Creating, detecting and exploiting quantum states of light

在过去的十年里，世界范围内对光的量子态的研究有所扩展。这一领域的大部分扩展都是由量子密码学或量子密钥分配（QKD）的出现所刺激的，QKD于1984年首次提出，它提供了由量子力学定律保证的无条件安全的信息传输。虽然QKD仍然是令人兴奋的实验室和现场研究的肥沃主题，但自由空间和光纤传输介质的实验进展已经将量子密码学带到了商业开发和现实世界应用的边缘。与此同时，量子信息研究的其他一些发展也非常重要，例如量子计算算法，如果实现，将使今天基于公钥的数据安全系统过时。这些基于量子的系统的构建模块或量子组件需要大量的研究工作，这就是本提案的主题。值得注意的是，也许是以更短期的方式，这些组件中的一些将用于量子信息处理领域以外的其他应用;这些应用包括微光通信（如美国宇航局火星通信计划中提出的），在遥感，成像和基于量子的计量。这个平台资助申请从赫瑞瓦特集团中心的前沿研究到创造，光的量子态的探测和利用。该项目将用于对这些快速发展的领域的研究做出战略决策。在申请时，一些令人兴奋的项目已被突出显示为调查，虽然这些项目并不意味着代表一个全面和独家的研究课题清单。一些值得立即研究的领域包括原型量子设备，如用于纠缠光子对生产的量子点;或遥感中的量子成像，或由碳纳米管构建的单光子源。虽然这项拨款不会提供全部资源，供研究人员在所有这些领域进行长期研究，但该项目将使研究小组能够迅速启动，并使研究小组能够更有效地与其他小组，包括海外研究人员合作。

The last decade has seen a world-wide expansion in investigation into quantum states of light. Much of the expansion in this subject area has been stimulated by the emergence of quantum cryptography or quantum key distribution (QKD) / first proposed in 1984 - which offers unconditionally secure information transport guaranteed by quantum-mechanical laws. Whilst QKD remains a fertile subject of exciting laboratory and field research, experimental progress in free-space and optical fibre transmission media have taken quantum cryptography to the fringes of commercial exploitation and real-world application. Concurrently, a number of other developments in quantum information research have also been highly significant, such as quantum computing algorithms that, if realised, would make today's public-key based data security system obsolete. The building blocks, or quantum components, of these quantum-based systems require considerable research effort and this is the subject matter of this proposal. Significantly and perhaps in a more short-term manner, a number of these components will be utilised in other applications outside the quantum information processing sphere; these applications include including low-light level communications (eg as proposed in the NASA Mars Communications Programme), in remote sensing, imaging and quantum-based metrology.This Platform Grant application from the Heriot-Watt group centres on leading edge research into the creation, detection and exploitation of the quantum states of light. This project will be used to make strategic decisions regarding research in these fast-moving fields. At the time of application, a number of exciting projects have been highlighted for investigation, although these projects are not meant to represent a comprehensive and exclusive list of research topics. Some areas worth immediate investigation include prototype quantum devices such as quantum dots for entangled photon pair production; or quantum imaging in remote sensing, or single-photon sources constructed from carbon nanotubes. Whilst this grant will not provide the full resources for long-term investigations into all these areas, this project will permit rapid start-up and allow the group to collaborate more effectively with other groups, including overseas researchers.