From Many-Particle Interference to Correlation Spectroscopy

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how analyzing two-point correlations in many-particle quantum states after passing through a multi-mode scatterer can reveal particle indistinguishability and temporal structure, extending Hong-Ou-Mandel interference concepts.

Contribution

It introduces a method to use many-particle interference patterns as a sensitive probe for particle indistinguishability and temporal properties, generalizing Hong-Ou-Mandel interference.

Findings

Correlation features indicate particle indistinguishability

Statistical analysis reveals temporal structure of input states

Method extends diagnostic tools for many-particle quantum systems

Abstract

We show how robust statistical features of a many-particle quantum state's two-point correlations after transmission through a multi-mode random scatterer can be used as a sensitive probe of the injected particles' mutual indistinguishability. This generalises Hong-Ou-Mandel interference as a diagnostic tool for many-particle transmission signals across multi-mode random scatterers. Furthermore, we show how, from such statistical features of the many-particle interference pattern, information can be deduced on the temporal structure of the many-particle input state, by inspection of the many-particle interference with an additional probe particle of tuneable distinguishability.