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Warren P. Grice

Publications and source records attributed to Warren P. Grice.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Broadband polarization-entangled source for C+L-band flex-grid quantum networks

The rising demand for transmission capacity in optical networks has motivated steady interest in expansion beyond the standard C-band (1530-1565 nm) into the adjacent L-band (1565-1625 nm), for an approximate doubling of capacity in a single stroke. However, in the context of quantum networking, the ability to leverage the L-band will require advanced tools for characterization and management of entanglement resources which have so far been lagging. In this work, we demonstrate an ultrabroadband two-photon source integrating both C- and L-band wavelength-selective switches for complete control of spectral routing and allocation across 7.5 THz in a single setup. Polarization state tomography of all 150 pairs of 25 GHz-wide channels reveals an average fidelity of 0.98 and total distillable entanglement greater than 181 kebits/s. This source is explicitly designed for flex-grid optical networks and can facilitate optimal utilization of entanglement resources across the full C+L-band.

quant-ph

Quantum secret sharing using weak coherent states

Secret sharing allows a trusted party (the dealer) to distribute a secret to a group of players, who can only access the secret cooperatively. Quantum secret sharing (QSS) protocols could provide unconditional security based on fundamental laws in physics. While the general security proof has been established recently in an entanglement-based QSS protocol, the tolerable channel loss is unfortunately rather small. Here we propose a continuous variable QSS protocol using conventional laser sources and homodyne detectors. In this protocol, a Gaussian-modulated coherent state (GMCS) prepared by one player passes through the secure stations of the other players sequentially, and each of the other players injects a locally prepared, independent GMCS into the circulating optical mode. Finally, the dealer measures both the amplitude and phase quadratures of the receiving optical mode using double homodyne detectors. Collectively, the players can use their encoded random numbers to estimate the measurement results of the dealer and further generate a shared key. Unlike the existing single photon based sequential QSS protocol, our scheme is intrinsically immune to Trojan horse attacks. Furthermore, the additional loss introduced by each player's system can be extremely small, which makes the protocol scalable to a large number of players. We prove the unconditional security of the proposed protocol against both eavesdroppers and dishonest players in the presence of high channel loss, and discuss various practical issues.

quant-ph

Quantum secret sharing with polarization-entangled photon pairs

We describe and experimentally demonstrate a three-party quantum secret sharing protocol using polarization-entangled photon pairs. The source itself serves as an active participant and can switch between the required photon states by modulating the pump beam only, thereby making the protocol less susceptible to loss and amenable to fast switching. Compared to three-photon protocols, the practical efficiency is dramatically improved as there is no need to generate, transmit, or detect a third photon.

quant-ph

A nonlocal polarization interferometer for entanglement detection

We report a nonlocal interferometer capable of detecting entanglement and identifying Bell states statistically. This is possible due to the interferometer's unique correlation dependence on the anti-diagonal elements of the density matrix, which have distinct bounds for separable states and unique values for the four Bell states. The interferometer consists of two spatially separated balanced Mach-Zehnder or Sagnac interferometers that share a polarization entangled source. Correlations between these interferometers exhibit non-local interference, while single photon interference is suppressed. This interferometer also allows for a unique version of the CHSH-Bell test where the local reality is the photon polarization. We present the relevant theory and experimental results.

quant-ph

Generation of degenerate, factorizable, pulsed squeezed light at telecom wavelengths

We characterize a periodically poled KTP crystal that produces an entangled, two-mode, squeezed state with orthogonal polarizations, nearly identical, factorizable frequency modes, and few photons in unwanted frequency modes. We focus the pump beam to create a nearly circular joint spectral probability distribution between the two modes. After disentangling the two modes, we observe Hong-Ou-Mandel interference with a raw (background corrected) visibility of 86 % (95 %) when an 8.6 nm bandwidth spectral filter is applied. We measure second order photon correlations of the entangled and disentangled squeezed states with both superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors and photon-number-resolving transition-edge sensors. Both methods agree and verify that the detected modes contain the desired photon number distributions.

quant-ph

Generation of Pure-State Single-Photon Wavepackets by Conditional Preparation Based on Spontaneous Parametric Downconversion

We study the conditional preparation of single photons based on parametric downconversion, where the detection of one photon from a given pair heralds the existence of a single photon in the conjugate mode. We derive conditions on the modal characteristics of the photon pairs, which ensure that the conditionally prepared single photons are quantum-mechanically pure. We propose specific experimental techniques that yield photon pairs ideally suited for single-photon conditional preparation.

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Observation of correlated-photon statistics using a single detector

We report experimental observations of correlated-photon statistics in the single-photon detection rate. The usual quantum interference in a two-photon polarization interferometer always accompanies a dip in the single detector counting rate, regardless of whether a dip or peak is seen in the coincidence rate. This effect is explained by taking into account all possible photon number states that reach the detector, rather than considering just the state post-selected by the coincidence measurement. We also report an interferometeric scheme in which the interference peak or dip in coincidence corresponds directly to a peak or dip in the single-photon detection rate.

quant-ph

Reliability of the beamsplitter based Bell-state measurement

A linear 50/50 beamsplitter, together with a coincidence measurement, has been widely used in quantum optical experiments, such as teleportation, dense coding, etc., for interferometrically distinguishing, measuring, or projecting onto one of the four two-photon polarization Bell-states $|ψ^{(-)}>$. In this paper, we demonstrate that the coincidence measurement at the output of a beamsplitter cannot be used as an absolute identifier of the input state $|ψ^{(-)}>$ nor as an indication that the input photons have projected to the $|ψ^{(-)}>$ state.

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Experimental Entanglement Concentration and Universal Bell-state Synthesizer

We report a novel Bell-state synthesizer in which an interferometric entanglement concentration scheme is used. An initially mixed polarization state from type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion becomes entangled after the interferometric entanglement concentrator. This Bell-state synthesizer is universal in the sense that the output polarization state is not affected by spectral filtering, crystal thickness, and, most importantly, the choice of pump source. It is also robust against environmental disturbance and a more general state, partially mixed$-$partially entangled state, can be readily generated as well.

quant-ph

Generation of Pulsed Polarization Entangled Two-Photon State via Temporal and Spectral Engineering

The quantum state of the photon pair generated from type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion pumped by a ultrafast laser pulse exhibits strong decoherence in its polarization entanglement, an effect which can be attributed to the clock effect of the pump pulse or, equivalently, to distinguishing spectral information in the two-photon state. Here, we propose novel temporal and spectral engineering techniques to eliminate these detrimental decoherence effects. The temporal engineering of the two-photon wavefunction results in a universal Bell-state synthesizer that is independent of the choice of pump source, crystal parameters, wavelengths of the interacting photons, and the bandwidth of the spectral filter. In the spectral engineering technique, the distinguishing spectral features of the two-photon state are eliminated through modifications to the two-photon source. In addition, spectral engineering also provides a means for the generation of polarization-entangled states with novel spectral characteristics: the frequency-correlated state and the frequency-uncorrelated state.

quant-ph