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26 records · Page 2

Two-Photon Entanglement and EPR Experiments Using Type-2 Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion

Simultaneous entanglement in spin and space-time of a two-photon quantum state generated in type-2 spontaneous parametric down-conversion is demonstrated by the observation of quantum interference with 98% visibility in a simple beam-splitter (Hanburry Brown-Twiss) anticorrelation experiment. The nonlocal cancellation of two-photon probability amplitudes as a result of this double entanglement allows us to demonstrate two different types of Bell's inequality violations in one experimental setup.

Sergienko, A. V.↗

Quantum Sensing and Communications Being Developed for Nanotechnology

An interdisciplinary quantum communications and sensing research effort has been underway at the NASA Glenn Research Center since the summer of 2000. Researchers in the Communications Technology, Instrumentation and Controls, and Propulsion and Turbomachinery Divisions have been working together to study and develop techniques that use the principle of quantum entanglement (QE). This work is supported principally by the Nanotechnology Base R&T program at Glenn. As applied to communications and sensing, QE is an emerging technology that holds promise as a new and innovative way to communicate faster and farther, and to sense, measure, and image environmental properties in ways that are not possible with existing technology. Quantum entangled photons are "inseparable" as described by a wave function formalism. For two entangled photons, the term "inseparable" means that one cannot describe one photon without completely describing the other. This inseparability gives rise to what appears as "spooky," or nonintuitive, behavior because of the quantum nature of the process. For example, two entangled photons of lower energy can be created simultaneously from a single photon of higher energy in a process called spontaneous parametric down-conversion. Our research is focused on the use of polarization-entangled photons generated by passing a high-energy (blue) photon through a nonlinear beta barium borate crystal to generate two red photons that have orthogonal, but entangled, polarization states. Although the actual polarization state of any one photon is not known until it is measured, the act of measuring the polarization of one photon completely determines the polarization state of its twin because of entanglement. This unique relationship between the photons provides extra information about the system. For example, entanglement makes it easy to distinguish entangled photons from other photons impinging on a detector. For many other applications, ranging from quantum computation and information to quantum sensing, the entanglement property is critical.

Nguyen, Quang-Viet↗

Quantum Entanglement Molecular Absorption Spectrum Simulator

Quantum Entanglement Molecular Absorption Spectrum Simulator (QE-MASS) is a computer program for simulating two photon molecular-absorption spectroscopy using quantum-entangled photons. More specifically, QE-MASS simulates the molecular absorption of two quantum-entangled photons generated by the spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) of a fixed-frequency photon from a laser. The two-photon absorption process is modeled via a combination of rovibrational and electronic single-photon transitions, using a wave-function formalism. A two-photon absorption cross section as a function of the entanglement delay time between the two photons is computed, then subjected to a fast Fourier transform to produce an energy spectrum. The program then detects peaks in the Fourier spectrum and displays the energy levels of very short-lived intermediate quantum states (or virtual states) of the molecule. Such virtual states were only previously accessible using ultra-fast (femtosecond) laser systems. However, with the use of a single-frequency continuous wave laser to produce SPDC photons, and QEMASS program, these short-lived molecular states can now be studied using much simpler laser systems. QE-MASS can also show the dependence of the Fourier spectrum on the tuning range of the entanglement time of any externally introduced optical-path delay time. QE-MASS can be extended to any molecule for which an appropriate spectroscopic database is available. It is a means of performing an a priori parametric analysis of entangled photon spectroscopy for development and implementation of emerging quantum-spectroscopic sensing techniques. QE-MASS is currently implemented using the Mathcad software package.

