Search

Violation of the CHSH inequality supposedly demonstrates an irreconcilable conflict between quantum mechanics and local, realistic hidden variable theories. We show that the mathematical assumptions underlying the proof of the CHSH inequality are, in fact, incompatible with the physics of the experiments testing such inequality. This implies that we cannot dismiss local realistic hidden variable theories on the basis of currently available experimental data yet. However, we also show that an experimental proof of CHSH inequality is, in principle, possible, but it is unclear how to implement, in practice, such an experiment., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2406.03028

Bell's theorem supposedly demonstrates an irreconcilable conflict between quantum mechanics and local, realistic hidden variable theories. In this paper we show that all experiments that aim to prove Bell's theorem do not actually achieve this goal. Our conclusions are based on a straightforward statistical analysis of the outcomes of these experiments. The key tool in our study is probability theory and, in particular, the concept of sample space for the dichotomic random variables that quantifies the outcomes of such experiments. We also show that an experimental proof of Bell's theorem is not, in principle, impossible, but it would require a completely different experimental apparatus than those commonly used to allegedly achieve this objective. The main consequence of our work is that we cannot dismiss local realistic hidden variable theories on the basis of currently available experimental data., Comment: 13 pages main text, 2 pages appendix, 2 figures. v2 some additional text and formulas

Quantum metasurfaces, i.e., two-dimensional subwavelength arrays of quantum emitters, can be employed as mirrors towards the design of hybrid cavities, where the optical response is given by the interplay of a cavity-confined field and the surface modes supported by the arrays. We show that, under external magnetic field control, stacked layers of quantum metasurfaces can serve as helicity-preserving cavities. These structures exhibit ultranarrow resonances and can enhance the intensity of the incoming field by orders of magnitude, while simultaneously preserving the handedness of the field circulating inside the resonator, as opposed to conventional cavities. The rapid phase shift in the cavity transmission around the resonance can be exploited for the sensitive detection of chiral scatterers passing through the cavity. We discuss possible applications of these resonators as sensors for the discrimination of chiral molecules., Comment: 6+11 pages, 2+3 figures

One of the most puzzling consequences of interpreting quantum mechanics in terms of concepts borrowed from classical physics, is the so-called wave-particle duality. Usually, wave-particle duality is illustrated in terms of complementarity between path distinguishability and fringe visibility in interference experiments. In this work, we instead propose a new type of complementarity, that between the continuous nature of waves and the discrete character of particles. Using the probabilistic methods of quantum field theory, we show that the simultaneous measurement of the wave amplitude and the number of photons in the same beam of light is, under certain circumstances, prohibited by the laws of quantum mechanics. Our results suggest that the concept of ``interferometric duality'' could be eventually replaced by the more general one of ``continuous-discrete duality''., Comment: Main text: 16 pages, 5 figures. Four appendices. v4: version accepted by Quantum

John von Neumann's spectral theorem for self-adjoint operators is a cornerstone of quantum mechanics. Among other things, it also provides a connection between expectation values of self-adjoint operators and expected values of real-valued random variables. This paper presents a plain-spoken formulation of this theorem in terms of Dirac's bra and ket notation, which is based on physical intuition and provides techniques that are important for performing actual calculations. The goal is to engage students in a constructive discussion about similarities and differences in the use of random variables in classical and quantum mechanics. Special emphasis is given on operators that are simple functions of noncommuting self-adjoint operators. The presentation is self-contained and includes detailed calculations for the most relevant results., Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures

The helicity representation of the linear momentum density of a light wave is well understood for monochromatic optical fields in both paraxial and non-paraxial regimes of propagation. In this note we generalize such representation to nonmonochromatic optical fields. We find that, differently from the monochromatic case, the linear momentum density, aka the Poynting vector divided by $c^2$, does not separate into the sum of right-handed and left-handed terms, even when the so-called electric-magnetic democracy in enforced by averaging the electric and magnetic contributions. However, for quasimonochromatic light, such a separation is approximately restored after time-averaging. This paper is dedicated to Sir Michael Berry on the occasion of his $80$th birthday., Comment: 19 pages, 0 figures. v2 version published in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, Special Issue "Claritons and the Asymptotics of Ideas: the Physics of Michael Berry"

