Abstract:
When a coherent laser beam illuminates a scattering sample, the backscattered intensity shows a pronounced peak, a phenomenon known as coherent backscattering. The observation of coherent backscattering marked a milestone in the study of light in random media, as it was the first observation of a robust interference effect that prevails disorder averaging [1-4]. With the goal of identifying quantum features of light that are robust to disorder averaging, we are studying coherent backscattering of entangled photons. In the talk I will give a brief introduction to coherent backscattering, and present our recent experimental results showing that coherent backscattering of entangled photons corresponds to that of a single photon with half the wavelength.
[1] Y. Kuga et al. J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 1, 831-835 (1984)
[2] M.P. Van Albada et al. PRL 55 2692 (1985)
[3] P.E. Wolf et al. PRL 55 2696 (1985)
[4] E. Akkermans et al. PRL 56 1471 (1986)