Tunable spatial decoherers for polarization-entangled photons

Opt Lett. 2006 Jul 1;31(13):2057-9. doi: 10.1364/ol.31.002057.

Abstract

We report a novel controllable source of spatial decoherence for twin photons, based upon commercially available wedge depolarizers. This allows us to convert the polarization-entangled singlet state into a tunable mixed state. A full characterization of this mixed state, by means of quantum tomography, shows that such a spatial decoherer can be used for synthesizing Werner-like states on demand.