Berlin 2014 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 67: Photonics III
Q 67.1: Talk
Friday, March 21, 2014, 16:30–16:45, UDL HS3038
Mueller matrix coherent measurement with non-separable classical light — •Falk Töppel1,2, Andrea Aiello1,2, Christoph Marquardt1,2, Elisabeth Giacobino3, and Gerd Leuchs1,2 — 1Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Erlangen, Germany — 2Institute for Optics, Information and Photonics, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany — 3Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, Paris, France
Quantum information theory shows that coherent measurements can provide more information than incoherent ones. Coherent measurements are represented by operators whose eigenstates are entangled, allowing to test several quantities in parallel. However, not all features of quantum entanglement are needed: Most coherent measurements require entanglement, but not non-locality. Some classical systems show the remarkable feature of non-separability, i.e., classical entanglement between different degrees of freedom. Particular examples are optical beams with non-uniform polarization patterns, e.g., cylindrically polarized modes. In this work we demonstrate that classical entanglement in cylindrically polarized beams of light permits achieving coherent measurement of the Mueller matrix of an optical element affecting polarization. In principle, our method allows the Mueller matrix reconstruction from a single shot measurement, whereas conventionally four probe beams of different polarizations are required. This example furnishes a proof of principle that tasks requiring entanglement but not non-locality may be accomplished by using classical systems.