From quantum to classical: watching a single photon become a wave

Year: 2005

Authors: Bellini M., Zavatta A., Viciani S.

Autors Affiliation: Istituto Nazionale di Ottica Applicata, Largo E. Fermi 6, 50125, Firenze, Italy;
European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS);
Department of Physics, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy

Abstract: We present the experimental generation of a new class of non-classical light states and their complete phasespace characterization by quantum homodyne tomography. These states are the result of the most elementary amplification process of classical light fields by a single quantum of excitation and can be generated by the process of stimulated emission of a single photon in the mode of a coherent state. Being intermediate between a single-photon Fock state and a coherent one, they offer the unique opportunity to closely follow the smooth evolution between the particle-like and the wave-like behavior of the light field and to witness the gradual change from the spontaneous to the stimulated regimes of light emission.

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KeyWords: Coherent states; Fock states; Quantum tomography; Single photons; Wigner function; Coherent light; Light amplifiers; Light emission; Quantum theory; Tomography, Fock states; Quantum homodyne tomography; Single photons; Wigner function, Photons

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