arXiv subjects

J. P. Torres

Publications and source records attributed to J. P. Torres.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2016

A 3D Printed Toolbox for Opto-Mechanical Components

Nowadays is very common to find headlines in the media where it is stated that 3D printing is a technology called to change our lives in the near future. For many authors, we are living in times of a third industrial revolution. Howerver, we are currently in a stage of development where the use of 3D printing is advantageous over other manufacturing technologies only in rare scenarios. Fortunately, scientific research is one of them. Here we present the development of a set of opto-mechanical components that can be built easily using a 3D printer based on Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) and parts that can be found on any hardware store. The components of the set presented here are highly customizable, low-cost, require a short time to be fabricated and offer a performance that compares favorably with respect to low-end commercial alternatives.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2015

Coherent delocalization: Views of entanglement in different scenarios

The concept of entanglement was originally introduced to explain correlations existing between two spatially separated systems, that cannot be described using classical ideas. Interestingly, in recent years, it has been shown that similar correlations can be observed when considering different degrees of freedom of a single system, even a classical one. Surprisingly, it has also been suggested that entanglement might be playing a relevant role in certain biological processes, such as the functioning of pigment-proteins that constitute light-harvesting complexes of photosynthetic bacteria. The aim of this work is to show that the presence of entanglement in all of these different scenarios should not be unexpected, once it is realized that the very same mathematical structure can describe all of them. We show this by considering three different, realistic cases in which the only condition for entanglement to exist is that a single excitation is coherently delocalized between the different subsystems that compose the system of interest.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Enhancement of the sensitivity of a temperature sensor based on Fiber Bragg Gratings via weak value amplification

We present a proof-of-concept experiment aimed at increasing the sensitivity of temperature sensors implemented with Fiber Bragg gratings by making use of a weak value amplification scheme. The technique requires only linear optics elements for its implementation, and appears as a promising method for extending the range of temperatures changes detectable to increasingly lower values than state-of the-art sensors can currently provide. The device implemented here is able to generate a shift of the centroid of the spectrum of a pulse of $\mathrm{\sim 0.035\,nm/^{\circ}C}$, a nearly fourfold increase in sensitivity over the same Fiber Bragg Grating system interrogated using standard methods.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Nanolayer thickness detection via spatial mode projection

We demonstrate an optical scheme for measuring the thickness of thin nanolayers with the use of light beam s spatial modes. The novelty in our scheme is the projection of the beam reflected by the sample onto a properly-tailored spatial mode. In the experiment described below, we are able to measure a step height smaller than 10 nm, i.e., one-eightieth (1/80)of the wavelength with a standard error in the picometer scale. Since our scheme enhances the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which effectively increases the sensitivity of detection, the extension of this technique to the detection of subnanometric layer thicknesses is feasible.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2013

Role of the spectral shape of quantum correlations in two-photon virtual-state spectroscopy

It is controversial what is the true role of entanglement in two-photon virtual-state spectroscopy [Saleh et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 3483, 1998], a two-photon absorption spectroscopic technique that can retrieve information about the energy level structure of an atom or a molecule. The consideration of closely related techniques, such as multidimensional pump-probe spectroscopy [Roslyak et al, Phys. Rev. A 79, 063409, 2009], might suggest that spectroscopic information retrieved in the two-photon absorption process is the same regardless of the classical or quantum nature of the light source. Here, we solve this debate by making use of a full quantum formalism to show that the ability to obtain information about the energy level structure of a medium requires the existence of temporal (frequency) correlations between the absorbed photons. Moreover, we show that these correlations are not the only requisite for retrieving such information. In fact, it is a combination of both, the presence of frequency correlations and its specific spectral shape, which makes the realization of two-photon virtual-state spectroscopy possible. This result helps clarifying the discussion whether entanglement is needed or not, and also, to specify the type of two-photon source that needs to be used in order to experimentally perform the two-photon virtual-state spectroscopy technique.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Generation of polarization-entangled photon pairs in a Bragg reflection waveguide

