Macroscopic Pure State of Light Free of Polarization Noise

TL;DR

This paper reports the experimental creation of a macroscopic, pure, non-polarized quantum state of light that is invariant under polarization transformations and exhibits suppressed noise, advancing quantum photonic technologies.

Contribution

The authors demonstrate the first preparation of a macroscopic singlet Bell state that is pure, non-polarized, and noise-free, with potential for noiseless polarization measurements.

Findings

Fluctuations below shot-noise limit in three Stokes observables.

State is invariant under polarization transformations.

Potential for noiseless polarization measurements and quantum applications.

Abstract

The preparation of completely non-polarized light is seemingly easy: an everyday example is sunlight. The task is much more difficult if light has to be in a pure quantum state, as required by most quantum-technology applications. The pure quantum states of light obtained so far are either polarized or, in rare cases, manifest hidden polarization: even if their intensities are invariant to polarization transformations, higher-order moments are not. We experimentally demonstrate the preparation of the macroscopic singlet Bell state, which is pure, completely non-polarized, and has no polarization noise. Simultaneous fluctuation suppression in three Stokes observables below the shot-noise limit is demonstrated, opening perspectives for noiseless polarization measurements. The state is shown to be invariant to polarization transformations. This robust highly entangled isotropic state promises to fuel important applications in photonic quantum technologies.