Quantum images and critical fluctuations in the optical parametric oscillator below threshold

In the first part of the paper we define the spatial spectrum of squeezing following an operational procedure, and we show in general how the spatial structure of squeezed states can be described in terms of correlation functions of quadrature components of the electric field. In the second part we formulate an appropriate quantum model for a degenerate optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with plane mirrors, and we analyze it extensively below the threshold for signal generation. The correlation length diverges when the OPO approaches threshold; this picture provides an ideal completion of the analogy with critical phenomena in second-order phase transition at equilibrium. The spatial configuration of the correlation function exhibits the phenomenon of ‘‘quantum image:’’ the signal field, which is purely generated by quantum noise, shows an ordered spatial structure which is observable via the spatial correlation function.