Getting Started in Quantum Optics

This book, based on classroom-tested lecture notes, provides a self-contained one semester undergraduate course on quantum optics, accessible to students (and other readers) who have completed an introductory quantum mechanics course and are familiar with Dirac notation and the concept of entanglement. The book covers canonical quantization, the harmonic oscillator, vacuum fluctuations, Fock states, the single photon state, quantum optical treatment of the beam splitter and the interferometer, multimode quantized light, and coherent and incoherent states. Metrology is a particular area of emphasis, with the book culminating in a treatment of squeezed light and its use in the laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory (LIGO). The Heisenberg limit is described, along with NOON states and their application in super-sensitivity, super-resolution and quantum lithography. Applications of entanglement and coincidence measurements are described including ghost imaging, quantum illumination, absolute photodetector calibration, and interaction-free measurement. With quantum optics playing a central role in the so-called “second quantum revolution,” this book, equipped with plenty of exercises and worked examples, will leave students well prepared to enter graduate study or industry.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Canonical Quantization

Chapter 2: Quantum Harmonic Oscillator

Chapter 3: Canonical Quantization of Light

Chapter 4: Fock States and the Vacuum

Chapter 5: Single Photon State

Chapter 6: Single Photon on a Beam Splitter

Chapter 7: Single Photon in an Interferometer

Chapter 8: Entanglement

Chapter 9: Multimode Quantized Radiation

Chapter 10: Coherent State

Chapter 11: Coherent State on a Beam Splitter

Chapter 12: Incoherent State

Chapter 13: Homodyne and Heterodyne Detection

Chapter 14: Coherent State in an Interferometer

Chapter 15: Squeezed Light

Chapter 16: Squeezed Light in an Interferometer

Chapter 17: Heisenberg Limit

Chapter 18: Quantum Imaging

Chapter 19: Light-Matter Interaction

Chapter 20: Atomic Clock

Chapter 21: Atom Cooling and Trapping Further Reading

Appendix 1: Derivation of Lamb Shift

Appendix 2: Derivation of Casimir Formula

Appendix 3: Derivation of Normalization Constant in Single Photor Wave packet

Appendix 4: Derivation of Planck’s Distribution Law

About the Author

Ray LaPierre attended Dalhousie University, Canada, where he obtained a B.Sc. degree in Physics in 1992. He then completed his M.Eng. degree in 1994 and Ph.D. degree in 1997 in the Engineering Physics Department at McMaster University, Canada. His graduate work involved development of molecular beam epitaxy of compound semiconductor alloys for laser diodes in telecom applications. Upon completion of his graduate work in 1997, he joined JDS Uniphase, Canada, where he developed dielectric coatings for wavelength division multiplexing devices. In 2004, he rejoined McMaster University as an Assistant Professor in the Engineering Physics Department. He is currently Professor in the Engineering Physics Department at McMaster with interests in III-V nanowires, molecular beam epitaxy, and applications in photovoltaics, photodetectors and quantum information processing.