Photon-Number Squeezed Solitons from an Asymmetric Fiber-Optic Sagnac Interferometer

Schmitt, Stefan; Ficker, Joachim H.; Wolff, Max; König, Friedrich; Sizmann, A.; Leuchs, Gerd

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.81.2446

Cited by 146 publications

(120 citation statements)

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“…They were successfully used for the original prediction of quantum squeezing in optical fibers, [14], which was qualitatively verified in several laboratories [1,15]. Recently, photon-number squeezing was simulated [16] and compared with experiment [17]. However, the cause of squeezing degradation was unclear [18].…”

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confidence: 99%

Many-Body Quantum Dynamics of Polarization Squeezing in Optical Fibers

et al. 2006

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We report new experiments that test quantum dynamical predictions of polarization squeezing for ultrashort photonic pulses in a birefringent fiber, including all relevant dissipative effects. This exponentially complex many-body problem is solved by means of a stochastic phase-space method. The squeezing is calculated and compared to experimental data, resulting in excellent quantitative agreement. From the simulations, we identify the physical limits to quantum noise reduction in optical fibers. The research represents a significant experimental test of first-principles time-domain quantum dynamics in a onedimensional interacting Bose gas coupled to dissipative reservoirs. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.023606 PACS numbers: 42.50.Lc, 42.50.Dv, 42.65.Dr, 42.81.Dp The nonlinear optical response of standard communications fiber provides a straightforward and robust method [1] for squeezing the quantum noise always present in laser light to below the vacuum noise level. This feature allows us to design quantum dynamical experiments [2,3] operating in a very nonclassical regime where highly entangled states can be readily produced, even in many-body regimes involving 10 8 interacting particles. The squeezing is sensitive to photon-photon interactions, as well as to additional dissipative and thermal effects [4]. Such complications have affected all prior experiments and have so far prevented quantitative agreement between theory and experiment.Here we report on quantitative comparisons of firstprinciples simulations with experimental measurements on the propagation of quantum states in optical fiber. The excellent agreement, over a wide range of initial conditions, is unprecedented for direct predictions from ab initio treatments of many-body quantum time evolution. The approach we use has potential applications in many other areas of science, especially to dynamical experiments with ultracold atoms and nanotechnology.Photons in a nonlinear fiber are an implementation of the famous one-dimensional attractive Bose-gas model [5]. Fiber squeezing experiments thus provide a substantial opportunity to carry out an experimental test of the predictions of many-body quantum mechanics for dynamical time evolution. Such a test requires the same ingredients as did Galileo's famous tests of classical dynamics using an inclined plane [6]: one needs a known initial condition, a well-defined cause of dynamical evolution, and accurate measurements. All of these essential features are present in our experiments. The initial condition is a coherent [7] photonic state provided by a well-stabilized pulsed laser. The Kerr nonlinearity in silica fiber corresponds to a localized (delta-function) interaction between the photons [8]. Quantum-limited phase-sensitive measurements have been developed in optics that detect quantum fluctuations at well below the vacuum noise level [9,10].Even though the simplest model of a 1D interacting Bose gas has exactly soluble energy eigenvalues, the many-body initial-value problem still remains intractab...

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confidence: 99%

Many-Body Quantum Dynamics of Polarization Squeezing in Optical Fibers

et al. 2006

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“…Without DRSE, squeezing is only expected within the half linewidth but then typically buried by huge classical noise. Only in the pulsed regime has Kerr squeezing of up to 7 dB been demonstrated [12]. Soliton pulses propagating through fibers provide high intensities as well as long interaction length without the need for cavities.…”

