Dispersion cancellation in a measurement of the single-photon propagation velocity in glass

Abstract

We have demonstrated for the first time that single photons in glass travel at the group velocity, and have observed a novel, nonlocal dispersion-cancellation effect. We used a two-photon interferometer in which a conjugate pair of photons produced in parametric fluorescence travel separate paths and are detected in coincidence after being recombined at a beam splitter. A piece of glass was placed in the path of one of the photons, and a variable delay was adjusted to precisely compensate for it. The single-photon propagation time was thus measured to within approximately 4 fsec.