Time Reversal of Arbitrary Photonic Temporal Modes via Nonlinear Optical Frequency Conversion

TL;DR

This paper introduces an all-optical method using nonlinear frequency conversion to reversibly manipulate the temporal wave-packet envelopes of photons, enabling advanced quantum information processing tasks.

Contribution

The authors demonstrate a novel all-optical approach for reversing arbitrary photonic temporal modes without prior knowledge of the wave packet, expanding quantum control capabilities.

Findings

The scheme works for arbitrary quantum states of photons.

It enables temporal-mode parity sorting.

The method is compatible with quantum information protocols.

Abstract

Single-photon wave packets can carry quantum information between nodes of a quantum network. An important general operation in photon-based quantum information systems is blind reversal of a photon's temporal wave-packet envelope, that is, the ability to reverse an envelope without knowing the temporal state of the photon. We present an all-optical means for doing so, using nonlinear-optical frequency conversion driven by a short pump pulse. This scheme allows for quantum operations such as a temporal-mode parity sorter. We also verify that the scheme works for arbitrary states (not only single-photon ones) of an unknown wave packet.