Engineering of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference with effective noise

Abstract

The Hong-Ou-Mandel effect lies at the heart of quantum interferometry, having multiple applications in the field of quantum information processing and no classical counterpart. Despite its popularity, only a few works have considered polarization-frequency interaction within the interferometer. In this paper, we fill this gap. Our system of interest is a general biphoton polarization state that experiences effective dephasing noise by becoming entangled with the same photons' frequency state, as the photons propagate through birefringent media. The photons then meet at a beam splitter, where either coincidence or bunching occurs, after which the polarizationfrequency interaction continues on the output paths. Along with performing extensive theoretical analysis on the coincidence probability and different polarization states, we outline multiple interesting applications that range from constructing Bell states to an alternative delayed choice quantum eraser.