Multiphoton Quantum Interference: Pushing the Limits of Quantum Photonic Technologies
Omar Magaña-Loaiza
National Institute Standards and Technology
The control of photons represents a pillar for our modern technological society. The
emerging field of quantum photonics exploits quantum properties of light to dramatically
improve the performance of protocols for metrology, communication and information
processing. However, modern applications exploit very little of the enormous potential
of the photon. Unfortunately, the extremely low probability of generating quantum
states with multiple photons, from conventional spontaneous parametric down-conversion
sources, imposes severe limitations to realistic photonic technologies. The unfeasible
time involved in the preparation of these precious states of light render unrealizable
the manipulation and characterization of multiphoton high-dimensional entangled states.
In this talk, I will discuss our recent results on the preparation, manipulation and
characterization of mesoscopic states of light. These capabilities have allowed us
to explore exotic conditions under which light is forced to manifest novel interference
properties. In this context, I will describe the first experimental observation of
looped trajectories of light in three-slit interference. This effect, that the physics
community would have thought impossible a few years ago, elucidates new properties
of light that will potentially enrich protocols for information processing that rely
on interference effects.