Generation of microwave fields in cavities with laser-excited nonlinear media: competition between the second- and third-order optical nonlinearities
We discuss a scheme for the parametric amplification of the quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic vacuum in a three-dimensional microwave resonator, and report the preliminary measurements to test its feasibility. In the present experimental scheme, the fundamental mode of a microwave cavity i...
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Published in | Journal of optics (2010) Vol. 20; no. 9; pp. 95502 - 95513 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
IOP Publishing
01.09.2018
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | We discuss a scheme for the parametric amplification of the quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic vacuum in a three-dimensional microwave resonator, and report the preliminary measurements to test its feasibility. In the present experimental scheme, the fundamental mode of a microwave cavity is nonadiabatically perturbed by modulating the index of refraction of the nonlinear optical crystal enclosed therein. Intense, multi-GHz laser pulses, such as those delivered by a mode-locked laser source, impinge on the crystal to accomplish the n-index modulation. We theoretically analyze the process of parametric generation, which is related to the third-order nonlinear coefficient χ(3) of the nonlinear crystal, and assess the suitable experimental conditions for generating real photons from the vacuum. Second-order nonlinear processes are first analyzed as a possible source of spurious photons in quantum vacuum experiments when an ideal, mode-locked laser source is considered. The combination of a crystal non-null χ(2) coefficient and a real mode-locked laser system-i.e. one featuring offset-from-carrier noise and unwanted secondary oscillations-is also experimentally investigated, paving the way for future experiments in three-dimensional cavities. |
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Bibliography: | JOPT-105383.R1 |
ISSN: | 2040-8978 2040-8986 |
DOI: | 10.1088/2040-8986/aad826 |