Few-photon optics
B C Sanders G Messin · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics · 2009
Light is composed of photons, but only recently has it become relatively common, albeit still challenging, to manipulate single or few photons. This special issue presents state-of-the-art theory and experiment concerning the production of few-photon states of light, processing the states, and performing highly sensitive low-noise detection at the single-photon level. In many cases, the connection between photon manipulation and quantum information science is apparent. Few-photon sources have applications for quantum cryptography and optical quantum computing. Photon processing can involve producing entangled states of light as resources for quantum information processing, performing optical gates for example by interferometry, and realizing quantum memory to store information and synchronize gate operations. Ultimately the photons are carriers of information, and this information is acquired by detectors, which have to be reliable, highly sensitive, fast and operate with low noise. Many of these photon generation, processing and detection issues are exemplified in the papers presented here. This special issue thus serves as a compendium of recent results in the area of few-photon optics, covering the development of new sources, the characterization and improvement of detection schemes, and the analysis and proposal of processing protocols. We trust that this issue will serve as a valuable resource for the community for years to come.