Structured light analogy of quantum squeezed states
Abstract Quantum optics has advanced our understanding of the nature of light and enabled applications far beyond what is possible with classical light. The unique capabilities of quantum light have inspired the migration of some conceptual ideas to the realm of classical optics, focusing on replica...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Publishing Group
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Light: Science & Applications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01631-x |
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| author | Zhaoyang Wang Ziyu Zhan Anton N. Vetlugin Jun-Yu Ou Qiang Liu Yijie Shen Xing Fu |
| author_facet | Zhaoyang Wang Ziyu Zhan Anton N. Vetlugin Jun-Yu Ou Qiang Liu Yijie Shen Xing Fu |
| author_sort | Zhaoyang Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Quantum optics has advanced our understanding of the nature of light and enabled applications far beyond what is possible with classical light. The unique capabilities of quantum light have inspired the migration of some conceptual ideas to the realm of classical optics, focusing on replicating and exploiting non-trivial quantum states of discrete-variable systems. Here, we further develop this paradigm by building the analogy of quantum squeezed states using classical structured light. We have found that the mechanism of squeezing, responsible for beating the standard quantum limit in quantum optics, allows for overcoming the “standard spatial limit” in classical optics: the light beam can be “squeezed” along one of the transverse directions in real space (at the expense of its enlargement along the orthogonal direction), where its width becomes smaller than that of the corresponding fundamental Gaussian mode. We show that classical squeezing enables nearly sub-diffraction and superoscillatory light focusing, which is also accompanied by the nanoscale phase gradient of the size in the order of λ/100 (λ/1000), demonstrated in the experiment (simulations). Crucially, the squeezing mechanism allows for continuous tuning of both features by varying the squeezing parameter, thus providing distinctive flexibility for optical microscopy and metrology beyond the diffraction limit and suggesting further exploration of classical analogies of quantum effects. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7598ec89a88144709dcecfa6fc0e5479 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2047-7538 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Light: Science & Applications |
| spelling | doaj-art-7598ec89a88144709dcecfa6fc0e54792025-08-20T02:11:54ZengNature Publishing GroupLight: Science & Applications2047-75382024-10-0113111210.1038/s41377-024-01631-xStructured light analogy of quantum squeezed statesZhaoyang Wang0Ziyu Zhan1Anton N. Vetlugin2Jun-Yu Ou3Qiang Liu4Yijie Shen5Xing Fu6Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua UniversityCentre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversitySchool of Physics and Astronomy, University of SouthamptonDepartment of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua UniversityCentre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological UniversityDepartment of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua UniversityAbstract Quantum optics has advanced our understanding of the nature of light and enabled applications far beyond what is possible with classical light. The unique capabilities of quantum light have inspired the migration of some conceptual ideas to the realm of classical optics, focusing on replicating and exploiting non-trivial quantum states of discrete-variable systems. Here, we further develop this paradigm by building the analogy of quantum squeezed states using classical structured light. We have found that the mechanism of squeezing, responsible for beating the standard quantum limit in quantum optics, allows for overcoming the “standard spatial limit” in classical optics: the light beam can be “squeezed” along one of the transverse directions in real space (at the expense of its enlargement along the orthogonal direction), where its width becomes smaller than that of the corresponding fundamental Gaussian mode. We show that classical squeezing enables nearly sub-diffraction and superoscillatory light focusing, which is also accompanied by the nanoscale phase gradient of the size in the order of λ/100 (λ/1000), demonstrated in the experiment (simulations). Crucially, the squeezing mechanism allows for continuous tuning of both features by varying the squeezing parameter, thus providing distinctive flexibility for optical microscopy and metrology beyond the diffraction limit and suggesting further exploration of classical analogies of quantum effects.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01631-x |
| spellingShingle | Zhaoyang Wang Ziyu Zhan Anton N. Vetlugin Jun-Yu Ou Qiang Liu Yijie Shen Xing Fu Structured light analogy of quantum squeezed states Light: Science & Applications |
| title | Structured light analogy of quantum squeezed states |
| title_full | Structured light analogy of quantum squeezed states |
| title_fullStr | Structured light analogy of quantum squeezed states |
| title_full_unstemmed | Structured light analogy of quantum squeezed states |
| title_short | Structured light analogy of quantum squeezed states |
| title_sort | structured light analogy of quantum squeezed states |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01631-x |
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