We present a simple yet rigorous field theoretic demonstration of the nonlocality of a single-photon field. The formalism used allows us to calculate the electric field of a single-photon light beam sent through a beam splitter, which directly demonstrates that it is the light field, rather than the photon itself regarded as a particle, that exhibits nonlocality. Our results are obtained without using either inequalities or specific measurement apparatuses, so that they have perfectly general validity., Comment: Main text 6 pages, 2 figures. Supplemental material 29 pages, 1 figure. v2: some minor restyling and typo corrections

Dielectric spheres of various sizes may sustain electromagnetic whispering-gallery modes resonating at optical frequencies with very narrow linewidths. Arbitrary small deviations from the spherical shape typically shift and broaden such resonances. Our goal is to determine these shifted and broadened resonances. A boundary-condition perturbation theory for the acoustic vibrations of nearly circular membranes was developed by Rayleigh more than a century ago. We extend this theory to describe the electromagnetic excitations of nearly spherical dielectric cavities. This approach permits us to avoid dealing with decaying quasinormal modes. We explicitly find the frequencies and the linewidths of the optical resonances for arbitrarily deformed nearly spherical dielectric cavities, as power series expansions by a small parameter, up to and including second-order terms. We thoroughly discuss the physical conditions for the applicability of perturbation theory., Comment: 31 pages, 6 figures; published version

Recently, it was shown that vector beams can be utilized for fast kinematic sensing via measurements of their global polarization state [Optica 2(10), 864 (2015)]. The method relies on correlations between the spatial and polarization degrees of freedom of the illuminating field which result from its nonseparable mode structure. Here, we extend the method to the nonparaxial regime. We study experimentally and theoretically the far-field polarization state generated by the scattering of a dielectric microsphere in a tightly focused vector beam as a function of the particle position. Using polarization measurements only, we demonstrate position sensing of a Mie particle in three dimensions. Our work extends the concept of back focal plane interferometry and highlights the potential of polarization analysis in optical tweezers employing structured light., Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures

We report,to the best of our knowledge, the first observation of concentrating paraxial beams of light in a linear nondispersive medium. We have generated this intriguing class of light beams, recently predicted by one of us, in both one- and two-dimensional configurations. As we demonstrate in our experiments, these concentrating beams display unconventional features, such as the ability to strongly focus in the focal spot of a thin lens like a plane wave, while keeping their total energy finite., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures

We show that, contrary to popular belief, non only diffraction-free beams may reconstruct themselves after hitting an opaque obstacle but also, for example, Gaussian beams. We unravel the mathematics and the physics underlying the self-reconstruction mechanism and we provide for a novel definition for the minimum reconstruction distance beyond geometric optics, which is in principle applicable to any optical beam that admits an angular spectrum representation. Moreover, we propose to quantify the self-reconstruction ability of a beam via a newly established degree of self-healing. This is defined via a comparison between the amplitudes, as opposite to intensities, of the original beam and the obstructed one. Such comparison is experimentally accomplished by tailoring an innovative experimental technique based upon Shack-Hartmann wave front reconstruction. We believe that these results can open new avenues in this field.