Nguyen, Quang-Viet↗

Modeling Entanglement-Based Quantum Key Distribution for the NASA Quantum Communications Analysis Suite

One of the most practical, and sought after, applications of quantum mechanics in the field of information science is the use of entanglement distribution to communicate quantum information effectively. Similar to the continued improvements of functional quantum computers over the past decade, advances in demonstrations of entanglement distribution over long distances may enable new applications in aeronautics and space communications. The existing NASA Quantum Communications Analysis Suite (NQCAS) software models such applications, but limited experimental data exists to verify the model’s theoretical results. There is, however, a large body of experimental data in the relevant literature for entanglement-based quantum key distribution (QKD). This paper details a Monte Carlo based QKD model that uses NQCAS input parameters to generate an estimated QKD link budget for verification of NQCAS. The model generates link budget statistics like key rates, error rates, and S values that can then be compared to the experimental values in the literature. Preliminary comparisons show many similarities between the simulated and experimental data, supporting the model’s validity. A verified NQCAS model will inform experimental work conducted in Glenn Research Center’s (GRC) NASA Quantum Metrology Laboratory (NQML), supporting the United States Quantum Initiative and potential NASA missions.

NASA Quantum Communications Analysis Suite↗

Confirming X-ray Parametric Down Conversion by Time-Energy Correlation

We present measurements of X-ray Parametric Down Conversion at the Advanced Photon Source synchrotron facility. Using an incoming pump beam at 22 keV, we observe the simultaneous, elastic emission of down-converted photon pairs generated in a diamond crystal. The pairs are detected using high count rate silicon drift detectors with low noise. Production by down-conversion is confirmed by measuring time-energy correlations in the detector signal, where photon pairs within an energy window ranging from 10 to 12 keV are only observed at short time differences. By systematically varying the crystal misalignment and detector positions, we obtain results that are consistent with the constant total of the down-converted signal. Our maximum rate of observed pairs was 130 /hour, corresponding to a conversion efficiency for the down-conversion process of 5.3±0.5×10 -13 .

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

X-ray Parametric Down Conversion at the APS Synchrotron

We present measurements of X-ray Parametric Down Conversion at the Advanced Photon Source synchrotron facility. We use an incoming pump beam at 22 keV to observe the simultaneous, elastic emission of down-converted photon pairs generated in a diamond crystal. The pairs are detected using high count rate silicon drift detectors with low noise. Production by down-conversion is confirmed by measuring time-energy correlations in the detector signal, where photon pairs within an energy window ranging from 10 to 12 keV are only observed at short time differences. By systematically varying the crystal misalignment and detector positions, we obtain results that are consistent with the constant total of the down-converted signal.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Quantum Langevin theory for two coupled phase-conjugated electromagnetic waves

We provide a general macroscopic phenomenological formula of quantum Langevin equations for two coupled phase-conjugated electromagnetic fields with linear loss (gain) and complex nonlinear coupling coefficient. The macroscopic phenomenological formula is obtained from the coupling matrix to preserve the field commutation relations and correlations, which does not require knowing the microscopic details of light-matter interaction and internal atomic structures. To validate this phenomenological formula, we take spontaneous four-wave mixing in a double-Λ four-level atomic system as an example to numerically confirm that our macroscopic phenomenological result is consistent with that obtained from the microscopic Heisenberg-Langevin theory. We find that a complex-valued nonlinear coupling coefficient can lead to noises even without linear gain or loss. Lastly, we apply the quantum Langevin equations to study the effects of linear gain and loss, complex phase mismatching, as well as complex nonlinear coupling coefficient in entangled photon pair (biphoton) generation, particularly to their temporal quantum correlations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Symmetry Protected Two-Photon Coherence Time

We report the observation of symmetry protected two-photon coherence time of biphotons generated from backward spontaneous four-wave mixing in laser-cooled 87 Rb atoms. When biphotons are nondegenerate, nonsymmetric photonic absorption loss results in exponential decay of the temporal waveform of the two-photon joint probability amplitude, leading to shortened coherence time. In contrast, in the case of degenerate biphotons, when both paired photons propagate with the same group velocity and absorption coefficient, the two-photon coherence time, protected by space-time symmetry, remains unaffected by medium absorptive losses. Furthermore, our experimental results validate these theoretical predictions. This outcome highlights the pivotal role of symmetry in manipulating and controlling photonic quantum states.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