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Quantum Enhanced X-ray Detection

S. Sofer, E. Strizhevsky, A. Schori, K. Tamasaku, and S. Shwartz
Phys. Rev. X 9, 031033 – Published 23 August 2019
Physics logo See Focus story: X-Ray Imaging Goes Quantum

Abstract

We present the first experimental demonstration of quantum enhanced detection at x-ray wavelengths. We show that x-ray pairs that are generated by spontaneous down-conversion can be used for the generation of heralded x-ray photons and directly measure the sub-Poissonian statistics of the single photons by using photon number resolving detectors. We utilize the properties of the strong time-energy correlations of the down-converted photons to demonstrate the ability to improve the visibility and the signal-to-noise ratio of an image with a small number of photons in an environment with a noise level that is higher than the signal by many orders of magnitude. A long-term goal of this work is to demonstrate x-ray photon entanglement. However, given the technical challenges, which are much greater than in the visible regime, we take a first step in demonstrating nonclassical (sub-Poisson) photon correlations. In our work, we demonstrate a new protocol for the measurement of quantum effects with x rays using advantages such as background-free measurements that the x-ray regime offers for experiments aiming at testing fundamental concepts in quantum optics.

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  • Received 13 February 2019
  • Revised 1 July 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.031033

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

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X-Ray Imaging Goes Quantum

Published 23 August 2019

The first demonstration of a source of quantum correlated x-ray photons shows that such photons can enhance x-ray imaging.

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Authors & Affiliations

S. Sofer1,2, E. Strizhevsky1,2, A. Schori1,2, K. Tamasaku2, and S. Shwartz1,2,*

  • 1Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 52900 Israel
  • 2RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Koto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148 Japan

  • *Sharon.shwartz@biu.ac.il

Popular Summary

The ability to generate and manipulate quantum states of light has led to novel measurement techniques, such as quantum imaging and metrology, that have greatly improved our understanding of the quantum world while also laying the groundwork for quantum computing and communication. And yet there has been little progress in extending these concepts to x-ray wavelengths, which could lead to a breadth of new applications such as advanced probes of atomic-scale phenomena. Researchers have begun developing new, bright sources of x-ray photons. However, no one has managed to use these sources to generate photons that exhibit statistics of quantum states of radiation, like in the optical regime. Here, we generate single x-ray photons and show that they do indeed exhibit such statistics.

Using x-ray beams at the RIKEN Spring-8 Center in Japan, we generate pairs of x-ray photons in a diamond crystal. These photons are then recorded by two detectors—since the photons are always generated in pairs, if one photon is detected at one detector, then there must also be exactly one correlated photon at the other detector. This latter photon is therefore a true “single photon,” which obeys the hoped-for statistics of quantum radiation. By placing an object—a thin metal sheet with three parallel slits—in the beam of this photon, we produce an image with a small number of photons in an environment where the noise level is much higher than the signal. This image has a signal-to-noise ratio that is much better compared to classical methods.

Our work could lead to a new platform for tests of fundamental concepts in quantum physics by using the high energy of x-ray photons, and it could also open the door to fascinating applications that address the challenge of radiation damage when using x rays.

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Vol. 9, Iss. 3 — July - September 2019

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