A circularly polarized electromagnetic plane wave carries an electric field that rotates clockwise or counterclockwise around the propagation direction of the wave. According to the handedness of this rotation, its \emph{longitudinal} spin angular momentum density is either parallel or antiparallel to the propagation of light. However, there are also light waves that are not simply plane and carry an electric field that rotates around an axis perpendicular to the propagation direction, thus yielding \emph{transverse} spin angular momentum density. Electric field configurations of this kind have been suggestively dubbed "photonic wheels". It has been recently shown that photonic wheels are commonplace in optics as they occur in electromagnetic fields confined by waveguides, in strongly focused beams, in plasmonic and evanescent waves. In this work we establish a general theory of electromagnetic waves {propagating along a well defined direction, which carry} transverse spin angular momentum density. We show that depending on the shape of {these waves, the} spin density may be either perpendicular to the \emph{mean} linear momentum (globally transverse spin) or to the linear momentum \emph{density} (locally transverse spin). We find that the latter case generically occurs only for non-diffracting beams, such as the Bessel beams. Moreover, we introduce the concept of \emph{meridional} Stokes parameters to operationally quantify the transverse spin density. To illustrate our theory, we apply it to the exemplary cases of Bessel beams and evanescent waves. These results open a new and accessible route to the understanding, generation and manipulation of optical beams with transverse spin angular momentum density., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures

We present the quantum theory of the measurement of bosonic particles by multipixel detectors. For the sake of clarity, we specialize on beams of photons. We study the measurement of different spatial beam characteristics, as position and width. The limits of these measurements are set by the quantum nature of the light field. We investigate how both, detector imperfections and finite pixel size affect the photon counting distribution. An analytic theory for the discretized measurement scheme is derived. We discuss the results and compare them to the theory presented by Chille et al. in "Quantum uncertainty in the beam width of spatial optical modes," Opt. Express 23, 32777 (2015), which investigates the beam width noise independently of the measurement system. Finally, we present numerical simulations which furnish realistic and promising predictions for possible experimental studies.

We present an experimental method for the generation of amplitude squeezed high-order vector beams. The light is modified twice by a spatial light modulator such that the vector beam is created by means of a collinear interferometric technique. A major advantage of this approach is that it avoids systematic losses, which are detrimental as they cause decoherence in continuous-variable quantum systems. The utilisation of a spatial light modulator (SLM) gives the flexibility to switch between arbitrary mode orders. The conversion efficiency with our setup is only limited by the efficiency of the SLM. We show the experimental generation of Laguerre-Gauss (LG) modes with radial indices up to 1 and azimuthal indices up to 3 with complex polarization structures and a quantum noise reduction up to -0.9dB$\pm$0.1dB. The corresponding polarization structures are studied in detail by measuring the spatial distribution of the Stokes parameters.

As the generation of squeezed states of light has become a standard technique in laboratories, attention is increasingly directed towards adapting the optical parameters of squeezed beams to the specific requirements of individual applications. It is known that imaging, metrology, and quantum information may benefit from using squeezed light with a tailored transverse spatial mode. However, experiments have so far been limited to generating only a few squeezed spatial modes within a given setup. Here, we present the generation of single-mode squeezing in Laguerre-Gauss and Bessel-Gauss modes, as well as an arbitrary intensity pattern, all from a single setup using a spatial light modulator (SLM). The degree of squeezing obtained is limited mainly by the initial squeezing and diffractive losses introduced by the SLM, while no excess noise from the SLM is detectable at the measured sideband. The experiment illustrates the single-mode concept in quantum optics and demonstrates the viability of current SLMs as flexible tools for the spatial reshaping of squeezed light., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables

In nonrelativistic quantum mechanics the spontaneous generation of singularities in smooth and finite wave functions, is a well understood phenomenon also occurring for free particles. We use the familiar analogy between the two-dimensional Schroedinger equation and the optical paraxial wave equation to define a new class of square-integrable paraxial optical fields which develop a spatial singularity in the focal point of a weakly-focusing thin lens. These fields are characterized by a single real parameter whose value determines the nature of the singularity. This novel field enhancement mechanism may stimulate fruitful researches for diverse technological and scientific applications., Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures. Published as: Opt. Lett. Vol. 41(7) 1668-1671, (2016)

Teleportation is the most widely discussed application of the basic principles of quantum mechanics. Fundamentally, this process describes the transmission of information, which involves transport of neither matter nor energy. The implicit assumption, however, is that this scheme is of inherently nonlocal nature, and therefore exclusive to quantum systems. Here, we show that the concept can be readily generalized beyond the quantum realm. We present an optical implementation of the teleportation protocol solely based on classical entanglement between spatial and modal degrees of freedom, entirely independent of nonlocality. Our findings could enable novel methods for distributing information between different transmission channels and may provide the means to leverage the advantages of both quantum and classical systems to create a robust hybrid communication infrastructure.

