Three-Photon and Hybrid Coherent-Fock Interference in a Two-Phase Six-Port Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
Abstract
We present a unified theoretical analysis of three-photon quantum interference in a Six-Port Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (6p-MZI) constructed from two cascaded tritters, with two independent phase modulators placed between the tritter arms. We analytically derive the transfer matrix of the 6p-MZI and show how they organize into three symmetry classes, governed by the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) structure of the tritter and the conjugate relations. Furthermore, we analyze two input regimes: First, three indistinguishable single photons are injected into the tritter, and the output probability distributions P[111], P[{300}], and P[{210}] are derived as functions of the two relative phases (ϕ1, ϕ2). At ϕ2 = 0, the single-phase limit is recovered, which confirms 100\% visibility of the even-distribution fringe. Second, a hybrid coherent-Fock input |α⟩1|α⟩2|1⟩3 is analyzed via the density matrix formalism. The average photon number at each output port exhibits amplitude-dependent phase shifts. Our results establish the 6p-MZI as a programmable platform for tripartite quantum state manipulation and coherent amplitude sensing.
Related
- Distributed quantum phase sensing using an SU(1,1) Perelomov coherent state in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer network
- Quantum-Enhanced Phase Estimation with Photon-Added Even and Odd Coherent States in an SU(1,1) Interferometer
- A hybrid quantum interferometer bridging Hong-Ou-Mandel and N00N-state interference
- Mach-Zehnder based Rotational Shearing Interferometer for Non-destructive Testing using Spatial Phase-Shifting Shearography
- Offset-tailored multimode interference in an SMF–HCF–SMF interferometer for axial strain and orientation-dependent curvature sensing
BibTeX
@misc{amadi2026threephoton,
title = {{Three-Photon and Hybrid Coherent-Fock Interference in a Two-Phase Six-Port Mach-Zehnder Interferometer}},
author = {P. O. Amadi and P. Pewkhom and N. Sitpathom and R. Endut and N. Ali and S. A. Aljunid and S. Suryadi and P. Kalasuwan},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.04368},
eprint = {2609.04368},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.04368},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Three-Photon and Hybrid Coherent-Fock Interference in a Two-Phase Six-Port Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
AU - P. O. Amadi
AU - P. Pewkhom
AU - N. Sitpathom
AU - R. Endut
AU - N. Ali
AU - S. A. Aljunid
AU - S. Suryadi
AU - P. Kalasuwan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.04368
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.04368
AB - We present a unified theoretical analysis of three-photon quantum interference in a Six-Port Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (6p-MZI) constructed from two cascaded tritters, with two independent phase modulators placed between the tritter arms. We analytically derive the transfer matrix of the 6p-MZI and show how they organize into three symmetry classes, governed by the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) structure of the tritter and the conjugate relations. Furthermore, we analyze two input regimes: First, three indistinguishable single photons are injected into the tritter, and the output probability distributions P_[111], P_[{300}], and P_[{210}] are derived as functions of the two relative phases (ϕ_1, ϕ_2). At ϕ_2 = 0, the single-phase limit is recovered, which confirms 100\% visibility of the even-distribution fringe. Second, a hybrid coherent-Fock input |α⟩_1|α⟩_2|1⟩_3 is analyzed via the density matrix formalism. The average photon number at each output port exhibits amplitude-dependent phase shifts. Our results establish the 6p-MZI as a programmable platform for tripartite quantum state manipulation and coherent amplitude sensing.
ER -