Determination of quantized electromagnetic-field state via electron interferometry

¹ Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
² School of Mathematics, Physics, Computing and Electronics Macquarie University , Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia

Received: 5 January 1998
Accepted: 27 July 1998

Abstract

We show that the quantum state of the electromagnetic field can be determined by performing electron interferometry and exploiting the ac analogue of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. The interferometric phase shift is proportional to the magnetic-flux operator, and measurements of output electron intensity for various interferometer geometries yields the Weyl function, which is the Fourier transform of the Wigner function. In contradistinction to optical methods for state determination, this scheme relies on electron interferometry and could enable probing of intracavity field states. Second-order correlations in this context are also discussed.