What Happens to Information When It is Passed Through a Quantum Measuring Device That has a Loop Laser Mirror?

Tsubasa Kato
4 min readJan 4, 2025

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I asked this question to Perplexity Pro today:

What happens to information when it is passed through a quantum measuring device that has a loop laser mirror?

Here is the Answer:

When information is passed through a quantum measuring device with a loop laser mirror, several interesting quantum effects come into play:

## Quantum Interference Effects

In a fiber loop mirror, which is a type of loop laser mirror, quantum interference plays a crucial role. The simplest case involves single-mode fibers where the polarization state remains unchanged during propagation[3]. Under ideal conditions (no losses, 50:50 power splitting), all injected power is reflected back due to interference conditions, making the fiber loop mirror act as a perfect reflector across a wide range of wavelengths[3].

## Nonlinear Effects

For high-power or ultrashort pulses, nonlinear effects become significant:

1. In a symmetric loop with 50:50 coupling, nonlinear phase shifts do not affect reflectance, as they are identical for light propagating in both directions[3].

2. Asymmetric designs, like nonlinear loop mirrors (NOLMs), can create power-dependent transmission. For example, in a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror (NALM), low-power input is mostly reflected, while high-power pulses experience differential nonlinear phase changes, altering interference conditions[3].

## Quantum Measurement Backaction

In quantum measurements, the act of measurement itself can affect the system being measured. This is particularly relevant for precise position measurements of objects like levitated nanoparticles[5]. The quantum backaction from the measurement process can limit the precision of the measurement.

## Quantum Noise and Squeezing

Quantum noise, including photon shot noise and radiation pressure noise, can limit the sensitivity of quantum measurements[7]. However, techniques like squeezed-state injection can be used to improve sensitivity beyond the standard quantum limit. For example, in gravitational wave detectors, injecting squeezed light has demonstrated a 44% improvement in displacement sensitivity in frequency ranges limited by shot noise[7].

## Information Preservation

In coherent feedback systems, which can include loop mirrors, quantum information can be preserved more effectively than in classical measurement-based feedback systems. For certain control goals like backaction evasion, generation of quantum non-demolished variables, and creation of decoherence-free subsystems, coherent feedback has been shown to outperform measurement-based feedback[4].

In summary, when information passes through a quantum measuring device with a loop laser mirror, it undergoes complex quantum interactions involving interference, nonlinear effects, and quantum noise. These effects can be harnessed to enhance measurement precision, preserve quantum information, or manipulate the quantum state of the system in ways that are not possible with classical devices.

Citations:
[1] https://www.ego-gw.it/blog/2020/09/24/quantum-effects-make-virgos-mirrors-jitter/
[2] https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2013-11-08/thomaspeters_2012_pdf_16117.pdf
[3] https://www.rp-photonics.com/fiber_loop_mirrors.html
[4] https://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.4.041029
[5] https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.013601
[6] https://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/10291/1/Helmer_Ferdinand.pdf
[7] https://www.nature.com/articles/nphys920
[8] https://www.nict.go.jp/publication/shuppan/kihou-journal/journal-vol51no1.2/3-3.pdf
[9] https://pubs.aip.org/aip/rsi/article-abstract/95/6/063002/3297651/Stable-and-wavelength-tunable-multiwavelength?redirectedFrom=fulltext
[10] http://www.alice.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/store/61_Iwasawa_PRL_e163602.pdf

Here are some relevant works, applications, and devices involving quantum measuring systems and loop laser mirrors, particularly nonlinear optical loop mirrors (NOLMs):

## **Applications and Devices**

1. **Mode-Locked Fiber Lasers**:
— Nonlinear fiber loop mirrors (NOLMs) are widely used in mode-locked fiber lasers as artificial saturable absorbers. They help initiate and stabilize mode-locking, which is essential for generating ultrashort laser pulses[7].

2. **Optical Signal Processing**:
— NOLMs have applications in high-speed optical communications and signal processing. These include wavelength conversion, ultrawideband pulse generation, demultiplexing optical time-division multiplexed signals, and optical performance monitoring[2][7].

3. **Quantum Sensors**:
— Loop laser systems are integral to quantum sensors such as atomic clocks and Rydberg atomic superheterodyne receivers. These sensors rely on precise laser stabilization techniques to suppress frequency noise and enhance sensitivity[1].

4. **Gravitational Wave Detectors**:
— Systems like LIGO use advanced laser mirrors to measure gravitational waves with extreme precision. Techniques involving loop mirrors and quantum noise reduction improve sensitivity by approaching quantum limits of motion detection[6].

5. **Integrated Photonic Devices**:
— Integrated NOLMs in silicon photonics enable compact, energy-efficient devices for all-optical signal processing. These devices exploit Kerr nonlinearities for ultrafast operations, such as optical sampling or digital-to-analog conversion[2].

6. **Quantum Optical Regenerators**:
— NOLMs are used in optical regenerators to achieve switching via cross-phase modulation induced by the Kerr effect. These systems enhance signal quality in quantum communication networks[8].

7. **Strontium Lattice Clocks**:
— Quantum laser systems with loop mirrors are utilized in strontium lattice clocks for ultra-precise timekeeping, benefiting from low-noise combs and continuous-wave (CW) light sources with high spectral purity[9].

## **Notable Research and Innovations**

1. **Practical Ultra-Low Noise Lasers**:
— Recent advancements have demonstrated practical laser systems with ultra-low frequency noise for quantum sensors. These systems use cascade locking to achieve high performance comparable to ultra-low expansion (ULE) cavities while being more cost-effective[1].

2. **Integrated Nonlinear Optical Loop Mirrors**:
— The development of integrated NOLMs in silicon photonics has enabled the miniaturization of devices while maintaining high performance for optical signal processing applications[2][10].

3. **Environmentally Stable Lasers**:
— Innovations in figure-eight lasers with nonlinear optical loop mirrors have improved environmental stability and self-starting properties, making them robust for extended use[3].

4. **Multivariable Analysis of NOLMs**:
— Advanced studies have analyzed the parameters of NOLMs using numerical methods like Jones matrices, revealing their suitability for transmitting optical solitons and initiating mode-locking in fiber lasers[5].

These applications highlight the versatility of loop laser mirrors and nonlinear optical loop mirrors across quantum sensing, communications, and precision measurement technologies.

Citations:
[1] https://arxiv.org/html/2403.12405v1
[2] https://pubs.aip.org/aip/app/article/3/2/026102/122988/An-integrated-nonlinear-optical-loop-mirror-in
[3] https://patents.google.com/patent/EP2637265A1/en
[4] https://www.optoscience.com/our-vendors/mirrorcletech/qip10g0000008t89-att/Mirrorcle-Technologies_MEMS-Mirrors_Technical-Overview.pdf
[5] https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/10/10/1071
[6] https://www.sciencenews.org/article/physics-ligo-mirrors-lasers-quantum-mechanics-limit
[7] https://www.rp-photonics.com/fiber_loop_mirrors.html
[8] https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9801063
[9] https://www.menlosystems.com/products/quantum-laser-systems/fc1500-quantum/
[10] https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/elex/5/5/5_5_176/_article

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Tsubasa Kato
Tsubasa Kato

Written by Tsubasa Kato

Japanese Search Engineer. Likes Quantum Computers and handheld computers.

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