Double-slit interferometry as a lossy beam splitter

Abstract

We cast diffraction-based interferometry in the framework of post-selected unitary description towards enabling it as a platform for quantum information processing (QIP). We express slit-diffraction as an infinite-dimensional transformation and truncate it to a finite-dimensional transfer matrix by post-selecting modes. Using such a framework with classical fields we show that a customized double-slit setup is effectively a lossy beam splitter in a post-selected sense. Diffraction optics provides a robust alternative to conventional multi-beam interferometry with scope for miniaturization, and also has applications in matter wave interferometry. In this work, the classical treatment of slit-diffraction sets the stage for quantization of fields and implementing higher-dimensional QIP like that done with other platforms such as orbital angular momentum.