High-dimensional Angular Two-Photon Interference and Angular Qudit States

Abstract

Using angular position-orbital angular momentum entangled photons, we propose an experiment to generate maximally entangled states of $D$-dimensional quantum systems, the so called qudits, by exploiting correlations of parametric down-converted photons. Angular diffraction masks containing $N$-slits in the arms of each twin photon define a qudit space of dimension $N^2$, spanned by the alternative pathways of the photons. Due to phase-matching conditions, the twin photons will pass only by symmetrically opposite angular slits, generating maximally entangled states between these different paths, which can be detected by high-order two-photon interference fringes via coincidence counts. Numerical results for $N$ angular slits with $N = 2, 4, 5, 6, 10$ are reported, corresponding to qudit Hilbert spaces of dimension $D=N^2=4,16,25, 36,100$, respectively. We discuss relevant experimental parameters for an experimental implementation of the proposed scheme using Spatial Light Modulators (SLMs), and twin-photons produced by Spontaneouos Parametric Down Conversion (SPDC). The entanglement of the qudit state can be quantified in terms of the Concurrence, which can be expressed in terms of the visibility of the interference fringes, or by using Entanglement Witnesses. These results provide an additional means for preparing entangled quantum states in high-dimensions, a fundamental resource for quantum simulation and quantum information protocols.