arXiv subjects

Maria Chekhova

Publications and source records attributed to Maria Chekhova.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quantum Optics of harmonic generation in the strongly driven Jaynes-Cummings-type system

We adapt the Jaynes-Cummings model to study the interface of cavity quantum electrodynamics with strong field and attosecond physics. We show how multi-photon resonances in the Jaynes- Cummings system driven by a strong low-frequency classical light field lead to the generation of highly non-classical, quantum-correlated harmonics of the classical driver. Our treatment assumes no approximations, apart from the typical Jaynes-Cummings model assumption of only a few discrete quantum modes of light. The paper is dedicated to Joseph Henry Eberly, whose remarkable research has left indelible mark on both strong field physics and quantum optics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Single Spatio-Temporal Mode Bright Twin-Beam Source Across the Near- and Mid-Infrared

We introduce an ultrafast, bright, entangled twin-beam source generated by type-0 parametric down-conversion in periodically-poled lithium niobate at MHz repetition rate, with continuously tunable Schmidt number $K$ set by the pump pulse duration. Photon-number statistics characterization via $g^{(2)}(0)$ and singular-value decomposition of the signal spectral density matrix yield $K\simeq1.05$ and $K\simeq1.03$, respectively, maintained over multiple orders of magnitude in brightness. Group-delay dispersion of the pump drives a continuous transition from single-mode operation to a controlled multimode regime, consistent with the temporal gain window departing from the inverse phase-matching bandwidth. Strong non-degeneracy of the source (signal at 1.37 um, idler at 4.0 um, $\sim 100$ fs duration) decouples a mid-infrared interaction wavelength, which overlaps with molecular vibrational resonances, from a near-infrared detection band, establishing a practical platform for quantum-enhanced metrology, nonlinear interferometry, and mid-infrared spectroscopic sensing. We show that in the bright few-mode limit, the total entanglement resource is clearly separated between modal and occupational degrees of freedom, and that our source allocates up to 95-97% of that resource to the occupational sector.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Efficient photon-pair emission from a nanostructured resonator and its theoretical description

Spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in subwavelength nanostructures is a promising source of quantum light, owing to its multifunctionality and ability to generate complex quantum states. Nevertheless, the mechanisms governing photon-pair generation in such systems remain only partially understood. In particular, experimental investigations of key emission properties in individual resonators, such as directionality and spectral distribution, are still lacking, and predictive theoretical frameworks have not yet been experimentally validated. Here, we report the first measurement of the directional and spectral distributions of photon pairs generated via SPDC in a nanostructured resonator. Both distributions exhibit resonant behaviour, which we describe using an extended quasi-normal-mode theory. This comparison is enabled by photon-pair count rates of up to 0.45 Hz/mW -- to our knowledge, the highest reported for a nanostructured resonator. Our results provide new physical insight into nanoscale SPDC and represent an important step toward designing of efficient miniaturized quantum light sources.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Spontaneous four-wave mixing in a thin layer with second-order nonlinearity

Pairs of entangled photons are crucial for photonic quantum technologies. The demand for integrability and multi-functionality suggests 'flat' platforms - ultrathin layers and metasurfaces - as sources of photon pairs. With the success in demonstrating spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) from such sources, an alternative process to generate photon pairs, spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM), also starts to attract interest. In materials with nonzero second-order nonlinear susceptibility $\chi^{(2)}$, SFWM can generate photon pairs both directly, through the third-order nonlinear susceptibility $\chi^{(3)}$, and in a cascaded way, through second harmonic generation (SHG) followed by SPDC. Usually, the cascaded process is more efficient. Here, we show that in a thin layer, direct SFWM dominates, because the wavevector mismatch for SFWM is much smaller than for SHG or SPDC. To demonstrate it, we implement the photon pair generation via SFWM in a second-order nonlinear material - a thin layer of lithium niobate (LN). The existence of both second- and third-order nonlinear processes offers broader opportunities for quantum state engineering.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Kerr-induced non-Gaussianity of ultrafast bright squeezed vacuum

