Fundamental Bounds of Wavefront Shaping of Spatially Entangled Photons

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Shekel, Ronen, Popoff, Sébastien M., Bromberg, Yaron
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Shekel, Ronen
Popoff, Sébastien M.
Bromberg, Yaron
author_facet Shekel, Ronen
Popoff, Sébastien M.
Bromberg, Yaron
contents Wavefront shaping enables control of classical light through scattering media. Extending these techniques to spatially entangled photons promises new quantum applications, but their fundamental limits, especially when both photons scatter, remain unclear. Here, we theoretically and numerically investigate the enhancement of two-photon correlations through thick scattering media. We analyze configurations where a spatial light modulator shapes one or both photons, either before or after the medium, and show that the optimal enhancement differs fundamentally from classical expectations. For a system with $N$ modes, we show that shaping one photon yields the classical enhancement $η\approx (π/4)N$, while shaping both photons before the medium reduces it to $η\approx (π/4)^2N$. However, in some symmetric detection schemes, when both photons are measured at the same mode, perfect correlations are restored with $η\approx N$, resembling digital optical phase conjugation. Conversely, shaping both photons after the medium leads to a complex, NP-hard-like optimization problem, yet achieves superior enhancements, up to $η\approx 4.6N$. These results reveal unique quantum effects in complex media and identify strategies for quantum imaging and communication through scattering environments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_02221
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Fundamental Bounds of Wavefront Shaping of Spatially Entangled Photons
Shekel, Ronen
Popoff, Sébastien M.
Bromberg, Yaron
Quantum Physics
Optics
Wavefront shaping enables control of classical light through scattering media. Extending these techniques to spatially entangled photons promises new quantum applications, but their fundamental limits, especially when both photons scatter, remain unclear. Here, we theoretically and numerically investigate the enhancement of two-photon correlations through thick scattering media. We analyze configurations where a spatial light modulator shapes one or both photons, either before or after the medium, and show that the optimal enhancement differs fundamentally from classical expectations. For a system with $N$ modes, we show that shaping one photon yields the classical enhancement $η\approx (π/4)N$, while shaping both photons before the medium reduces it to $η\approx (π/4)^2N$. However, in some symmetric detection schemes, when both photons are measured at the same mode, perfect correlations are restored with $η\approx N$, resembling digital optical phase conjugation. Conversely, shaping both photons after the medium leads to a complex, NP-hard-like optimization problem, yet achieves superior enhancements, up to $η\approx 4.6N$. These results reveal unique quantum effects in complex media and identify strategies for quantum imaging and communication through scattering environments.
title Fundamental Bounds of Wavefront Shaping of Spatially Entangled Photons
topic Quantum Physics
Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.02221