Photon propagation in a discrete fiber network: An interplay of coherence and losses

TL;DR

This paper investigates how photon propagation in a discretized fiber network exhibits unique phenomena like sub-exponential decay and fractal pattern formation due to the interplay of coherence, losses, and energy gradients, revealing new optical effects.

Contribution

It introduces controlled photon losses in a discrete photonic system, uncovering novel coherent phenomena and complex patterns not observed in continuous systems.

Findings

Observation of sub-exponential energy decay

Formation of fractal patterns in photon distribution

Impact of decoherence on propagation dynamics

Abstract

We study light propagation in a photonic system that shows stepwise evolution in a discretized environment. It resembles a discrete-time version of photonic waveguide arrays or quantum walks. By introducing controlled photon losses to our experimental setup, we observe unexpected effects like sub-exponential energy decay and formation of complex fractal patterns. This demonstrates that the interplay of linear losses, discreteness and energy gradients leads to genuinely new coherent phenomena in classical and quantum optical experiments. Moreover, the influence of decoherence is investigated.