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confidence: 99%

Optical Transfer Functions of Kerr Nonlinear Cavities and Interferometers

et al. 2005

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We present the optical transfer functions for third-order nonlinear cavities that involve an optical carrier frequency and its modulation sideband fields. Our approach is based on linearized transformations and provides a convenient tool to calculate squeezed light sources as well as complex interferometer topologies, containing subsystems that involve intensity dependent phase shifts, i.e., optical Kerr media. As the result we present the noise spectral density of a Michelson interferometer with Kerr nonlinear arm cavities and resonant sideband extraction and find that quantum noise can be squeezed by arbitrary amounts even outside the cavity linewidth. Such a system might apply for future gravitational wave detectors or simply for a continuous wave source of squeezed states. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.193001 PACS numbers: 42.50.Dv, 03.65.Ta The input and output of damped quantum optical systems have been successfully described by quantum Langevin equations. This approach led to the first correct description of traveling wave squeezed light [1]. However, this approach is not easy to deal with due to its nonlinear operator nature. Especially the description of complex optical systems, like advanced laser interferometers that comprise a detuned resonant sideband extraction (RSE) cavity [2] in combination with radiation pressure and nonlinear media, is a nontrivial task. Fortunately, for most practical purposes the quantum noise can be assumed to be small compared to the field's expectation value and the problem can be linearized. Following this line, in Refs. [3,4] the Michelson interferometer with Kerr media placed into the arm cavities has been analyzed. It was shown that Kerr media inside the arms can cancel radiation pressure noise at some sideband frequencies.The interest in nonclassical techniques has been increasing considerably during recent years. This is partly due to the fact that quantum noise will be one of the major noise sources in second-generation interferometric gravitational wave (GW) detectors (e.g., Advanced LIGO [5]). It is therefore very likely that third-generation detectors will exploit quantum correlations, i.e., quantum-nondemolition techniques [6,7] and nonlinear optics might become one of the standard tools.In this Letter we reinvestigate the Kerr medium inside the arm cavities of a Michelson interferometer and present signal and noise transfer functions. For the first time, to our best knowledge, we report the noise spectral density of a Kerr-effect enhanced Michelson interferometer with RSE. We apply a theoretical approach which can easily be extended to even more complex optical systems. Our formalism is based on linearized transformations of the quadrature fields within two-photon quantum optics [8] which has previously been used to describe ponderomotive squeezing [6] and the optical spring effect [5]. In this formalism the transfer functions map quadrature amplitudes which act at positive modulation frequencies around an optical carrier frequency ! 0 . It is well-known that...

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“…To obtain a high degree of noise reduction, it is then crucial to control the relative amplitude and phase of the two pulses. In the Sagnac configuration [3,5] the pulses counter propagate in the same fiber, thus preventing the control of their relative phase.Moreover, the relative amplitude between the soliton-like pulse and the auxiliary dispersive pulse is unchangeable once one fixes the splitting ratio of the interferometer beamsplitter.To overcome these drawbacks we investigate the setup shown in Fig. 2.…”

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Soliton squeezing in a Mach-Zehnder fiber interferometer

et al. 2001

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A new scheme for generating amplitude squeezed light by means of soliton self-phase modulation is experimentally demonstrated. By injecting 180-fs pulses into an equivalent Mach-Zehnder fiber interferometer, a maximum noise reduction of 4.4 ± 0.3 dB is obtained (6.3 ± 0.6 dB when corrected for losses). The dependence of noise reduction on the interferometer splitting ratio and fiber length is studied in detail.Current interest in efficient generation of squeezed radiation in optical-fiber devices is prompted by the possibility of using the resulting highly-squeezed fields to create and distribute continuous-variable entanglement for quantum- As shown schematically in Fig. 1, the amplitude squeezing in such experiments results from the combined effect of soliton's nonlinear propagation in the fiber and its subsequent mixing with an auxiliary weak pulse at the fiber output.The mixing rotates the total mean field relative to the soliton's noise, which gets shaped into a "crescent" through the nonlinear interaction, thus allowing the squeezing to be measured in direct detection. To obtain a high degree of noise reduction, it is then crucial to control the relative amplitude and phase of the two pulses. In the Sagnac configuration [3,5] the pulses counter propagate in the same fiber, thus preventing the control of their relative phase.Moreover, the relative amplitude between the soliton-like pulse and the auxiliary dispersive pulse is unchangeable once one fixes the splitting ratio of the interferometer beamsplitter.To overcome these drawbacks we investigate the setup shown in Fig. 2. In this rendition, the Sagnac geometry 1

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Photon-Number Squeezed Solitons from an Asymmetric Fiber-Optic Sagnac Interferometer

Cited by 146 publications

References 17 publications

Many-Body Quantum Dynamics of Polarization Squeezing in Optical Fibers

Many-Body Quantum Dynamics of Polarization Squeezing in Optical Fibers

Optical Transfer Functions of Kerr Nonlinear Cavities and Interferometers

Soliton squeezing in a Mach-Zehnder fiber interferometer

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