Generation and certification of pure phase-entangled light
Phys. Rev. A 113, 012425 – Published 16 January, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/jkvs-6v2y
Abstract
Biphoton systems exhibiting entanglement in position-momentum variables, known as spatial entanglement, are among the most intriguing and well-studied phenomena in quantum optics. A notable subset of these is that of phase-entangled states, where entanglement manifests purely through correlations in the spatial phase of the wave function. While the generation of such states from biphotons via spontaneous parametric down-conversion has been explored, their physical implications and applications remain underinvestigated. In this work, we theoretically and experimentally examine a unique form of phase entanglement known as “pure” phase entanglement. This state exhibits the unusual feature that the position of one photon is correlated with the momentum of the other. Unlike typical spatially entangled states, it shows no direct correlation in position or momentum between the two photons, underscoring that all correlations arise purely from the spatial phase of the wave function. We delve deeper into the theory of this state and experimentally construct it from known phase-entangled states. To certify its properties, we propose a setup that performs a “one-particle momentum measurement” and explore the various tunable parameters. We also highlight potential applications of this state in quantum optics and imaging experiments.
