Exploring six modes of an optical parametric oscillator

TL;DR

This paper experimentally measures and theoretically models the complete quantum state of six optical modes generated by an optical parametric oscillator, revealing detailed quantum correlations influenced by phonon interactions.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive measurement and theoretical interpretation of the six-mode quantum state in an optical parametric oscillator, including phonon bath effects.

Findings

Successful measurement of six-mode quantum states

Development of a model incorporating phonon bath effects

Insights into quantum correlations between modes

Abstract

We measure the complete quantum state for six modes of the electromagnetic field produced by an optical parametric oscillator. The investigation involves the sideband of the intense pump, signal, and idler fields generated by stimulated parametric downconversion inside a triply resonant optical resonator. We develop a theoretical model to successfully interpret the experimental results. The model takes into account the coupling of the field modes to the phonon bath of the nonlinear crystal, clearly showing the roles of different physical effects in shaping the structure of the quantum correlations between the six optical modes.