Impact of temporal correlations, coherence, and postselection on two-photon interference

TL;DR

This paper investigates how temporal correlations, coherence, and postselection influence two-photon interference, identifying conditions to optimize interference visibility in quantum photonics applications.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the interplay between temporal correlations, decoherence, and postselection, offering guidelines for improving two-photon interference sources.

Findings

Temporal correlations negatively impact two-photon interference.

Postselection can improve interference visibility under certain conditions.

Identification of key parameters for optimal source performance.

Abstract

Two-photon interference is an indispensable resource in quantum photonics, but it is not straightforward to achieve. The cascaded generation of photon pairs contains intrinsic temporal correlations that negatively affect the ability of such sources to perform two-photon interference, thus hindering applications. We report on how such correlation interplays with decoherence and temporal postselection, and under which conditions temporal postselection could improve two-photon interference visibility. Our study identifies crucial parameters and points the way to a source with optimal performance.