Introduction to Quantum Optics
The purpose of this book is to provide a physical understanding of photons and their properties and applications. Special emphasis is given in the text to photon pairs produced in spontaneous parametric, down-conversion, which exhibit intrinsically quantum mechanical correlations, known as entanglement, and which extend over manifestly macroscopic distances. Such photon pairs are well suited to the physical realization of Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky type experiments, and also make possible such exciting techniques as quantum cryptography and teleportation.
- First edition in English, with significant new material on the Franson experiment and quantum teleportation
- Describes relevant experiments and elucidates the physical ideas behind them
- Extensive explanations are used in preference to technical formulae
Product details
June 2006Adobe eBook Reader
9780511192593
0 pages
0kg
37 b/w illus.
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Historical milestones
- 3. Basics of the classical description of light
- 4. Quantum mechanical understanding of light
- 5. Light detectors
- 6. Spontaneous emission
- 7. Interference
- 8. Photon statistics
- 9. Squeezed light
- 10. Measuring distribution functions
- 11. Optical Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen experiments
- 12. Quantum cryptography
- 13. Quantum teleportation
- 14. Summary: what do we know about the photon?
- Appendix: mathematical description
- References
- Index.