Evidence of the Quantum Optical Nature of High-Harmonic Generation

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • David Theidel
  • Viviane Cotte
  • René Sondenheimer
  • Viktoriia Shiriaeva
  • Marie Froidevaux
  • Vladislav Severin
  • Adam Merdji-Larue
  • Philip Mosel
  • Sven Fröhlich
  • Kim Alessandro Weber
  • Uwe Morgner
  • Milutin Kovacev
  • Jens Biegert
  • Hamed Merdji

Research Organisations

External Research Organisations

  • Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF)
  • Friedrich Schiller University Jena
  • ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences
  • Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA)
  • École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées (ENSTA ParisTech)
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number040319
JournalPRX Quantum
Volume5
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - 5 Nov 2024

Abstract

High-harmonic generation is a light up-conversion process occurring in a strong laser field, leading to coherent bursts of extreme ultrashort broadband radiation [Lewenstein et al., Phys. Rev. A 49, 2117 (1994)]. As a new perspective, we propose that ultrafast strong-field electronic or photonic processes such as high-harmonic generation can potentially generate nonclassical states of light well before the decoherence of the system occurs [Gorlach et al., Nat. Commun. 11, 4598 (2020); Stammer et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 123603 (2022)]. This could address fundamental challenges in quantum technology such as scalability, decoherence, or the generation of massively entangled states [Lewenstein et al., Luca Argenti Michael Chini, 27 (2024)]. Here, we report experimental evidence of the nonclassical nature of the harmonic emission in several semiconductors excited by a femtosecond infrared laser. By investigating single- and double-beam intensity cross-correlation [Loudon, Rep. Prog. Phys. 43, 913 (1980)], we measure characteristic nonclassical features in the single-photon statistics. We observe two-mode squeezing in the generated harmonic radiation, which depends on the laser intensity that governs the transition from super-Poissonian to Poissonian photon statistics. The measured violation of the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality realizes a direct test of multipartite entanglement in high-harmonic generation [Wasak, Phys. Rev. A 90, 033616 (2014)]. This result is supported by the theory of multimodal detection and the Hamiltonian from which the effective squeezing modes of the harmonics can be derived [Gonoskov et al., Phys. Rev. B 109, 125110 (2024); Christ et al. New J. Phys. 13, 033027 (2011)]. With this work, we show experimentally that high-harmonic generation is a new quantum bosonic platform that intrinsically produces nonclassical states of light with unique features such as multipartite broadband entanglement or multimode squeezing. The source operates at room temperature, using standard semiconductors and a standard commercial fiber laser, opening up new routes for the quantum industry, such as optical quantum computing, communication, and imaging.

Cite this

Evidence of the Quantum Optical Nature of High-Harmonic Generation. / Theidel, David; Cotte, Viviane; Sondenheimer, René et al.
In: PRX Quantum, Vol. 5, No. 4, 040319, 05.11.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Theidel, D, Cotte, V, Sondenheimer, R, Shiriaeva, V, Froidevaux, M, Severin, V, Merdji-Larue, A, Mosel, P, Fröhlich, S, Weber, KA, Morgner, U, Kovacev, M, Biegert, J & Merdji, H 2024, 'Evidence of the Quantum Optical Nature of High-Harmonic Generation', PRX Quantum, vol. 5, no. 4, 040319. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2405.15022, https://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.5.040319
Theidel, D., Cotte, V., Sondenheimer, R., Shiriaeva, V., Froidevaux, M., Severin, V., Merdji-Larue, A., Mosel, P., Fröhlich, S., Weber, K. A., Morgner, U., Kovacev, M., Biegert, J., & Merdji, H. (2024). Evidence of the Quantum Optical Nature of High-Harmonic Generation. PRX Quantum, 5(4), Article 040319. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2405.15022, https://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.5.040319
Theidel D, Cotte V, Sondenheimer R, Shiriaeva V, Froidevaux M, Severin V et al. Evidence of the Quantum Optical Nature of High-Harmonic Generation. PRX Quantum. 2024 Nov 5;5(4):040319. doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2405.15022, 10.1103/PRXQuantum.5.040319
Theidel, David ; Cotte, Viviane ; Sondenheimer, René et al. / Evidence of the Quantum Optical Nature of High-Harmonic Generation. In: PRX Quantum. 2024 ; Vol. 5, No. 4.
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AU - Theidel, David

AU - Cotte, Viviane

AU - Sondenheimer, René

AU - Shiriaeva, Viktoriia

AU - Froidevaux, Marie

AU - Severin, Vladislav

AU - Merdji-Larue, Adam

AU - Mosel, Philip

AU - Fröhlich, Sven

AU - Weber, Kim Alessandro

AU - Morgner, Uwe

AU - Kovacev, Milutin

AU - Biegert, Jens

AU - Merdji, Hamed

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 authors. Published by the American Physical Society.

PY - 2024/11/5

Y1 - 2024/11/5

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