Experimental joint signal-idler quasi-distributions and photon-number statistics for mesoscopic twin beams

TL;DR

This paper measures and analyzes joint signal-idler photon distributions in mesoscopic twin beams, revealing quantum features like negativity and oscillations, and demonstrating sub-Poissonian and sub-shot-noise properties through a microscopic quantum theory.

Contribution

It applies a microscopic quantum theory to characterize twin beams using experimental data, highlighting quantum features in joint quasi-distributions and photon-number statistics.

Findings

Negative values and oscillations in joint quasi-distributions

Sub-Poissonian conditional photon-number distributions

Sub-shot-noise difference photon-number distributions

Abstract

Joint signal-idler photoelectron distributions of twin beams containing several tens of photons per mode have been measured recently. Exploiting a microscopic quantum theory for joint quasi-distributions in parametric down-conversion developed earlier we characterize properties of twin beams in terms of quasi-distributions using experimental data. Negative values as well as oscillating behaviour in quantum region are characteristic for the subsequently determined joint signal-idler quasi-distributions of integrated intensities. Also the conditional and difference photon-number distributions are shown to be sub-Poissonian and sub-shot-noise, respectively.