Photon entanglement through linear optics networks with birefringent crystals

We develop a linear optics network for the generation of photonic entangled states via designing a quantum circuit consisting of optical elements, i.e., beam splitters and birefringent crystals. To achieve the purpose, at first we introduce non-entangled single-photon states with their Gaussian spectral amplitude functions as the inputs of the circuit. Then, we show that the outcome of the circuit is an entangled Gaussian photonic state characterized with its covariance matrix. The quantum optical Gaussian states constitute an important class of robust quantum states which are manipulatable by the existing technologies. Meanwhile, we investigate the generation of biphoton entangled states, in detail. Also, we evaluate the concurrence (as a measure of entanglement) and also the probability density function (PDF) corresponding to biphoton states. In the continuation, we study other possible applications of such quantum circuits. We demonstrate that how one can estimate the position of outcome, i.e., the probability of finding entangled photons in a confidence ellipsoid. Our numerical results show that the entanglement of biphoton states strongly depends on their correlation matrix. As an outstanding feature, the PDF of the output state of the circuit provides an elegant criterion to identify the entangled photonic states from their separable counterparts. The designed quantum circuit and the obtained results may be implemented in the development of quantum information and communication protocols with continuous variables, besides their practical importance in realizing more complicated quantum networks