Abstract
A Lie-group-theoretical approach to the analysis of interferometers is presented. Conventional interferometers such as the Mach-Zehnder and Fabry-Perot can be characterized by SU(2). We introduce a class of interferometers characterized by SU(1,1). These interferometers employ active elements such as four-wave mixers or degenerate-parametric amplifiers in their construction. Both the SU(2) and SU(1,1) interferometers can in principle achieve a phase sensitivity approaching 1/N, where N is the total number of quanta entering the interferometer, provided that the light entering the input ports is prepared in a suitable quantum state. SU(1,1) interferometers can achieve this sensitivity with fewer optical elements.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4033-4054 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Physical Review A |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1986 |
| Externally published | Yes |