2012/06/18 by Takahisa Mitsui, Mitsui, Takahisa, Kenichiro Aoki +1
Decision Sciences · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det) #Optical Polarization and Ellipsometry #Optics (physics.optics) #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #Scientific Measurement and Uncertainty Evaluation #physics.ins-det #physics.optics #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1206.3828
4figs
arxiv created 2012/06/18 · openalex publication_date 2012/06/18 · arxiv updated 2012/06/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A Michelson interferometer with noise reduction to sub-shot noise levels is proposed and realized. Multiple measurements of a single signal beam are taken and the quantum property of light plays an essential role in the principle underlying this interferometry. The method makes use of the coherent state of light and requires only a simple modification to the standard Michelson interferometer. The surface fluctuation spectra of liquids are measured using this method down to a few orders of magnitude below the shot noise level. The spectrum derived from hydrodynamical considerations agrees well with the observed results for water. However, for oil, slight deviations are seen at high frequencies (\gtrsim1 MHz), perhaps indicating its more complex underlying physics. The measurement requires a relatively low light power and a short time, so that it has a wide range of applicability.