News & Events

Auxiliary Entanglement in Spontaneous Parametric Downconversion

Dr. Warren Grice Oak Ridge National Lab

Monday, November 5, 2012
3 p.m.–4 p.m.

Sloan Auditorium

Abstract: 
In most photonic quantum information applications, information is encoded into the photons’ polarization degrees of freedom. This is a natural choice, given that polarization can be completely described by a linear combination of only two basis states. It has experimental appeal, as well, since it is relatively easy to manipulate polarization using simple optical elements. However, a more complete description of the photon also includes its energy and its spatial mode. And while it might seem that these have little to do with polarization, it turns out that spatial and spectral entanglement can have adverse effects in polarization entanglement experiments. I will discuss the source of these auxiliary entanglements and will present a series of theoretical and experimental results illustrating the subtle relationships between various types of entanglement. Strategies for managing these auxiliary entanglements will also be discussed.

Bio:
Dr. Warren Grice is a senior research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and is the team lead for Quantum Information Science. He conducts research primarily in the field of quantum optics, particularly in the design and fabrication of novel sources of entangled photons. Recent projects include entangled photon sources for Quantum Key Distribution and Quantum Computing. Dr. Grice holds a B.S. in Physics from Western Kentucky University and a Ph.D. in Optics from the University of Rochester (1997), where his thesis work on ultrafast quantum optics was completed under the direction of Ian Walmsley. Before coming to ORNL, Dr. Grice was a member of the faculty of the Department of Physics at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.