arXiv subjects

Éloi Descamps

Publications and source records attributed to Éloi Descamps.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Spatial symmetry in few-photon interference and quantum metrology

In previous work [Physical Review Letters, 136(6):060807, 2026], we developed a symmetry-based framework for generalized Hong-Ou-Mandel interference and its applications to quantum metrology. Here, we apply this framework to experimentally accessible configurations involving a few photons and explore how it sheds new light on a variety of existing results while suggesting new experimental perspectives. We first reinterpret a two-photon Mach-Zehnder interferometer as a generalized Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment and show how its photon-counting statistics and metrological performance follow from the spatial symmetry of an effective probe state. We then study two coherently pumped parametric photon-pair sources, derive their complete output distribution, and connect source indistinguishability with spatial symmetry. Finally, we extend the discussion to a three-mode interferometer and show that the same symmetry principles provide a natural description of three-photon interference in tritter configurations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

PhD thesis: Modes, States, and Symmetries in quantum Optics for quantum Information and Metrology

This thesis explores the role of modes, states, and symmetries in quantum optics, within the context of quantum information and quantum metrology. It proposes a unified framework to analyze how the modal structure of photonic fields, the statistical nature of states, and their symmetry properties determine the physical resources that can be exploited for quantum information processing and quantum parameter estimation. A first line of investigation develops a description of time-frequency degrees of freedom as continuous quantum variables, highlighting their richness for encoding and manipulating information. A second axis studies entanglement and collective variables, clarifying the link between physical resources and metrological gains, particularly in reaching ultimate precision limits. Interferometric scenarios of the Hong-Ou-Mandel type are then analyzed, and a general formalism centered on the notion of symmetry is developed. This framework enables the analysis of a broad range of situations and leads to several generalizations. Finally, the thesis examines the symmetries imposed by optical superselection rules and their consequences for the structure of quantum states and their operational performance, with the aim of providing a deeper understanding of the foundations of quantum optics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

The Role of Symmetry in Generalized Hong-Ou-Mandel Interference and Quantum Metrology

The Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer is a foundational tool in quantum optics, with both fundamental and practical significance. Earlier works identified that input-state symmetry under exchange of the two spatial modes is fundamental in the understanding of the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect. We now show that this notion of symmetry is central to generalizing this effect. In particular, this point of view enables the construction of extensions beyond the standard two single-photon case to arbitrary input states, as well as to configurations with more than two spatial modes via a natural generalization of the beam splitter to a discrete Fourier transform interferometer. Beyond its conceptual significance, this framework offers direct insights into quantum metrology, showing how symmetry properties of input states allow the computation of explicit precision bounds. By focusing on symmetry, we provide a perspective that simplifies and unifies a range of known results, while paving the way for new developments in quantum interference and sensing.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Measuring entanglement along collective operators

We introduce a framework for the study of multiparty entanglement by analyzing the behavior of collective variables. Throughout the manuscript, we explore a specific type of multiparty entanglement which can be detected through the fluctuation of a collective observable. We thoroughly analyze its properties and how it can be extended to mixed states while placing it within the context of the existing literature. The novelty of our approach also lies in the fact that we present a graphical point of view. This is done by introducing a spectral space on which the various properties of our entanglement quantifier have a direct pictorial interpretation. Notably, this approach proves particularly effective for assessing $k$-entanglement, as we show its ability to extend previously established inequalities. To enhance understanding, we also demonstrate how this framework applies to specific scenarios, encompassing both finite-dimensional cases and infinite-dimensional systems, the latter being exemplified by the time-frequency modal degree of freedom of co-propagating single photons.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Noisy certification of continuous variables graph states

Continuous variables (CV) offer a promising platform for the development of various applications, such as quantum communication, computing, and sensing, and CV graph states represent a family of powerful entangled resource states for all these areas. In many of these protocols, a crucial aspect is the certification of the quantum state subsequently used. While numerous protocols exist, most rely on assumptions unrealistic for physical continuous variable states, such as infinite precision in quadrature measurement or the use of states requiring infinite squeezing. In this work, we adapt existing protocols to deal with these unavoidable considerations, and use them to certify their application for different quantum information tasks. More specifically, we show how CV graph states can be efficiently verified and certified even in a noisy and imperfect setting. We then discuss how our findings impact the usability of states obtained after the protocol for different applications, including quantum teleportation, computing, and sensing.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill encoding in continuous modal variables of single photons

GKP states, introduced by Gottesman, Kitaev, and Preskill, are continuous variable logical qubits that can be corrected for errors caused by phase space displacements. Their experimental realization is challenging, in particular using propagating fields, where quantum information is encoded in the quadratures of the electromagnetic field. However, travelling photons are essential in many applications of GKP codes involving the long-distance transmission of quantum information. We introduce a new method for encoding GKP states in propagating fields using single photons, each occupying a distinct auxiliary mode given by the propagation direction. The GKP states are defined as highly correlated states described by collective continuous modes, as time and frequency. We analyze how the error detection and correction protocol scales with the total photon number and the spectral width. We show that the obtained code can be corrected for displacements in time-frequency phase space - which correspond to dephasing, or rotations, in the quadrature phase space - and to photon losses. Most importantly, we show that generating two-photon GKP states is relatively simple, and that such states are currently produced and manipulated in several photonic platforms where frequency and time-bin biphoton entangled states can be engineered.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

On The Stabilizer Formalism And Its Generalization

The standard stabilizer formalism provides a setting to show that quantum computation restricted to operations within the Clifford group are classically efficiently simulable: this is the content of the well-known Gottesman-Knill theorem. This work analyzes the mathematical structure behind this theorem to find possible generalizations and derivation of constraints required for constructing a non-trivial generalized Clifford group. We prove that if the closure of the stabilizing set is dense in the set of $SU(d)$ transformations, then the associated Clifford group is trivial, consisting only of local gates and permutations of subsystems. This result demonstrates the close relationship between the density of the stabilizing set and the simplicity of the corresponding Clifford group. We apply the analysis to investigate stabilization with binary observables for qubits and find that the formalism is equivalent to the standard stabilization for a low number of qubits. Based on the observed patterns, we conjecture that a large class of generalized stabilizer states are equivalent to the standard ones. Our results can be used to construct novel Gottesman-Knill-type results and consequently draw a sharper line between quantum and classical computation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Time-frequency metrology with two single-photon states: phase space picture and the Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer

We use time-frequency continuous variables as the standard framework to describe states of light in the subspace of individual photons occupying distinguishable auxiliary modes. We adapt to this setting the interplay between metrological properties and the phase space picture already extensively studied for quadrature variables. We also discuss in details the Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer, which was previously shown to saturate precision limits, and provide a general formula for the coincidence probability of a generalized version of this experiment. From the obtained expression, we systematically analyze the optimality of this measurement setting for arbitrary unitary transformations applied to each one of the input photons. As concrete examples, we discuss transformations which can be represented as translations and rotations in time-frequency phase space for some specific states.

quant-ph↗