Optical vortex knots - one photon at a time.
Optical vortex knots - one photon at a time.
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DOI：
10.1038/srep24463
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发表时间：
2016-04-18
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Helmerson K
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Tempone-Wiltshire SJ;Johnstone SP;Helmerson K
费曼将双缝实验描述为“一种不可能，绝对不可能用任何经典方式解释的现象，它是量子力学的核心”。双缝实验，一次一个光子，通过产生对应于来自两个狭缝的光的干涉（波现象）的条纹图案，戏剧性地展示了量子物体的粒子-波二象性，即使在一次只有一个光子（粒子）通过设备的时候。光的粒子波二象性也适用于多路干涉形成的复杂三维光场，然而，这一点尚未得到证明。在这里，我们观察粒子波的三维场的二重性，通过产生一个三叶形的光学涡旋结-一个光子的时间。这一结果证明了一个基本的物理原理，即粒子-波对偶性意味着空间（空间上不同的模式之间）和时间（通过模式叠加的复杂演化）的干涉，并对拓扑纠缠单光子态，轨道角动量复用和拓扑量子计算产生影响。
Feynman described the double slit experiment as “a phenomenon which is impossible, absolutely impossible, to explain in any classical way and which has in it the heart of quantum mechanics”. The double-slit experiment, performed one photon at a time, dramatically demonstrates the particle-wave duality of quantum objects by generating a fringe pattern corresponding to the interference of light (a wave phenomenon) from two slits, even when there is only one photon (a particle) at a time passing through the apparatus. The particle-wave duality of light should also apply to complex three dimensional optical fields formed by multi-path interference, however, this has not been demonstrated. Here we observe particle-wave duality of a three dimensional field by generating a trefoil optical vortex knot – one photon at a time. This result demonstrates a fundamental physical principle, that particle-wave duality implies interference in both space (between spatially distinct modes) and time (through the complex evolution of the superposition of modes), and has implications for topologically entangled single photon states, orbital angular momentum multiplexing and topological quantum computing.