Quantum Optical Processes

This book is a self-contained guide to the world of quantum optical processes which addresses different aspects relevant in quantum optics and quantum information. The basic descriptions, measurement techniques, possible sources, nonclassical features, practical implications and applications of the quantization of light and its interaction with matter, are explored. The observed quantum properties such as coherent superposition, entanglement, nonlocality, decoherence and no-cloning, are discussed. The quantum optical processes such as continuous variable entanglement swapping, teleportation and telecloning from which follow the practical aspects such as quantum gate operations, cryptography and error correction are considered. In turn, the advantages and inherent challenges including the foresight in implementing continuous variable quantum communication and computation protocols are highlighted. The author gives a concise background with corresponding applications, the necessary mathematical derivation, simplified examples, illustrations and demonstrations, and the relative interpretations and outlooks. This book is intended to serve a multi-disciplinary readership, namely the atomic physics and quantum optics communities who seek to extend their research to applications, especially, to the field of quantum information processing as well as the theoretical quantum information community who builds up research on physically realizable systems such as optical setups and various atomic schemes. The content of this book also attracts other communities such as photonics who seeks to link research with continuous variable quantum information processing.

Quantum information processing offers fundamental improvements over classical information processing, such as computing power, secure communication, and high-precision measurements. However, the best way to create practical devices is not yet known. This textbook describes the techniques that are likely to be used in implementing optical quantum information processors. After developing the fundamental concepts in quantum optics and quantum information theory, the book shows how optical systems can be used to build quantum computers according to the most recent ideas. It discusses implementations based on single photons and linear optics, optically controlled atoms and solid-state systems, atomic ensembles, and optical continuous variables. This book is ideal for graduate students beginning research in optical quantum information processing. It presents the most important techniques of the field using worked examples and over 120 exercises.

An in-depth and wide-ranging introduction to the field of quantum optics.

Quantum information processing offers fundamental improvements over classical information processing, such as computing power, secure communication, and high-precision measurements. However, the best way to create practical devices is not yet known. This textbook describes the techniques that are likely to be used in implementing optical quantum information processors. After developing the fundamental concepts in quantum optics and quantum information theory, the book shows how optical systems can be used to build quantum computers according to the most recent ideas. It discusses implementations based on single photons and linear optics, optically controlled atoms and solid-state systems, atomic ensembles, and optical continuous variables. This book is ideal for graduate students beginning research in optical quantum information processing. It presents the most important techniques of the field using worked examples and over 120 exercises.

In last years increasing attention has been again devoted to interpretations of quantum theory. In the same time interesting quantum optical experiments have been performed using nonlinear optical processes, in particular frequency down conversion, which provided new information about nature of a photon on the basis of interference and correlation (coincidence) phenomena. Such single-photon and twin-photon effects of quantum optics provide new point of view of interpretations of quantum theory and new tests of its principles. The purpose of this book is to discuss these questions. To follow this goal we give brief reviews of principles of quantum theory and of quantum theory of measurement. As a fundamental theoretical tool the coherent state technique is adopted based on a general algebraic treatment, including the de scription of interaction of radiation and matter. Typical quantum behaviour of physical systems is exhibited by nonclassical optical phenomena, which can be examined using photon interferences and correlations. These phenomena are closely related to violation of various classical inequalities and Bell's in equalities. The most important part of this book discusses quantum optical experiments supporting quantum theory. This book may be considered as a continuation of previous monographs by one of the authors on Coherence of Light (Van Nostrand Reinhold, London 1972, second edition D. Reidel, Dordrecht 1985) and on Quantum Statistics of Linear and Nonlinear Optical Phenomena (D. Reidel, Dordrecht 1984, second edition Kluwer, Dordrecht 1991), which may serve as a preparation for reading this book.

Unique in that it is jointly written by an experimentalist and a theorist, this monograph presents universal quantum computation based on quantum teleportation as an elementary subroutine and multi-party entanglement as a universal resource. Optical approaches to measurement-based quantum computation are also described, including schemes for quantum error correction, with most of the experiments carried out by the authors themselves. Ranging from the theoretical background to the details of the experimental realization, the book describes results and advances in the field, backed by numerous illustrations of the authors' experimental setups. Aimed at researchers, physicists, and graduate and PhD students in physics, theoretical quantum optics, quantum mechanics, and quantum information.

Starting from first principles, this reference treats the theoretical aspects of quantum optics. It develops a unified approach for determining the dynamics of a two-level and three-level atom in combinations of quantized field under certain conditions.

This book is an introduction to the two closely related subjects of quantum optics and quantum information. The book gives a simple, self-contained introduction to both subjects, while illustrating the physical principles of quantum information processing using quantum optical systems. To make the book accessible to those with backgrounds other than physics, the authors also include a brief review of quantum mechanics. Furthermore, some aspects of quantum information, for example those pertaining to recent experiments on cavity QED and quantum dots, are described here for the first time in book form.