Quantum Hilbert hotel

Potocek, V., Miatto, F. M., Mirhosseini, M., Magaña-Loaiza, O. S., Liapis, A. C., Oi, D. K.L., Boyd, R. W. and Jeffers, J. (2015) Quantum Hilbert hotel. Physical Review Letters, 115(16), 160505. (doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.160505)

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Abstract

In 1924 David Hilbert conceived a paradoxical tale involving a hotel with an infinite number of rooms to illustrate some aspects of the mathematical notion of “infinity.” In continuous-variable quantum mechanics we routinely make use of infinite state spaces: here we show that such a theoretical apparatus can accommodate an analog of Hilbert’s hotel paradox. We devise a protocol that, mimicking what happens to the guests of the hotel, maps the amplitudes of an infinite eigenbasis to twice their original quantum number in a coherent and deterministic manner, producing infinitely many unoccupied levels in the process. We demonstrate the feasibility of the protocol by experimentally realizing it on the orbital angular momentum of a paraxial field. This new non-Gaussian operation may be exploited, for example, for enhancing the sensitivity of NOON states, for increasing the capacity of a channel, or for multiplexing multiple channels into a single one.

Item Type:Articles
Keywords:Quantum operations Orbital angular momentum
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Potocek, Dr Vaclav
Authors: Potocek, V., Miatto, F. M., Mirhosseini, M., Magaña-Loaiza, O. S., Liapis, A. C., Oi, D. K.L., Boyd, R. W., and Jeffers, J.
Subjects:Q Science > QC Physics
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
Research Group:Quantum Theory
Journal Name:Physical Review Letters
Publisher:American Physical Society
ISSN:0031-9007
ISSN (Online):1079-7114
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2015 American Physical Society
First Published:First published in Physical Review Letters 115(16):160505
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a creative commons license

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
549872Challenges in Orbital Angular MomentumMiles PadgettEngineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)EP/I012451/1P&A - PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY