Shaping the Phase of a Single Photon
Abstract
While the phase of a coherent light field can be precisely known, the phase of the individual photons that create this field, considered individually, cannot. Phase changes within single-photon wave packets, however, have observable effects. In fact, actively controlling the phase of individual photons has been identified as a powerful resource for quantum communication protocols. Here we demonstrate the arbitrary phase control of a single photon. The phase modulation is applied without affecting the photon's amplitude profile and is verified via a two-photon quantum interference measurement, which can result in the fermionic spatial behaviour of photon pairs. Combined with previously demonstrated control of a single photon's amplitude, frequency, and polarisation, the fully deterministic phase shaping presented here allows for the complete control of single-photon wave packets.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0905.4583,
title = {Shaping the Phase of a Single Photon},
author = {H. P. Specht and J. Bochmann and M. Muecke and B. Weber and E. Figueroa and D. L. Moehring and G. Rempe},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0905.4583},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
4 pages, 4 figures