Abstract
We report a direct measurement of the Wigner function characterizing the quantum state of a light mode. The experimental scheme is based on the representation of the Wigner function as an expectation value of a displaced photon number parity operator. This allowed us to scan the phase space point-by-point, and obtain the complete Wigner function without using any numerical reconstruction algorithms.
- Received 9 March 1999
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.60.674
©1999 American Physical Society