Non-Gaussian states of light are a critical resource for fault-tolerant quantum computing and enhanced metrology, but are typically faint and often obtained via post-selection. Here, we demonstrate the deterministic generation of a bright non-Gaussian state by introducing a Kerr nonlinearity to a macroscopic state of light called bright squeezed vacuum (BSV). To characterize the resulting state, we use a single-shot f-2f interferometer to sample its Husimi function. We observe a clear transformation from a 2D Gaussian distribution to an 'S'-shaped non-Gaussian profile, which is the direct statistical evidence of the intensity-dependent nonlinear phase. The negativity of the Wigner function, which is an intrinsic property of any pure non-Gaussian state, cannot be observed because BSV is a mixed state even under minute optical loss. However, we show that BSV can be considered as a mixture of pure squeezed coherent states, for some of which Kerr-induced Wigner-function negativity is quite tolerant to loss. This work bridges the gap between quantum optics and ultrafast nonlinear optics, opening a path to quantum applications that require high photon flux.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Attosecond-resolved quantum fluctuations of light and matter

Until recently, attosecond optical spectroscopy and quantum optics evolved along non-overlapping directions. In attosecond science, attosecond pulses have been regarded as classical waves, applied to probe electron dynamics on their natural time scale. Here, we transfer fundamental concepts of quantum optics into attosecond physics, enabling control of both the properties of the XUV attosecond pulses and the quantum fluctuations of matter on attosecond time scales. By combining bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) with a strong laser field to drive high-harmonic generation, we transfer the quantum properties of the BSV onto the resulting XUV attosecond pulses. Applying advanced attosecond interferometry, we reconstruct the quantum state of the XUV high harmonics and their associated attosecond pulses with attosecond precision. Finally, we resolve the squeezing of the electron's wavepacket during one of the most fundamental strong-field phenomena - field induced tunneling. The ability to measure and control quantum correlations in both electrons and XUV attosecond pulses establishes a foundation for attosecond quantum electrodynamics, manipulating the quantum state of electrons and photons with sub-cycle precision.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Broadly tunable quantum-enhanced Raman microscopy for advancing bioimaging

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy has emerged as a powerful technique for probing the spatiotemporal dynamics of molecular bonds with exceptional sensitivity, resolution, and speed. However, classically, its performance remains fundamentally constrained by optical shot noise, which imposes a strict limit on detection sensitivity and speed. Here, we demonstrate a quantum-enhanced SRS microscopy platform that circumvents this barrier by harnessing amplitude-squeezed light. Specifically, we generate a Stokes beam with $5.2~\mathrm{dB}$ of amplitude squeezing using traveling-wave optical parametric amplification in second-order nonlinear waveguides, and combine it with a tunable coherent pump to access vibrational modes spanning from $1000$ to $3100~\mathrm{cm}^{-1}$. Applied to quantum imaging of metabolites in biological tissue (pork muscle), our quantum-enhanced Raman microscope achieves an average noise suppression of $3.6~\mathrm{dB}$ and a $51\%$ enhancement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) -- to the best of our knowledge, the largest improvement reported to date in quantum-enhanced SRS microscopy of biological samples.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Thin-film Al0.30Ga0.70As (111) as a flat source of high-purity orthogonally polarized entangled photons

Flat-optics platforms offer new opportunities for the generation of entangled photons by relaxing traditional phase-matching constraints, enabling the use of a broader range of nonlinear materials. Among these, gallium arsenide and aluminum gallium arsenide stand out for their exceptionally high second-order nonlinearities, but their conventional orientation (001) has limited their applicability for photon-pair generation. By transitioning to crystals with (111) surface orientation, we overcome these limitations. We demonstrate a flat-optics-based telecom-range SPDC source using Al0.30Ga0.70As that achieves a high photon-pair generation rate per pump power and bandwidth of up to 0.24 Hz/mW/nm. The choice of 30% aluminum concentration allowed us to reduce pump absorption and photoluminescence background for photon pairs generation at telecom wavelengths by at least an order of magnitude compared to that of GaAs. The specific layer orientation facilitates the generation of orthogonally polarized entangled photons, a prerequisite for polarization-entangled states. Rather than directly probing entanglement, we observe the effect of hidden polarization. Our results highlight AlGaAs (111) as a promising platform for scalable quantum photonic sources and shed light on nonclassical polarization effects accessible through flat-optics engineering.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Driving electrons at needle tips strongly with quantum light

