Jonathan P. Dowling
Quantum Interferometric Sensors
Quantum entanglement has the potential to revolutionize the entire field of interferometric sensing by providing many orders of magnitude improvement in interferometer sensitivity. The quantum-entangled particle interferometer approach is very general and applies to many types of interferometers. In particular, without nonlocal entanglement, a generic classical interferometer has a statistical-sampling shot-noise limited sensitivity that scales like 1/√N, where N is the number of particles passing through the interferometer per unit time. However, if carefully prepared quantum correlations are engineered between the particles, then the interferometer sensitivity improves by a factor of √N to scale like 1/N, which is the limit imposed by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. For optical interferometers operating at milliwatts of optical power, this quantum sensitivity boost corresponds to an eight-order-of-magnitude improvement of signal to noise. I will discuss a number of recent theoretical and experimental developments using so called photonic N00N states to beat the shot-noise limit; work that has benefited from a close connection to linear optical quantum computing. I will also discuss our efforts to develop coherent, stable, matter-wave gyroscopes in Bose-Einstein condensates, which are controlled by orbital angular momentum states of light.
Bibliography:
1. Dowling, JP
Quantum optical metrology - the lowdown on high-N00N states
CONTEMPORARY PHYSICS, 49 (2): 125-143 2008
2. Thanvanthri, S; Kapale, KT; Dowling, JP
Arbitrary coherent superpositions of quantized vortices in Bose-Einstein condensates via orbital angular momentum of light
PHYSICAL REVIEW A, 77 (5): Art. No. 053825 Part B MAY 2008
3. Kok, P; Munro, WJ; Nemoto, K; et al.
Linear optical quantum computing with photonic qubits
REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS, 79 (1): 135-174 JAN-MAR 2007
4. Dowling, JP; Milburn, GJ
Quantum technology: the second quantum revolution
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON SERIES A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES, 361 (1809): 1655-1674 AUG 15 2003
