Orbital angular momentum of entangled photons as a probe for relativistic effects

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Nothlawala, Fazilah, Dekkers, Kiki, Mahdavifar, Moslem, Leach, Jonathan, Forbes, Andrew, Nape, Isaac
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Nothlawala, Fazilah
Dekkers, Kiki
Mahdavifar, Moslem
Leach, Jonathan
Forbes, Andrew
Nape, Isaac
author_facet Nothlawala, Fazilah
Dekkers, Kiki
Mahdavifar, Moslem
Leach, Jonathan
Forbes, Andrew
Nape, Isaac
contents Orbital angular momentum (OAM) as both classical and quantum states of light has proven essential in numerous applications, from high-capacity information transfer to enhanced precision and accuracy in metrology. Here, we extend OAM metrology to relativistic scenarios to determine the Lorentz factor of a moving reference frame, exploiting the fact that OAM is not Lorentz invariant. We show that the joint OAM spectrum from entangled states is modified by length contraction when measured by two observers moving relative to the entanglement source. This relative motion rescales the spatial dimensions, thus breaking the orthogonality of the OAM measurement process and resulting in a broadening of the joint OAM spectrum that can precisely determine the Lorentz factor. We experimentally simulate velocities up to $0.99c$, confirm the predicted broadening, and use the measurement outcomes to extract the Lorentz factor. Our work provides a pathway for novel measurement techniques suitable for relativistic conditions that leverage OAM structured light as a resource.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_01716
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Orbital angular momentum of entangled photons as a probe for relativistic effects
Nothlawala, Fazilah
Dekkers, Kiki
Mahdavifar, Moslem
Leach, Jonathan
Forbes, Andrew
Nape, Isaac
Quantum Physics
Optics
Orbital angular momentum (OAM) as both classical and quantum states of light has proven essential in numerous applications, from high-capacity information transfer to enhanced precision and accuracy in metrology. Here, we extend OAM metrology to relativistic scenarios to determine the Lorentz factor of a moving reference frame, exploiting the fact that OAM is not Lorentz invariant. We show that the joint OAM spectrum from entangled states is modified by length contraction when measured by two observers moving relative to the entanglement source. This relative motion rescales the spatial dimensions, thus breaking the orthogonality of the OAM measurement process and resulting in a broadening of the joint OAM spectrum that can precisely determine the Lorentz factor. We experimentally simulate velocities up to $0.99c$, confirm the predicted broadening, and use the measurement outcomes to extract the Lorentz factor. Our work provides a pathway for novel measurement techniques suitable for relativistic conditions that leverage OAM structured light as a resource.
title Orbital angular momentum of entangled photons as a probe for relativistic effects
topic Quantum Physics
Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.01716