Attosecond science relies on driving electrons after photoemission with the strong optical field of a laser pulse, representing an intense classical coherent state of light. Bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) is a quantum state of light intense enough to drive strong-field physics. However, its mean optical electric field is zero, suggesting that, in a semiclassical view, electrons should not experience strong driving. The question arises if and how this quantum state of light can generate attosecond science signatures in strong-field photoemission. Here we show that the key signatures of strong-field physics - the high energy plateau and the 10-$U_\mathrm{p}$-cut-off - also appear under BSV driving of a needle tip, but only when we post-select electron energy spectra on the individual photon number of each BSV pulse. When averaging over many BSV shots, we observe broad energy spectra featuring no plateau. This suggests that BSV-driven electrons behave as if driven by an ensemble of coherent states of light. Our findings bridge strong-field physics and quantum optics, offering insights into BSV and other quantum light states. Our work paves the way for electron quantum state engineering and the use of strongly driven electrons as quantum light sensors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Real-Time Monitoring of Multimode Squeezing

Multimode squeezed light is a key resource for high-dimensional quantum technologies, enhancing metrological sensitivity, boosting communication security, and enabling parallel processing in computation. Its practical potential, however, remains constrained by the inherent single-mode operation of homodyne detection, necessitating post-processing for multimode characterization. Here, we overcome this long-standing challenge by employing multimode optical parametric amplification (MOPA), enabling loss-tolerant direct detection of squeezing in each mode, which in turn permits mode sorting after amplification. As a result, we demonstrate, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, the real-time monitoring of multimode squeezing. With a spatial light modulator sorting the modes, we simultaneously measure squeezing in nine spatial modes co-propagating within one beam. Although mode sorting and filtering reduce the detection efficiency to less than $0.3\%$, we observe high-purity squeezing of up to $-7.9 \pm 0.6$ dB -- to the best of our knowledge, the highest squeezing recorded for pulsed light. Furthermore, we demonstrate real-time, loss-tolerant characterization of continuous-variable entanglement and extend it to the detection of cluster states. Similar methods can be applied in the frequency domain, facilitating a crucial capability for scalable quantum technologies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Generation of photon pairs through spontaneous four-wave mixing in subwavelength nonlinear films

Pairs of entangled photons are crucial for photonic quantum technologies. The demand for integrability and multi-functionality suggests 'flat' platforms - ultrathin layers and metasurfaces - as sources of photon pairs. Despite the success in the demonstration of spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) from such sources, there are almost no works on spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) - an alternative process to generate photon pairs. Meanwhile, SFWM can be implemented in any nanostructures, including ones made of isotropic materials, which are easier to fabricate than crystalline SPDC sources. Here, we investigate photon pair generation through SFWM in subwavelength films of amorphous silicon nitride (SiN) with varying nitrogen content. For all samples, we demonstrate two-photon quantum correlations, indicated by the normalized second-order correlation function g(2)(0): it exceeds 2 and decays as the pump power increases. By observing two-photon interference between SFWM from the SiN films and the fused silica substrate, we find the third-order susceptibilities of films with different nitrogen content.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Advances in quantum imaging

Modern imaging technologies are widely based on classical principles of light or electromagnetic wave propagation. They can be remarkably sophisticated, with recent successes ranging from single molecule microscopy to imaging far-distant galaxies. However, new imaging technologies based on quantum principles are gradually emerging. They can either surpass classical approaches or provide novel imaging capabilities that would not otherwise be possible. {Here }we provide an overview {of the most recently developed quantum imaging systems, highlighting the non-classical properties of sources such as bright squeezed light, entangled photons, and single-photon emitters that enable their functionality.} We outline potential upcoming trends and the associated challenges, all driven by a central inquiry, which is to understand whether quantum light can make visible the invisible.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

High Harmonic Generation by Bright Squeezed Vacuum

We observe non-perturbative high harmonic generation in solids driven by a macroscopic quantum state of light, bright squeezed vacuum (BSV), which we generate in a single spatiotemporal mode. The BSV-driven process is considerably more efficient in the generation of high harmonics than classical light of the same mean intensity. Due to its broad photon-number distribution, covering states from $0$ to $2 \times 10^{13}$ photons per pulse, and sub-cycle electric field fluctuations over $\pm1\hbox{V}/\hbox{\r{A}}$, BSV provides access to free carrier dynamics within a much broader range of peak intensities than accessible with classical light. Our findings contribute to recent developments of quantum optics with extreme intensities, moving beyond its traditional focus on low photon numbers, and providing a new method for exploring extreme nonlinearities in solids.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Second-Order Nonlinear Circular Dichroism in Square Lattice Array of Germanium Nanohelices

