RUI, OP: Space-Variant Polarization States of Light

RUI，OP：光的空间变化偏振态

• 批准号: 1506321
• 负责人: Enrique Galvez
• 金额: $ 27.02万
• 依托单位: Colgate University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-09-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1506321&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; OP; Space; Variant; Polarization

The use of beams of light, like laser beams, has been transformative in the development of modern technologies, from telephone communications where information is encoded in the light traveling through fibers, to laser surgery where high light intensity is delivered to small areas of tissue. These technologies exploit light's color or energy. Yet another property of light is its polarization, which is invisible to the unaided eye, but seen indirectly, for example, through the visual effects of some types of 3D movies or in polarizing sunglasses. This research will involve preparing light beams with polarization that varies from point to point across the beam, like in an image. This polarization will be encoded onto individual photons (the "particles" of light). Photons can carry a lot of information while at the same time being quantum, or whole. Technologies that harness the quantum aspects of light and matter have the potential to upgrade current communication technologies to ones with substantially increased speed and capacity. Polarization also holds promise as a tool to manipulate molecules that are chiral, or corkscrew-like. This encompasses most organic molecules, including DNA (the double helix). This research will test recent theories which predict that the polarization of light can be used to segregate chiral molecules into those that spiral clockwise or counterclockwise when viewed from a particular end (DNA always spirals one way but not the other, for example). This is an important step in the synthesis of medicines because molecules that spiral one way could cure while those that spiral the other way could cause harm. This research will involve undergraduates, introducing them to the scientific process while training them in modern photonic technologies. States of light that have spatially variable polarization are similar to entangled quantum states in that both are non-separable. Thus, space-variant-polarization states are well suited for use in quantum information. They add higher dimensions to the quantum states of photons in the following ways: they entail non-separable superpositions of polarization (in two dimensions) and transverse spatial modes of light (in principle, adding an infinite number of additional dimensions). Thus, spatial modes add a higher dimensionality to the space in which to encode quantum information onto single photons. We have developed techniques that encode and decode these states, which due to their space-variant polarization can be diagnosed by imaging techniques. This research will investigate the space of photon pairs entangled in polarization and spatial modes and the nonlocal space-variant polarization images that those states will encode. In parallel, intense beams carrying space-variant polarization will be used to investigate a predicted but yet unconfirmed new light force, which affects chiral molecules in such a way that it segregates the molecules by their handedness. That is, the light creates a field gradient that applies a force that is of opposite sign for right and left handed chiralities. This new force, fundamentally related to optical activity, could be of importance in the chemical synthesis of complex organic molecules, where it is desirable to separate one chirality from the other.

光束的使用，如激光束，在现代技术的发展中起到了革命性的作用，从将信息编码在通过光纤传播的光中进行的电话通信，到将高强度光照射到小区域组织的激光手术。这些技术利用光的颜色或能量。光的另一个特性是它的偏振，这是肉眼看不见的，但可以间接看到，例如，通过某些类型的3D电影的视觉效果或偏光太阳镜。这项研究将包括准备具有偏振的光束，这种光束在光束上一点一点地变化，就像在图像中一样。这种极化将被编码到单个光子（光的“粒子”）上。光子可以携带大量的信息，同时又是量子的，或者说是整体的。利用光和物质的量子方面的技术有可能升级当前的通信技术，使其具有大幅提高的速度和容量。极化也有望成为操纵手性分子或螺旋状分子的工具。这包含了大多数有机分子，包括DNA（双螺旋结构）。这项研究将检验最近的理论，这些理论预测光的偏振可以用来将手性分子从特定的一端分离成顺时针或逆时针螺旋的分子（例如，DNA总是以一种方式螺旋，而不是另一种方式）。这是药物合成过程中重要的一步，因为以一种方式旋转的分子可以治愈疾病，而以另一种方式旋转的分子可能会造成伤害。这项研究将涉及本科生，向他们介绍科学过程，同时训练他们掌握现代光子技术。具有空间可变偏振的光态与纠缠量子态相似，因为两者都是不可分离的。因此，空间变极化态非常适合用于量子信息。它们以以下方式为光子的量子态增加了更高的维度：它们需要不可分离的偏振叠加（二维）和光的横向空间模式（原则上，增加了无限多的额外维度）。因此，空间模式为将量子信息编码到单个光子上的空间增加了更高的维度。我们已经开发了编码和解码这些状态的技术，由于它们的空间变极化可以通过成像技术诊断。本研究将研究纠缠于偏振模式和空间模式的光子对的空间，以及这些状态将编码的非局域空间变偏振图像。与此同时，携带空间变极化的强光束将用于研究一种预测但尚未证实的新光力，这种光力影响手性分子，使分子通过手性分离。也就是说，光产生了一个场梯度，它施加的力对右手和左手手性是相反的符号。这种与旋光性基本相关的新作用力在复杂有机分子的化学合成中可能很重要，因为需要将一种手性与另一种手性分离开来。

项目成果

Pendulum beams: optical modes that simulate the quantum pendulum

摆光束：模拟量子摆的光学模式

• DOI: 10.1088/2040-8986/abe393
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Journal of Optics
• 影响因子: 2.1
• 作者: Galvez, E J;Auccapuclla, F J;Qin, Y;Wittler, K L;Freedman, J M
• 通讯作者: Freedman, J M

A demonstration of quantum key distribution with entangled photons for the undergraduate laboratory

本科生实验室用纠缠光子进行量子密钥分配的演示

• DOI: 10.1119/10.0002169
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: American Journal of Physics
• 影响因子: 0.9
• 作者: Bista, Aayam;Sharma, Baibhav;Galvez, Enrique J.
• 通讯作者: Galvez, Enrique J.