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SINGLE PHOTONS; GENERATION; CAVITYEngineering; Optics; Physics;
Abstract:
Two photons are identical if they are prepared in the same quantum state and there is a unique way to achieve this. Conversely, there are many different ways of preparing two non-identical photons: they may differ in polarization, frequency, mode-function, etc. Thus, photon distinguishability depends upon the degree of freedom being varied. By analyzing the coincidence probability distribution in a Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment, we show that photon distinguishability can be quantified by the rate of distinguishability of photons, an experimentally measurable parameter that crucially depends on both the photon-quantum state and the degree of freedom under control.
