Discretely-observable continuous time quantum walks on M\"obius strips and other exotic structures in 3D integrated photonics

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of photonic quantum walks on complex 3D structures like M"obius strips, revealing new symmetries and control mechanisms for quantum state engineering in integrated photonics.

Contribution

It introduces a flexible design for observing and interacting with continuous time quantum walks in complex 3D waveguide arrays, enabling advanced quantum state control.

Findings

Non-trivial topologies induce novel symmetries in two-photon correlations

Design allows discrete observation of continuous time quantum walks

Potential for enhanced quantum state engineering in photonic devices

Abstract

We theoretically analyze the dynamical evolution of photonic quantum walks on M\"obius strips and other exotic structures in 3D integrated photonics. Our flexible design allows discrete observations of continuous time quantum walks of photons in a variety of waveguide arrays. Furthermore, our design allows one to inject photons during the evolution, allowing the possibility of interacting with the photons as they are 'walking'. We find that non-trivial array topologies introduce novel time-dependent symmetries of the two-photon correlations. These properties allow a large degree of control for quantum state engineering of multimode entangled states in these devices.