We demonstrate experimentally that spontaneous parametric down-conversion in an AlGaAs semiconductor Bragg reflection waveguide can make for paired photons highly entangled in the polarization degree of freedom at the telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm. The pairs of photons show visibility higher than 90% in several polarization bases and violate a Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt Bell-like inequality by more than 3 standard deviations. This represents a significant step toward the realization of efficient and versatile self pumped sources of entangled photon pairs on-chip.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Helico-conical optical beams self-heal

An optical beam is said to be self-healing when, distorted by an obstacle, the beam corrects itself upon propagation. In this letter, we show through experiments supported by numerical simulations, that Helico-conical optical beams (HCOBs) self-heal. We observe the strong resilience of these beams with different types of obstructions, and relate this to the characteristics of their transverse energy flow.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Weak measurements with orbital angular momentum pointer states

Weak measurements are a unique tool for accessing information about weakly interacting quantum systems with minimal back action. Joint weak measurements of single-particle operators with pointer states characterized by a two-dimensional Gaussian distribution can provide, in turn, key information about quantum correlations which can be of relevance for quantum information applications. Here we demonstrate that by employing two-dimensional pointer states endowed with orbital angular momentum (OAM), it is possible to extract weak values of the higher order moments of single-particle operators, an inaccessible quantity with Gaussian pointer states only. We provide a specific example that illustrates the advantages of our method both, in terms of signal enhancement, and information retrieval.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Fast beam steering with full polarization control using a galvanometric optical scanner and polarization controller

Optical beam steering is a key element in many industrial and scientific applications like in material processing, information technologies, medical imaging and laser display. Even though galvanometer-based scanners offer flexibility, speed and accuracy at a relatively low cost, they still lack the necessary control over the polarization required for certain applications. We report on the development of a polarization steerable system assembled with a fiber polarization controller and a galvanometric scanner, both controlled by a digital signal processor board. The system implements control of the polarization decoupled from the pointing direction through a feed-forward control scheme. This enables to direct optical beams to a desired direction without affecting its initial polarization state. When considering the full working field of view, we are able to compensate polarization angle errors larger than 0.2 rad, in a temporal window of less than $\sim 20$ ms. Given the unification of components to fully control any polarization state while steering an optical beam, the proposed system is potentially integrable and robust.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

True random numbers from amplified quantum vacuum

Random numbers are essential for applications ranging from secure communications to numerical simulation and quantitative finance. Algorithms can rapidly produce pseudo-random outcomes, series of numbers that mimic most properties of true random numbers while quantum random number generators (QRNGs) exploit intrinsic quantum randomness to produce true random numbers. Single-photon QRNGs are conceptually simple but produce few random bits per detection. In contrast, vacuum fluctuations are a vast resource for QRNGs: they are broad-band and thus can encode many random bits per second. Direct recording of vacuum fluctuations is possible, but requires shot-noise-limited detectors, at the cost of bandwidth. We demonstrate efficient conversion of vacuum fluctuations to true random bits using optical amplification of vacuum and interferometry. Using commercially-available optical components we demonstrate a QRNG at a bit rate of 1.11 Gbps. The proposed scheme has the potential to be extended to 10 Gbps and even up to 100 Gbps by taking advantage of high speed modulation sources and detectors for optical fiber telecommunication devices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Fast optical source for quantum key distribution based on semiconductor optical amplifiers

