arXiv · 2202.07950
Observer dependence of photon bunching: The influence of the relativistic redshift on Hong-Ou-Mandel interference
Abstract
We study the influence of the relativistic redshift on Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference, and present a genuine quantum test of general relativity. We use Glauber's theory of quantum coherence to predict the coincidence probability of realistic broadband photons in HOM-experiments in a non-relativistic setting. We extend the quantum field theoretical framework previously developed to describe the deformation of the spectral profile of single photons in curved spacetimes to a multi-photon framework, which is exact for inertial observers in a flat spacetime and an approximation when observers are located in a curved spacetime. We find that, in case of frequency entangled photons, a mutual redshift between the sender and the receiver can change the coincidence statistics from photon bunching to photon anti-bunching, and vice versa. This implies that the (anti-) symmetry of the photonic spectral wave function is an observer dependent notion, and that this can be probed via HOM-experiments in a relativistic setting.
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Roy Barzel, David Edward Bruschi, Andreas W. Schell, Claus Laemmerzahl. 2022-02-16. Observer dependence of photon bunching: The influence of the relativistic redshift on Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.105.105016
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