established that these states and the states that can be obtained as their limiting cases (except coherent states) are highly nonclassical as they show the existence of lower- and higher-order antibunching and sub-Poissonian photon statistics, in addition to the nonclassical features revealed through the Mandel $Q_M$ parameter,…
We study the photoelectric current generated by a driving light with nonclassical photon statistics. Due to the nonclassical input photon statistics, it is no longer enough to treat the driving light as a planar wave as in classical physics. We make a quantum approach to study such problems, and find that: when the driving light starts from a coherent state as the initial state, our quantum treatment well returns the quasi-classical driving description; when the the driving light is a generic state with a certain P function, the full system dynamics can be reduced as the P function average of …
We devise a new class of criteria to certify the nonclassicality of photon- and phonon-number statistics. Our criteria extend and strengthen the broadly used Klyshko's criteria, which require knowledge of only a finite set of Fock-state probabilities. This makes the criteria well-suited to experimental implementation in realistic conditions. Moreover, we prove the completeness of our method in some scenarios, showing that, when only two or three Fock-state probabilities are known, it detects all finite distributions incompatible with classical states. In particular, we show that our criteria d…
Higher-order nonclassical properties of r photon added and t photon subtracted qudit states (referred to as rPAQS and tPSQS, respectively) are investigated here to answer: How addition and subtraction of photon can be used engineer higher-order nonclassical properties of qudit states? To obtain the answer higher-order moment of relevant bosonic field operators are first obtained for rPAQS and tPSQS, and subsequently the same is used to study the higher-order nonclassical properties of the corresponding states. A few witnesses of higher-order nonclassicality (e.g. Higher-Order Antibunching, Hig…
The possibility of observing nonclassical features in a physical system comprised of a cavity with two ensembles of two-level atoms has been investigated by considering different configurations of the ensembles with respect to the Node and Antinode of the cavity field under the framework of open quantum systems. The study reveals the strong presence of nonclassical characters in the physical system by establishing the existence of many facets of nonclassicality, such as the sub-Poissonian boson statistics and squeezing in single modes, intermodal squeezing, intermodal entanglement, antibunchin…
We theoretically consider wave mixing under the irradiation of a single qubit by two photon fields. The first signal is a classical monochromatic drive, while the second one is a nonclassical light. Particularly, we address two examples of a nonclassical light: (i) a broadband squeezed light and (ii) a periodically excited quantum superposition of Fock states with 0 and 1 photons. The mixing of classical and nonclassical photon fields gives rise to side peaks due to the elastic multiphoton scattering. We show that side peaks structure is distinct from the situation when two classical fields ar…
In a recent contribution, we introduced and applied a detector-independent method to uncover nonclassicality. Here, we extend those techniques and give more details on the performed analysis. We derive a general theory of the positive-operator-valued measure that describes multiplexing layouts with arbitrary detectors. From the resulting quantum version of a multinomial statistics, we infer nonclassicality probes based on a matrix of normally ordered moments. We discuss these criteria and apply the theory to our data which are measured with superconducting transition-edge sensors. Our experime…
We introduce the general parameter Q_PB that provides an experimentally accessible nonclassicality measure for light. The parameter is quantified by the click statistics obtained from on-off detectors in a general multiplexing detection setup. Sub-Poisson-binomial statistics, observed by Q_PB<0, indicates that a given state of light is nonclassical. Our new parameter replaces the binomial parameter Q_B for more general cases, where any unbalance among the multiplexed modes is allowed, thus enabling the use of arbitrary multiplexing schemes. The significance of the parameter Q_PB is theoretical…
Systems of on-off detectors are well established for measuring radiation fields in the regime of small photon numbers. We propose to combine these detector systems with unbalanced homodyning with a weak local oscillator. This approach yields phase-space functions, which represent the click counterpart of the s parametrized quasiprobabilities of standard photoelectric detection theory. This introduced class of distributions can be directly sampled from the measured click counting statistics. Therefore, our technique visualizes nonclassical effects without further data processing. Surprisingly, …
