Unified single-photon and single-electron counting statistics: from cavity-QED to electron transport

TL;DR

This paper establishes a theoretical connection between photon counting in cavity-QED systems and electron transport in quantum dots, enabling cross-application of quantum detection tools across photonic and electronic quantum systems.

Contribution

It introduces a unified model linking photon counting statistics with electron transport, allowing techniques from electron transport analysis to be applied to photon sources.

Findings

Photon statistics can be described by a transport-like non-equilibrium model.

A one-to-one correspondence between photon and electron counting statistics is demonstrated.

Tools for detecting quantum behavior in electron transport are adapted for photon-source experiments.

Abstract

A key ingredient of cavity quantum-electrodynamics (QED) is the coupling between the discrete energy levels of an atom and photons in a single-mode cavity. The addition of periodic ultra-short laser pulses allows one to use such a system as a source of single photons; a vital ingredient in quantum information and optical computing schemes. Here, we analyze and ``time-adjust'' the photon-counting statistics of such a single-photon source, and show that the photon statistics can be described by a simple `transport-like' non-equilibrium model. We then show that there is a one-to-one correspondence of this model to that of non-equilibrium transport of electrons through a double quantum dot nanostructure. Then we prove that the statistics of the tunnelling electrons is equivalent to the statistics of the emitted photons. This represents a unification of the fields of photon counting statistics and electron transport statistics. This correspondence empowers us to adapt several tools previously used for detecting quantum behavior in electron transport systems (e.g., super-Poissonian shot noise, and an extension of the Leggett-Garg inequality) to single-photon-source experiments.