Single-photon wave packets can carry quantum information between nodes of a quantum network. An important general operation in photon-based quantum information systems is blind reversal of a photon's temporal wave-packet envelope, that is, the ability to reverse an envelope without knowing the temporal state of the photon. We present an all-optical means for doing so, using nonlinear-optical frequency conversion driven by a short pump pulse. This scheme allows for quantum operations such as a temporal-mode parity sorter. We also verify that the scheme works for arbitrary states (not only single-photon ones) of an unknown wave packet.
@article{arxiv.1710.07159,
title = {Time Reversal of Arbitrary Photonic Temporal Modes via Nonlinear Optical Frequency Conversion},
author = {Michael G Raymer and Dileep V Reddy and Steven J van Enk and Colin J McKinstrie},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1710.07159},
year = {2018}
}
Comments
Accepted for publication, NJP. Appendix A expanded. Equation numbering corrected