Full characterization of the quantum spiral bandwidth of entangled biphotons

Abstract

Spontaneous parametric down-conversion has been shown to be a reliable source of entangled photons. Among the wide range of properties shown to be entangled, it is the orbital angular momentum that is the focus of our study. We investigate, in particular, the bi-photon state generated using a Gaussian pump beam. We derive an expression for the simultaneous correlations in the orbital angular momentum, $\ensuremath{\ell}$, and radial momentum, $p$, of the down-converted Laguerre-Gaussian beams. Our result allows us, for example, to calculate the spiral bandwidth with no restriction on the geometry of the beams: $\ensuremath{\ell}$, $p$, and the beam widths are all free parameters. Moreover, we show that, with the usual paraxial and collinear approximations, a fully analytic expression for the correlations can be derived.