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Updated: Feb 17, 2026

A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference
Published on: September 5, 2019
Photonic Counterparts of Cooper Pairs
André Saraiva1, Filomeno S de Aguiar Júnior2, Reinaldo de Melo E Souza1,3
1Instituto de Física, UFRJ, CP 68528, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-972, Brazil.
Abstract:
The microscopic theory of superconductivity raised the disruptive idea that electrons couple through the elusive exchange of virtual phonons, overcoming the strong Coulomb repulsion to form Cooper pairs. Light is also known to interact with atomic vibrations, as, for example, in the Raman effect. We show that photon pairs exchange virtual vibrations in transparent media, leading to an effective photon-photon interaction identical to that for electrons in the BCS theory of superconductivity, in spite of the fact that photons are bosons. In this scenario, photons may exchange energy without matching a quantum of vibration of the medium. As a result, pair correlations for photons scattered away from the Raman resonances are expected to be enhanced. An experimental demonstration of this effect is provided here by time-correlated Raman measurements in different media. The experimental data confirm our theoretical interpretation of a photonic Cooper pairing, without the need for any fitting parameters.
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