Photon-by-photon quantum light state engineering

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in the engineering of quantum light states at the single-photon level, highlighting progress in creating tailored quantum states for fundamental science and applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive and updated overview of the developments in quantum light state engineering over recent decades.

Findings

Significant progress in manipulating single-photon quantum states

Development of various methods for quantum light state engineering

Potential applications in quantum information and fundamental physics

Abstract

The ability to manipulate light at the level of single photons, its elementary excitation quanta, has recently made it possible to produce a rich variety of tailor-made quantum states and arbitrary quantum operations, of high interest for fundamental science and applications. Here we present a concise review of the progress made over the last few decades in the engineering of quantum light states. Although far from exhaustive, this review aims at providing a sufficiently wide and updated introduction that may serve as the entry point to such a fascinating and rapidly evolving field.