Multiphoton Correlations between Quantum Images

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the experimental accessibility of multiphoton correlations in quantum images, revealing new phase-sensitive features and extending quantum imaging capabilities beyond two-photon correlations.

Contribution

It introduces a method to observe multiphoton correlations in quantum images, including detailed analytical predictions and numerical simulations for four-photon interference, expanding quantum imaging techniques.

Findings

Multiphoton correlations exhibit phase sensitivity.

Detailed analytical and numerical predictions for four-photon interference.

Potential for extending high-dimensional entanglement experiments.

Abstract

Experimental demonstrations of entangled quantum images produced through parametric downconversion have so far been confined to studying two photon correlations. Here we show that multiphoton correlations between quantum images are accessible experimentally and exhibit many new features including being sensitive to the phase of the bi-photon wavefunction. As a concrete example, we consider a modification of existing quantum imaging experiments in which the CCD cameras are moved out of focus, provide detailed analytical predictions for the resulting 4 photon intereferences, and support these by numerical simulations. The proposed experiment can also be interpreted as entanglement swapping: Bob's photons are initially unentangled, but the joint detection of Alice's photons projects Bob's photons onto an entangled state. The general approach proposed here can be extended to other quantum optics experiments involving high dimensional entanglement.