• Chinese Optics Letters
  • Vol. 18, Issue 10, 102601 (2020)
Wen-Rong Qi1, Rui Liu1, Ling-Jun Kong2, Zhou-Xiang Wang1, Shuang-Yin Huang1, Chenghou Tu1, Yongnan Li1、*, and Hui-Tian Wang2、**
Author Affiliations
  • 1Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics and School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
  • 2National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
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    DOI: 10.3788/COL202018.102601 Cite this Article Set citation alerts
    Wen-Rong Qi, Rui Liu, Ling-Jun Kong, Zhou-Xiang Wang, Shuang-Yin Huang, Chenghou Tu, Yongnan Li, Hui-Tian Wang. Double-slit interference of single twisted photons[J]. Chinese Optics Letters, 2020, 18(10): 102601 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    Optical orbital angular momentum (OAM) is a special property of photons and has evoked research onto the light–matter interaction in both classical and quantum regimes. In classical optics, OAM is related to an optical vortex with a helical phase structure. In quantum optics, photons with a twisted or helical phase structure will carry a quantized OAM. To our knowledge, however, so far, no experiment has demonstrated the fundamental property of the OAM at the single-photon level. In this Letter, we have demonstrated the average photon trajectories of twisted photons in a double-slit interference. We have experimentally captured the double-slit interference process of twisted photons by a time-gated intensified charge-coupled device camera, which is trigged by a heralded detection. Our work provides new perspectives for understanding the micro-behaviors of twisted particles and enables new applications in imaging and sensing.
    drds=1cS(r)U(r),(1)

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    S(r)=12Re[E(r)×H*(r)],(2)

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    U(r)=14[ε0E(r)·E*(r)+μ0H(r)·H*(r)],(3)

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    ψ(r)=ω0ω(z)[2rω(z)]||exp[ikr22R(z)r2ω2(z)+iϕ+ikz],(4)

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    ψ0(r)=ψ1(r1)+ψ2(r2)=ψ(r1,ϕ1,z)+ψ(r2,ϕ2,z),(5)

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    r1=[(xa)2+y2]1/2,(6a)

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    r2=[(x+a)2+y2]1/2,(6b)

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    tanϕ1=yxa,(6c)

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    tanϕ2=yx+a.(6d)

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    Wen-Rong Qi, Rui Liu, Ling-Jun Kong, Zhou-Xiang Wang, Shuang-Yin Huang, Chenghou Tu, Yongnan Li, Hui-Tian Wang. Double-slit interference of single twisted photons[J]. Chinese Optics Letters, 2020, 18(10): 102601
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