Quantum-enhanced interferometry with weak thermal light

Authors

Seyed Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani, University of Rochester Institute of Optics
Mohammad Mirhosseini, University of Rochester Institute of Optics
Omar S. Magaña-Loaiza, University of Rochester Institute of Optics
Bryan T. Gard, Louisiana State University
Richard Birrittella, Lehman College
B. E. Koltenbah, Boeing Corporation
C. G. Parazzoli, Boeing Corporation
Barbara A. Capron, Boeing Corporation
Christopher C. Gerry, Lehman College
Jonathan P. Dowling, Louisiana State University
Robert W. Boyd, University of Rochester Institute of Optics

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-20-2017

Abstract

We propose and implement a procedure for enhancing the sensitivity with which one can determine the phase shift experienced by a thermal light beam possessing on average fewer than four photons in passing through an interferometer. Our procedure entails subtracting exactly one (which can be generalized to m) photon from the light field exiting an interferometer containing a phase-shifting element in one of its arms. As a consequence of the process of photon subtraction, the mean photon number and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the resulting light field are increased, leading to an enhancement of the SNR of the interferometric signal for that fraction of the incoming data that leads to photon subtraction.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Optica

First Page

487

Last Page

491

Recommended Citation

Rafsanjani, S., Mirhosseini, M., Magaña-Loaiza, O., Gard, B., Birrittella, R., Koltenbah, B., Parazzoli, C., Capron, B., Gerry, C., Dowling, J., & Boyd, R. (2017). Quantum-enhanced interferometry with weak thermal light. Optica, 4 (4), 487-491. https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.4.000487