This module explores how light may be controlled and guided at the level of few photons. It describes how quantum physics may be harnessed in the future to offer new and exciting opportunities in manipulating light, including quantum computing and communication. This module will range over basic physics, mathematical formulation of quantum theory, and topical applications.
This module aims to develop a detailed understanding of the physics that underpins quantum optics and photonics, and learn the underlying mathematical language. It will explores solutions to problems from topics at the forefront of current optics research, such as the production and manipulation of light in non-classical states.
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILOs) (see assessment section below for how ILOs will be assessed)
A student who has passed this module should be able to:
Module Specific Skills and Knowledge
1. describe the fundamental properties of light;
2. describe how sources produce light in special (e.g. coherent and single-photon) states;
3. explain the operation and applications of a range of photonic devices and systems;
4. solve problems involving the interaction of light with matter by applying quantum electrodynamics (QED);
5. explain nonlinear optical response and calculate some of its classical and quantum effects;
6. explain quantum teleportation and describe its significance for communicating information about quantum states.
Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge
7. solve mathematical problems;
8. apply electrodynamics and quantum mechanics to devices, structures and systems.
Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge
9. develop self-study skills;
10. solve problems.
SYLLABUS PLAN - summary of the structure and academic content of the module
I. Quantum Mechanics
Dirac notation. Quantum evolution. Schrödinger, Heisenberg and interaction pictures. Composite systems and entanglement.
II. Quantisation of the Electromagnetic Field
Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves and their relation to harmonic oscillators. Quantum electromagnetic waves. Fock states. Electromagnetic zero-point energy.
III. Single-Mode Quantum Light
Field and quadrature operators. Optical microcavities and experimental setups.
IV. Single-Mode Number States
Uncertainty relations. Signal-to-noise ratio.
V. Single-Mode Coherent States and Their Relation to Classical Light
Photon number distribution and non-classical light detection. Electric field uncertainty. Displacement operator.
VI. Thermal Radiation and Fluctuations in Photon Number
Planck distribution. Statistical classification of optical states.
VII. Single-Photon Interference
Beam splitters. The Mach-Zehnder interferometer.
VIII. Two-Photon Interference and the Hong-Ou-Mandel Effect
IX. Light-Atom Interactions
Electric-dipole approximation. Perturbation theory. Absorption, stimulated and spontaneous emission. Theory of lasing.
X. Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics
Rabi model. Jaynes-Cummings model. Dicke model. Master equation.
XI. Coherence Functions
First-order coherence. Second-order coherence. Anti-bunching and single photon emission: theory and experiments.
XII. Nonlinear Optics and Non-Classical Light
Non-linear polarization. Parametric down-conversion. Squeezed states of light. Kerr-type nonlinearity.
XIII. Quantum Teleportation
The no-cloning theorem. Entangled photon pairs and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen states. Quantum communication protocols. Teleportation.
XIV. Introduction to Quantum Computing
Qubits and quantum platforms. Quantum gates. Superdense coding. Quantum algorithms for computation. Phase kick-back and Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm.