HOMODYNE PHOTON STATISTICS OF THE SUBTHRESHOLD DEGENERATE PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR

Homodyne statistics when the light from a degenerate parametric oscillator (DPO) is mixed with coherent light from a local oscillator are discussed. By using dynamical models of these beams we discuss the photon sequences underlying the superposed beam in terms of photoelectric pulse sequences recorded by a detector. The field produced by the parametric oscillator is expressed in terms of two independent real Gaussian random variables. Using this property of the field variables, we derive the generating function for the photoelectron statistics analytically. From this generating function, expressions for the photoelectron-counting distribution, factorial moments, and the waiting-time distribution are derived. These quantities are directly measurable in photon-counting experiments. The results reported here axe applicable to arbitrary strengths of the signal and the local-oscillator fields. We also show that, depending on the relative strength and relative phase between coherent light from the local oscillator and squeezed light from the DPO, the superposed light beam may exhibit many interesting nonclassical features. These and other effects are described and curves axe presented to illustrate the behavior.