Temporal Modes in Quantum Optics: Then and Now

TL;DR

This paper reviews the development and significance of temporal modes in quantum optics, emphasizing their role in quantum information processing and the historical contributions of Roy Glauber.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of temporal modes, their applications in quantum processes, and their importance in quantum information science, highlighting recent advancements and techniques.

Findings

Temporal modes decompose multimode light into independent degrees of freedom.

TMs can be manipulated using nonlinear optical processes.

TMs are crucial for quantum information networks.

Abstract

We review the concepts of temporal modes (TMs) in quantum optics, highlighting Roy Glauber's crucial and historic contributions to their development, and their growing importance in quantum information science. TMs are orthogonal sets of wave packets that can be used to represent a multimode light field. They are temporal counterparts to transverse spatial modes of light and play analogous roles - decomposing multimode light into the most natural basis for isolating statistically independent degrees of freedom. We discuss how TMs were developed to describe compactly various processes: superfluorescence, stimulated Raman scattering, spontaneous parametric down conversion, and spontaneous four-wave mixing. TMs can be manipulated, converted, demultiplexed, and detected using nonlinear optical processes such as three-wave mixing and quantum optical memories. As such, they play an increasingly important role in constructing quantum information networks.