Beyond coincidence in Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry

Scott, H., Branford, D., Westerberg, N. , Leach, J. and Gauger, E. M. (2020) Beyond coincidence in Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry. Physical Review A: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, 102(3), 033714. (doi: 10.1103/PhysRevA.102.033714)

Abstract

The Hong-Ou-Mandel effect provides a mechanism to determine the distinguishability of a photon pair by measuring the bunching rates of two photons interfering at a beam splitter. Of particular interest is the distinguishability in time, which can be used to probe a time delay. Photon detectors themselves give some timing information, however, while that resolution may dwarf that of an interferometric technique, typical analyses reduce the interference to a binary event, neglecting temporal information in the detector. By modeling detectors with number and temporal resolution we demonstrate a greater precision than coincidence rates or temporal data alone afford. Moreover, the additional information can allow simultaneous estimation of a time delay alongside calibration parameters, opening up the possibility of calibration-free protocols and approaching the precision of the quantum Cramér-Rao bound.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Westerberg, Dr Niclas and Leach, Mr Jonathan
• Authors: Scott, H., Branford, D., Westerberg, N., Leach, J., and Gauger, E. M.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Physical Review A: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• ISSN: 1050-2947
• ISSN (Online): 1094-1622
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 American Physical Society
• First Published: First published in Physical Review A: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics 102(3):033714
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher