Reconstruction of photon-number distribution using low-performance photon counters

Proportional Counters as Low Energy Photon Detectors

We have investigated the response of an argon-methane proportional counter to monochromatic X-rays in the range 99-277 eV . The apparent nonlinearities in mean pulse height as a function of photon energy and the detailed shape of the pulse height distribution for each energy can be predicted quite precisely using the extensive atomic data available for argon. Based on this understanding, we pro...

Interferometric control of the photon-number distribution

We demonstrate deterministic control over the photon-number distribution by interfering two coherent beams within a disordered photonic lattice. By sweeping a relative phase between two equal-amplitude coherent fields with Poissonian statistics that excite adjacent sites in a lattice endowed with disorder-immune chiral symmetry, we measure an output photon-number distribution that changes perio...

Generation of sub-Poissonian photon number distribution.

Reconstruction of Photon Distribution with Positivity Constraints

An iterative algorithm for reconstructing the photon distribution from the random phase homodyne statistics is discussed. This method, derived from the maximum-likelihood approach, yields a positive deenite estimate for the photon distribution with bounded statistical errors even if numerical compensation for the detector imperfection is applied. A fascinating topic studied extensively in quant...

Quantum decoherence of single-photon counters.

The interaction of a quantum system with the environment leads to the so-called quantum decoherence. Beyond its fundamental significance, the understanding and the possible control of this dynamics in various scenarios is a key element for mastering quantum information processing. Here we report the quantitative probing of what can be called the quantum decoherence of detectors, a process remin...