We test the validity of Feynman's idea that a two-slit experiment performed with classical objects (bullets) does not produce observable interference fringes on the detection screen because the Compton's wavelength of the bullets is so tiny, that no real detector could resolve individual interference fringes, thus producing only an average signal which is the observed smooth curve. To test this idea, we study the two-slit experiment in two different situations using light to simulate both wave-like and particle-like bullets. In the first case, we consider coherent light with short wavelengths and in the second case incoherent light with not-so-short wavelength. While in the former case (simulating Feynman's wave-like bullets) the interference fringes are so dense that they cannot be resolved by a detector, therefore resulting in an averaged smooth signal, in the latter case (simulating Feynman's particle-like bullets), although the detector is fully capable of discriminating each fringe, the observed classical smooth pattern limit is produced because of the lack of spatial coherence of the impinging field.

We theoretically investigate the quantum uncertainty in the beam width of transverse optical modes and, for this purpose, define a corresponding quantum operator. Single mode states are studied as well as multimode states with small quantum noise. General relations are derived, and specific examples of different modes and quantum states are examined. For the multimode case, we show that the quantum uncertainty in the beam width can be completely attributed to the amplitude quadrature uncertainty of one specific mode, which is uniquely determined by the field under investigation. This discovery provides us with a strategy for the reduction of the beam width noise by an appropriate choice of the quantum state.

Quantum mechanics represents one of the greatest triumphs of human intellect and, undoubtedly, is the most successful physical theory we have to date. However, since its foundation about a century ago, it has been uninterruptedly the center of harsh debates ignited by the counterintuitive character of some of its predictions. The subject of one of these heated discussions is the so-called "retrodiction paradox", namely a deceptive inconsistency of quantum mechanics which is often associated with the "measurement paradox" and the "collapse of the wave function"; it comes from the apparent time-asymmetry between state preparation and measurement. Actually, in the literature one finds several versions of the retrodiction paradox; however, a particularly insightful one was presented by Sir Roger Penrose in his seminal book \emph{The Road to Reality}. Here, we address the question to what degree Penrose's retrodiction paradox occurs in the classical and quantum domain. We achieve a twofold result. First, we show that Penrose's paradox manifests itself in some form also in classical optics. Second, we demonstrate that when information is correctly extracted from the measurements and the quantum-mechanical formalism is properly applied, Penrose's retrodiction paradox does not manifest itself in quantum optics., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures

In the helicity representation, the Poynting vector (current) for a monochromatic optical field, when calculated using either the electric or the magnetic field, separates into right-handed and left-handed contributions, with no cross-helicity contributions. Cross-helicity terms do appear in the orbital and spin contributions to the current. But when the electric and magnetic formulas are averaged ('electric-magnetic democracy'), these terms cancel, restoring the separation into right-handed and left-handed currents for orbital and spin separately., Comment: 10 pages, no figures

Tracking the kinematics of fast-moving objects is an important diagnostic tool for science and engineering. Existing optical methods include high-speed CCD/CMOS imaging, streak cameras, lidar, serial time-encoded imaging and sequentially timed all-optical mapping. Here, we demonstrate an entirely new approach to positional and directional sensing based on the concept of classical entanglement in vector beams of light. The measurement principle relies on the intrinsic correlations existing in such beams between transverse spatial modes and polarization. The latter can be determined from intensity measurements with only a few fast photodiodes, greatly outperforming the bandwidth of current CCD/CMOS devices. In this way, our setup enables two-dimensional real-time sensing with temporal resolution in the GHz range. We expect the concept to open up new directions in photonics-based metrology and sensing., Comment: v2 includes the real-time measurement from the published version. Reference [29] added. Minor experimental details added on page 6