Second harmonic generation (SHG) is prohibited in centrosymmetric crystals such as silicon or germanium due to the presence of inversion symmetry. However, the structuring of such materials makes it possible to break the inversion symmetry, thus achieving generation of second-harmonic. Moreover, various symmetry properties of the resulting structure, such as chirality, also influence the SHG. In this work we investigate second harmonic generation from an array of nanohelices made of germanium. The intensity of the second harmonic displayed a remarkable enhancement of over 100 times compared to a non-structured Ge thin film, revealing the influence of interaction between nanohelices. In particular, nonlinear circular dichroism, characterized through the SHG anisotropy factor g, changed its sign not only with the helix handedness, but with its density as well. We believe that our discoveries will open up new paths for the development of nonlinear photonics based on metamaterials and metasurfaces made of centrosymmetric materials.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Simultaneous measurement of multimode squeezing

Multimode squeezed light is an increasingly popular tool in photonic quantum technologies, including sensing, imaging, and computation. Meanwhile, the existing methods of its characterization are technically complicated, and in the best case, deal with a single mode at a time. Here, we demonstrate experimentally how the squeezing can be measured in multiple spatial modes simultaneously, using optical parametric amplification and direct detection followed by modal decomposition based on spatial intensity correlations. We apply this method to a multimode squeezed vacuum generated via high-gain parametric down-conversion. We measure the degrees of squeezing and anti-squeezing for eight strongest spatial modes, obtaining highest squeezing and anti-squeezing values of $-5.2 \pm 0.2$ dB and $8.6 \pm 0.3$ dB, respectively.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Multi-photon electron emission with non-classical light

Photon number distributions from classical and non-classical light sources have been studied extensively, yet their impact on photoemission processes is largely unexplored. In this article, we present measurements of electron number-distributions from metal needle tips illuminated with ultrashort light pulses of different photon quantum statistics. By varying the photon statistics of the exciting light field between classical (Poissonian) and quantum (super-Poissonian), we demonstrate that the measured electron distributions are changed substantially. Using single-mode bright squeezed vacuum light, we measure extreme statistics events with up to 65 electrons from one light pulse at a mean of 0.27 electrons per pulse - the likelihood for such an event equals $10^{-128}$ with Poissonian statistics. Changing the number of modes of the exciting bright squeezed vacuum light, we can tailor the electron-number distribution on demand. Most importantly, our results demonstrate that the photon statistics is imprinted from the driving light to the emitted electrons, opening the door to new sensor devices and to strong-field quantum optics with quantum light.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Time-resolved purification of photon pairs from ultrasmall sources

Generation of entangled photons through spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) from ultrasmall sources like thin films, metasurfaces, or nanoantennas, offers unprecedented freedom in quantum state engineering. However, as the source of SPDC gets smaller, the role of photoluminescence increases, which leads to the contamination of two-photon states with thermal background. Here we propose and implement a solution to this problem: by using pulsed SPDC and time distillation, we increase the purity and the heralding efficiency of the photon pairs. In the experiment, we increase the purity of two-photon states generated in a 7 $\mu$m film of lithium niobate from 0.002 to 0.99. With the higher purity, we were able to observe and characterize different polarization states of photon pairs generated simultaneously due to relaxed phase matching. In particular, we showed the presence of orthogonally polarized photons, potentially usable for the generation of polarization entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Flat-optics generation of broadband photon pairs with tunable polarization entanglement

The concept of `flat optics' is quickly conquering different fields of photonics, but its implementation in quantum optics is still at infancy. In particular, polarization entanglement, which is central to quantum photonics due to the simplicity of polarization qubit encoding and control, is so far not realized on flat platforms. Meanwhile, relaxed phase matching of flat nonlinear optical sources enables enormous freedom in tailoring their polarization properties. Here we use this freedom to generate photon pairs with tunable polarization entanglement via spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in a $400$ nm GaP film. By changing the pump polarization, we tune the polarization state of photon pairs from maximally entangled to almost disentangled, which is impossible in a single bulk source of SPDC. Polarization entanglement, in combination with the broadband frequency spectrum, results in an ultranarrow (12 fs) Hong-Ou-Mandel effect and promises extensions to hyperentanglement.

quant-ph↗