arXiv · 2409.09813
Mode hitching in traveling-wave optical parametric amplification
Abstract
Optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) in traveling wave configuration can generate localized spatial quantum correlations between a signal and an idler beam, a useful resource for quantum imaging. This study focuses on the classical transverse dynamics of the signal and idler beams when they propagate in a generic thick OPA at a nominally small angle. It shows that the beams tend to copropagate while maintaining a fixed separation, a phenomenon that we term hitching. We provide a model for hitching, validated by a numerical simulation, and we provide an experimental demonstration using four-wave mixing (4WM) in a hot atomic vapor. It shows that the OPA gain is the primary influence on the final hitching distance. These results have implications for the generation of multi-spatial-mode squeezed light for quantum imaging applications, where the exact spatial correspondence between the quantum fluctuations of the signal and the idler is of prime importance.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Joseph Kelly, Eleanor Fradgley, Lida Zhang, Vincent Boyer. 2024-09-15. Mode hitching in traveling-wave optical parametric amplification. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.111.033523
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.