Tailoring spatial correlations with quantum interference

Abstract

Photon correlations represent a central resource in many quantum optics experiments, with applications ranging from quantum information protocols to sensing. Engineering such correlations is often challenging, especially in multi-particle scenarios. In this work we describe an effective method for shaping spatial correlations between photons by patterning their distinguishability in a quantum interference setup. We show how to write and edit these bi-photon correlations between the two output channels of a beam-splitter, hiding this encoded information from conventional intensity measurements. Our scheme offers an easy extension to multiparticle scenarios and facilitates the transmission of high-dimensional quantum information, with potential applications to quantum communication and imaging protocols.