It has been known for a long time that light carries both linear and angular momenta parallel to the direction of propagation. However, only recently it has been pointed out that beams of light, under certain conditions, may exhibit a transverse spin angular momentum perpendicular to the propagation direction. When this happens, the electric field transported by the light rotates around an axis transverse to the beam path. Such kind of fields, although deceptively elusive, are almost ubiquitous in optics as they manifests in strongly focused beams, plasmonic fields and evanescent waves. In this work we present a general formalism describing all these phenomena. In particular, we demonstrate how to mathematically generate a wave field possessing transverse spin angular momentum density, from any arbitrarily given scalar wave field, either propagating and evanescent., Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures; v2: some typos corrected, added 1 figure

Contrarily to a common belief, any beam of light possesses to a some extent the ability to "reconstruct itself" after hitting an obstacle. The celebrated Arago spot phenomenon is nothing but a manifestation of this property. In this work we analyze the self-healing mechanism from both a mathematical and a physical point of view, eventually finding a new expression for the minimum reconstruction distance, which is valid for \emph{any} kind of beam, including Gaussian ones. Finally, a witness function that quantify the self-reconstruction capability of a beam is proposed and tested. The results presented here help clarifying the physics underlying self-healing mechanism in optical beams., Comment: 23 pages, 2 appendixes, 13 figures

This work is the second part of an investigation aiming at the study of optical wave equations from a field-theoretic point of view. Here, we study classical and quantum aspects of scalar fields satisfying the paraxial wave equation. First, we determine conservation laws for energy, linear and angular momentum of paraxial fields in a classical context. Then, we proceed with the quantization of the field. Finally, we compare our result with the traditional ones., Comment: 22 pages, no figures. This is the part II of arXiv:1412.0553 [quant-ph]

We study monochromatic, scalar solutions of the Helmholtz and paraxial wave equations from a field-theoretic point of view. We introduce appropriate time-independent Lagrangian densities for which the Euler-Lagrange equations reproduces either Helmholtz and paraxial wave equations with the $z$-coordinate, associated with the main direction of propagation of the fields, playing the same role of time in standard Lagrangian theory. For both Helmholtz and paraxial scalar fields, we calculate the canonical energy-momentum tensor and determine the continuity equations relating "energy" and "momentum" of the fields. Eventually, the reduction of the Helmholtz wave equation to a useful first-order Dirac form, is presented. This work sheds some light on the intriguing and not so acknowledged connections between angular spectrum representation of optical wavefields, cosmological models and physics of black holes., Comment: 19 pages, no figures. This is the part I of a work in progress. Part II will follow soon. About v2: A typo in Eq. (45) has been corrected

Bessel beams' great importance in optics lies in that these propagate without spreading and can reconstruct themselves behind an obstruction placed across their path. However, a rigorous wave-optics explanation of the latter property is missing. In this work we study the reconstruction mechanism by means of a wave-optics description. We obtain expressions for the minimum distance beyond the obstruction at which the beam reconstructs itself, which are in close agreement with the traditional one determined from geometrical optics. Our results show that the physics underlying the self-healing mechanism can be entirely explained in terms of the propagation of plane waves with radial wave vectors lying on a ring., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to Optics Letters

In this work we review and further develop the controversial concept of "classical entanglement" in optical beams. We present a unified theory for different kinds of light beams exhibiting classical entanglement and we indicate several possible extensions of the concept. Our results shed new light upon the physics at the debated border between the classical and the quantum representations of the world., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Version submitted to PRA

Quantum approaches relying on entangled photons have been recently proposed to increase the efficiency of optical measurements. We demonstrate here that, surprisingly, the use of classical light with entangled degrees of freedom can also bring outstanding advantages over conventional measurements in polarization metrology. Specifically, we show that radially polarized beams of light allow to perform real-time single-shot Mueller matrix polarimetry. Our results also indicate that quantum optical procedures requiring entanglement without nonlocality can be actually achieved in classical optics regime., Comment: 12 pages + appendices, 3 figures

