All photons are equal but some photons are more equal than others
arXiv:1108.5036 · doi:10.1088/1367-2630/14/9/093051
Abstract
Two photons are said to be identical when they are prepared in the same quantum state. Given the latter, there is a unique way to achieve this. Conversely, there are many different manners to prepare two non-identical photons: they may have different frequency, polarization, amplitude, etc. Therefore, photon distinguishability depends upon the specific degree of freedom being varied. By means of a careful analysis of the coincidence probability distribution in a Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment, we can show that photon distinguishability can be actually quantified by the rate of distinguishability of photons, an experimentally measurable parameter that crucially depends on both the photon quantum state and the degree of freedom under control.
13 pages, 2 figure, extended version, to be published in New Journal of Physics
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Cited by in corpus (5)
- Sampling of partially distinguishable bosons and the relation to the multidimensional permanent
- Partial indistinguishability theory for multi-photon experiments in multiport devices
- Two-photon interference with two independent and tunable single-mode continuous-wave lasers
- Approaching maximal precision of Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry with non-perfect visibility
- Partial Distinguishability as a Coherence Resource in Boson Sampling