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Topological insulators are fascinating states of matter exhibiting protected edge states and robust quantized features in their bulk. Here we propose and validate experimentally a method to detect topological properties in the bulk of one-dimensional chiral systems. We first introduce the mean chiral displacement, an observable that rapidly approaches a value proportional to the Zak phase during the free evolution of the system. Then we measure the Zak phase in a photonic quantum walk of twisted photons, by observing the mean chiral displacement in its bulk. Next, we measure the Zak phase in an alternative, inequivalent timeframe and combine the two windings to characterize the full phase diagram of this Floquet system. Finally, we prove the robustness of the measure by introducing dynamical disorder in the system. This detection method is extremely general and readily applicable to all present one-dimensional platforms simulating static or Floquet chiral systems. The detection of topological invariants in the bulk remains challenging even in state-of-the-art experiments. Here, Cardano et al . propose a method to read-out the Zak phases and topological invariants in one-dimensional chiral systems and detect those in a photonic quantum walk of twisted photons.

We introduce a composite optical lattice created by two mutually rotated square patterns and allowing observation of continuous transformation between incommensurate and completely periodic structures upon variation of the rotation angle θ. Such lattices acquire periodicity only for rotation angles cos θ =  a / c , sin θ =  b / c , set by Pythagorean triples of natural numbers ( a , b , c ). While linear eigenmodes supported by lattices associated with Pythagorean triples are always extended, composite patterns generated for intermediate rotation angles allow observation of the localization-delocalization transition of eigenmodes upon modification of the relative strength of two sublattices forming the composite pattern. Sharp delocalization of supported modes for certain θ values can be used for visualization of Pythagorean triples. The effects predicted here are general and also take place in composite structures generated by two rotated hexagonal lattices.

The orbital angular momentum of light represents a fundamentally new optical degree of freedom. Unlike linear momentum, or spin angular momentum, which is associated with the polarization of light, orbital angular momentum arises as a subtler and more complex consequence of the spatial distribution of the intensity and phase of an optical field — even down to the single photon limit. Consequently, researchers have only begun to appreciate its implications for our understanding of the many ways in which light and matter can interact, or its practical potential for quantum information applications. This article reviews some of the landmark advances in the study and use of the orbital angular momentum of photons, and in particular its potential for realizing high-dimensional quantum spaces.

Dyakonov surface waves allow light to be guided in fully transparent dielectric nanosheets deposited on top of anisotropic optical materials with no losses and high directionality. Guiding light at the nanoscale is usually accomplished using surface plasmons 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 . However, plasmons propagating at the surface of a metal sustain propagation losses. A different type of surface excitation is the Dyakonov surface wave. These waves, which exist in lossless media, were predicted more than two decades ago 13 but observed only recently 14 . Dyakonov surface waves exist when at least one of the two media forming the surface exhibits a suitable anisotropy of refractive indexes. Although propagating only within a narrow range of directions 15 , these waves can be used to create modes supported by ultrathin films that confine light efficiently within film thicknesses well below the cutoff thickness required in standard waveguides. Here, we show that 10 nm and 20 nm dielectric nanosheets of aluminium oxide clad between an anisotropic crystal (lithium triborate) and different liquids support Dyakonov-like modes. The direction of light propagation can be controlled by modulating the refractive index of the cladding. The possibility of guiding light in nanometre-thick films with no losses and high directionality makes Dyakonov wave modes attractive for planar photonic devices in schemes similar to those currently employing long-range plasmons.

Models of quantum systems on curved space-times lack sufficient experimental verification. Some speculative theories suggest that quantum correlations, such as entanglement, may exhibit different behavior to purely classical correlations in curved space. By measuring this effect or lack thereof, we can test the hypotheses behind several such models. For instance, as predicted by Ralph et al [5] and Ralph and Pienaar [1], a bipartite entangled system could decohere if each particle traversed through a different gravitational field gradient. We propose to study this effect in a ground to space uplink scenario. We extend the above theoretical predictions of Ralph and coworkers and discuss the scientific consequences of detecting/failing to detect the predicted gravitational decoherence. We present a detailed mission design of the European Space Agency's Space QUEST (Space-Quantum Entanglement Space Test) mission, and study the feasibility of the mission scheme.

Hong-Ou-Mandel interference, the fact that identical photons that arrive simultaneously on different input ports of a beam splitter bunch into a common output port, can be used to measure optical delays between different paths. It is generally assumed that great precision in the measurement requires that photons contain many frequencies, i.e., a large bandwidth. Here we challenge this “well-known” assumption and show that the use of two well-separated frequencies embedded in a quantum entangled state (discrete color entanglement) suffices to achieve great precision. We determine optimum working points using a Fisher Information analysis and demonstrate the experimental feasibility of this approach by detecting thermally-induced delays in an optical fiber. These results may significantly facilitate the use of quantum interference for quantum sensing, by avoiding some stringent conditions such as the requirement for large bandwidth signals.

Noise is generally thought as detrimental for energy transport in coupled oscillator networks. However, it has been shown that for certain coherently evolving systems, the presence of noise can enhance, somehow unexpectedly, their transport efficiency; a phenomenon called environment-assisted quantum transport (ENAQT) or dephasing-assisted transport. Here, we report on the experimental observation of such effect in a network of coupled electrical oscillators. We demonstrate that by introducing stochastic fluctuations in one of the couplings of the network, a relative enhancement in the energy transport efficiency of 22.5 ± 3.6% can be observed.

The microchip lasers, being very compact and efficient sources of coherent light, suffer from one serious drawback: low spatial quality of the beam strongly reducing the brightness of emitted radiation. Attempts to improve the beam quality, such as pump-beam guiding, external feedback, either strongly reduce the emission power, or drastically increase the size and complexity of the lasers. Here it is proposed that specially designed photonic crystal in the cavity of a microchip laser, can significantly improve the beam quality. Experiments show that a microchip laser, due to spatial filtering functionality of intracavity photonic crystal, improves the beam quality factor M 2 reducing it by a factor of 2 and increase the brightness of radiation by a factor of 3. This comprises a new kind of laser, the “photonic crystal microchip laser”, a very compact and efficient light source emitting high spatial quality high brightness radiation.

Coherent frequency conversion of structured light, i.e. the ability to manipulate the carrier frequency of a wave front without distorting its spatial phase and intensity profile, provides the opportunity for numerous novel applications in photonic technology and fundamental science. In particular, frequency conversion of spatial modes carrying orbital angular momentum can be exploited in sub-wavelength resolution nano-optics and coherent imaging at a wavelength different from that used to illuminate an object. Moreover, coherent frequency conversion will be crucial for interfacing information stored in the high-dimensional spatial structure of single and entangled photons with various constituents of quantum networks. In this work, we demonstrate frequency conversion of structured light from the near infrared (803 nm) to the visible (527 nm). The conversion scheme is based on sum-frequency generation in a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal pumped with a 1540-nm Gaussian beam. We observe frequency-converted fields that exhibit a high degree of similarity with the input field and verify the coherence of the frequency-conversion process via mode projection measurements with a phase mask and a single-mode fiber. Our results demonstrate the suitability of exploiting the technique for applications in quantum information processing and coherent imaging.