In the recent and very enjoyable paper (Paul Strange, "Semiclassical and Quantum Analysis of a Focussing Free Particle Hermite Wavefunction", arXiv:1309.6753[quant-ph]), Professor Strange has studied a particular solution of the free particle Schroedinger equation in which the time and space dependence are not separable. After recognizing the fact that "The Schroedinger equation has an identical mathematical form to the paraxial wave equation [...]", he claims to "describe and try to gain insight into an exotic, apparently accelerating solution of the free particle Schroedinger equation that is square integrable and which also displays some unusual characteristics." It is the main aim of this short note to show that the wavefunction described by Prof. Strange is simply one particular Hermite-Gauss solution of the paraxial wave equation and even more "exotic" examples can be found by considering, e.g., Laguerre-Gauss solutions., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

We study the classical optics effects known as Goos-H\"anchen (GH) and Imbert-Fedorov (IF) shifts, occurring when reflecting a bounded light beam from a planar surface, by using a quantum-mechanical formalism. This new approach allows us to naturally separate the spatial shift into two parts, one independent on orbital angular momentum (OAM) and the other one showing OAM-induced spatial-vs-angular shift mixing. In addition, within this quantum-mechanical-like formalism, it becomes apparent that the angular shift is proportional to the beams angular spread, namely to the variance of the transverse components of the wave vector. Moreover, we extent our treatment to the enhancement of beam shifts via weak measurements and relate our results to recent experiments., Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure

We study the problem of particle indistinguishability for the three cases known in nature: identical classical particles, identical bosons and identical fermions. By exploiting the fact that different types of particles are associated with Hilbert space vectors with different symmetries, we establish some relations between the expectation value of several different operators, as the particle number one and the interparticle correlation one, evaluated for states of a pair of identical (a) classical particles, (b) bosons and (c) fermions. We find that the quantum behavior of a pair of identical classical particles has exactly half fermionic and half bosonic characteristics., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure

A coherent state representation of the expectation value of an arbitrary (but still polynomial) normal ordered quantum operator is discussed. This serves as a basis for developing a fast and easy-to-handle algorithm, based on series of Hermite polynomials, for calculating such quantities. The case of single mode field with number, coherent and squeezed states is treated in detail. Some hints on how to extend the algorithm to multimode fields are also given., Comment: The paper has been withdrawn by the author because it will be significantly reconsidered for submissions to peer-reviewed journals

The quantum state of a single photon stands among the most fundamental and intriguing manifestations of quantum physics. At the same time single photons and pairs of single photons are important building blocks in the fields of linear optical based quantum computation and quantum repeater infrastructure. These fields possess enormous potential and much scientific and technological progress has been made in developing individual components, like quantum memories and photon sources using various physical implementations. However, further progress suffers from the lack of compatibility between these different components. Ultimately, one aims for a versatile source of single photons and photon pairs in order to overcome this hurdle of incompatibility. Such a photon source should allow for tuning of the spectral properties (wide wavelength range and narrow bandwidth) to address different implementations while retaining high efficiency. In addition, it should be able to bridge different wavelength regimes to make implementations compatible. Here we introduce and experimentally demonstrate such a versatile single photon and photon pair source based on the physics of whispering gallery resonators. A disk-shaped, monolithic and intrinsically stable resonator is made of lithium niobate and supports a cavity-assisted triply-resonant spontaneous parametric down-conversion process. Measurements show that photon pairs are efficiently generated in two highly tunable resonator modes. We verify wavelength tuning over 100 nm between both modes with a controllable bandwidth between 7.2 and 13 MHz. Heralding of single photons yields anti-bunching with $g^{(2)}(0) < 0.2$. This compact source provides unprecedented possibilities to couple to different physical quantum systems and renders it ideal for the implementation of quantum repeaters and optical quantum information processing.

