The quantum optical description of a Fabry-Perot interferometer and the prediction of an antibunching effect

Abstract

Abstract In this paper we describe a Fabry-Perot interferometer in the language of quantum optics. We go on to model the Fabry-Perot interferometer as a beam splitter having frequency dependent transmissivity and reflectivity coefficients. The antibunching, a totally non-classical effect, is to be expected if one excites this interferometer with carefully frequency-selected single photons arriving simultaneously from opposite directions. For carefully chosen frequencies, even slightly different color single photons should be able to show this effect, as long as the photon counters are not frequency selective. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]