Scalable photonic quantum processing via isometric energy-conserving transformations: bridging hybrid optical modes
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The precise manipulation of quantum states of light lies at the heart of advancing photonic technologies, yet scalable solutions for hybrid photonic systems—where disparate optical modes such as polarization, time-bin, and frequency must coherently interact—remain a critical challenge. While current literature demonstrates various energy-conserving devices that effectively map between Hilbert spaces of unequal dimensions, there is a growing need for frameworks that address variable-dimensional transformations in a more unified manner. In this paper, we introduce an operator-level framework that systematically integrates both unitary and rectangular isometric energy-conserving transformations in multi-dimensional photonic systems. Unlike prior mode-specific approaches, our formalism enables modular modeling of hybrid optical modes within effective signal spaces, offering practical tools for scalable photonic quantum processors. By classifying these transformations into fixed- and variable-dimensional regimes, we derive universal design criteria for energy-conserving photonic signal processors. This work not only advances the fundamental understanding of photonic quantum processing but also delivers actionable tools for engineering next-generation scalable optical technologies, including multi-purpose, programmable photonic circuits, energy-efficient optical signal processing in reconfigurable networks, and high-dimensional quantum key distribution with hybrid mode encoding.
Source: Optics Continuum
Language: English
Subfield: Artificial Intelligence
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,372
OpenAlex ID: W4415028824