We illustrate the correspondence between the quantum Interaction Picture-evolution of the state of a quantum system in Hilbert space and a combination of local and global transformations of its Wigner function in phase space. To this aim, we consider the time-evolution of a quantized harmonic oscillator driven by both a linear and a quadratic (in terms of bosonic creation and annihilation operators) potentials and employ the Magnus series to derive the exact form of the time-evolution operator. In this case, the Interaction Picture corresponds to a local transformation of phase space-reference frame into the one that is co-moving with the Wigner function., Comment: Submitted to New Journal of Physics

Quadrature squeezed cylindrically polarized modes contain entanglement not only in the polarization and spatial electric field variables but also between these two degrees of freedom [1]. In this paper we present tools to generate and detect this entanglement. Experimentally we demonstrate the generation of quadrature squeezing in cylindrically polarized modes by mode transforming a squeezed Gaussian mode. Specifically, -1.2 dB of amplitude squeezing are achieved in the radially and azimuthally polarized mode. Furthermore, theoretically it is shown how the entanglement contained within these modes can be measured and how strong the quantum correlations, depending on the measurement scheme, are.

Two photons are said to be identical when they are prepared in the same quantum state. Given the latter, there is a unique way to achieve this. Conversely, there are many different manners to prepare two non-identical photons: they may have different frequency, polarization, amplitude, etc. Therefore, photon distinguishability depends upon the specific degree of freedom being varied. By means of a careful analysis of the coincidence probability distribution in a Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment, we can show that photon distinguishability can be actually quantified by the rate of distinguishability of photons, an experimentally measurable parameter that crucially depends on both the photon quantum state and the degree of freedom under control., Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure, extended version, to be published in New Journal of Physics

We investigate theoretical properties of beams of light with non-uniform polarization patterns. Specifically, we determine all possible configurations of cylindrically polarized modes (CPMs) of the electro-magnetic field, calculate their total angular momentum and highlight the subtleties of their structure. Furthermore, a hybrid spatio-polarization description for such modes is introduced and developed. In particular, two independent Poincar\'e spheres have been introduced to represent simultaneously the polarization and spatial degree of freedom of CPMs. Possible mode-to-mode transformations accomplishable with the help of conventional polarization and spatial phase retarders are shown within this representation. Moreover, the importance of these CPMs in the quantum optics domain due to their classical features is highlighted., Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures

We develop the quantum theory of transverse angular momentum of light beams. The theory applies to paraxial and quasi-paraxial photon beams in vacuum, and reproduces the known results for classical beams when applied to coherent states of the field. Both the Poynting vector, alias the linear momentum, and the angular momentum quantum operators of a light beam are calculated including contributions from first-order transverse derivatives. This permits a correct description of the energy flow in the beam and the natural emergence of both the spin and the angular momentum of the photons. We show that for collimated beams of light, orbital angular momentum operators do not satisfy the standard commutation rules. Finally, we discuss the application of our theory to some concrete cases., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures

We describe a novel phenomenon occurring when a polarized Gaussian beam of light is observed in a Cartesian reference frame whose axes are not parallel to the direction of propagation of the beam. Such phenomenon amounts to an intriguing spin-dependent shift of the position of the center of the beam, with manners akin to the spin Hall effect of light. We demonstrate that this effect is unavoidable when the light beam possesses a nonzero transverse angular momentum., Comment: 4 pages

In this work we present a very simple approach to input-output relations in optical cavities, limiting ourselves to one- and two-photon states of the field. After field quantization, we derive the non-unitary transformation between {\em Inside} and {\em Outside} annihilation and creation operators. Then we express the most general two-photon state generated by {\em Inside} creation operators, through base states generated by {\em Outside} creation operators. After renormalization of coefficients of inside two-photon state, we calculate the outside photon-number probability distribution in a general case. Finally we treat with some detail the single mode and symmetrical cavity case., Comment: 34 pages, 5 figures jpg, LaTex