A novel integrated optical source capable of emitting faint pulses with different polarization states and with different intensity levels at 100 MHz has been developed. The source relies on a single laser diode followed by four semiconductor optical amplifiers and thin film polarizers, connected through a fiber network. The use of a single laser ensures high level of indistinguishability in time and spectrum of the pulses for the four different polarizations and three different levels of intensity. The applicability of the source is demonstrated in the lab through a free space quantum key distribution experiment which makes use of the decoy state BB84 protocol. We achieved a lower bound secure key rate of the order of 3.64 Mbps and a quantum bit error ratio as low as $1.14\times 10^{-2}$ while the lower bound secure key rate became 187 bps for an equivalent attenuation of 35 dB. To our knowledge, this is the fastest polarization encoded QKD system which has been reported so far. The performance, reduced size, low power consumption and the fact that the components used can be space qualified make the source particularly suitable for secure satellite communication.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

100 MHz Amplitude and Polarization Modulated Optical Source for Free-Space Quantum Key Distribution at 850 nm

We report on an integrated photonic transmitter of up to 100 MHz repetition rate, which emits pulses centered at 850 nm with arbitrary amplitude and polarization. The source is suitable for free space quantum key distribution applications. The whole transmitter, with the optical and electronic components integrated, has reduced size and power consumption. In addition, the optoelectronic components forming the transmitter can be space-qualified, making it suitable for satellite and future space missions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Photons with tunable spectral shapes: The transition from frequency anticorrelated to correlated photon pairs

We present an experimental demonstration of the full control of the frequency correlations of entangled photon pairs. The joint spectrum of photon pairs is continuously varied from photons that exhibit anticorrelation in frequency to photons that exhibit correlation in frequency, passing through the case of uncorrelated photons. Highly entangled frequency-anticorrelated photon pairs were obtained even when an ultrafast laser was used as a pump. The different kinds of correlations are obtained without changing neither the wavelength, nor the nonlinear crystal.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2008

Broadening the bandwidth of entangled photons: a step towards the generation of extremely short biphotons

We demonstrate a technique that allows to fully control the bandwidth of entangled photons independently of the frequency band of interest and of the nonlinear crystal. We show that this technique allows to generate nearly transform-limited biphotons with almost one octave of bandwidth (hundreds of THz) which corresponds to correlation times of just a few femtoseconds. The presented method becomes an enabling tool for attosecond entangled-photons quantum optics. The technique can also be used to generate paired photons with a very high degree of entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2007

Transverse Entanglement Migration in Hilbert Space

We show that, although the amount of mutual entanglement of photons propagating in free space is fixed, the type of correlations between the photons that determine the entanglement can dramatically change during propagation. We show that this amounts to a migration of entanglement in Hilbert space, rather than real space. For the case of spontaneous parametric down conversion, the migration of entanglement in transverse coordinates takes place from modulus to phase of the bi-photon state and back again. We propose an experiment to observe this migration in Hilbert space and to determine the full entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Tunable control of the bandwidth and frequency correlations of entangled photons

We demonstrate experimentally a new technique to control the bandwidth and the type of frequency correlations (correlation, anticorrelation, and even uncorrelation) of entangled photons generated by spontaneous parametric downconversion. The method is based on the control of the group velocities of the interacting waves. This technique can be applied in any nonlinear medium and frequency band of interest. It is also demonstrated that this technique helps enhance the quality of polarization entanglement even when femtosecond pulses are used as a pump.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2003

Quantum spiral bandwidth of entangled two-photon states

We put forward the concept of quantum spiral bandwidth of the spatial mode function of the two-photon entangled state in spontaneous parametric downconversion. We obtain the bandwidth using the eigenstates of the orbital angular momentum of the biphoton states, and reveal its dependence with the length of the down converting crystal and waist of the pump beam. The connection between the quantum spiral bandwidth and the entropy of entanglement of the quantum state is discussed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2002

Stable spinning optical solitons in three dimensions

We introduce spatiotemporal spinning solitons (vortex tori) of the three-dimensional nonlinear Schrodinger equation with focusing cubic and defocusing quintic nonlinearities. The first ever found completely stable spatiotemporal vortex solitons are demonstrated. A general conclusion is that stable spinning solitons are possible as a result of competition between focusing and defocusing nonlinearities.

nlin.PS↗