Theoretical analysis of a Polarized Two-Photon Michelson Interferometer with Broadband Chaotic Light

TL;DR

This paper provides a theoretical analysis of two-photon interference in a polarized, broadband chaotic light Michelson interferometer, highlighting polarization as a new control dimension for interference patterns.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework incorporating polarization into two-photon interference analysis, enabling new experimental manipulation methods.

Findings

Polarization can tune the two-photon interference pattern.

Theoretical model based on Feynman path integrals and coherence matrices.

Polarization acts as a switch to control interference phenomena.

Abstract

In this paper, we study two-photon interference of broadband chaotic light in a Michelson interferometer with two-photon-absorption detector. The theoretical analysis is based on two-photon interference and Feynman path integral theory. The two-photon coherence matrix is introduced to calculate the second-order interference pattern with polarizations being taken into account. Our study shows that the polarization is another dimension, as well as time and space, to tune the interference pattern in the two-photon interference process. It can act as a switch to manipulate the interference process and open the gate to many new experimental schemes.