Near-field correlations in the two-photon field

In experiments with spontaneous parametric down conversion the near-field plane is usually defined as the output facet of the generating crystal. Experimentally, however, the spatial correlations are accessed via an imaging system and observed in a region around the image of the output facet. We show that the imaged two-photon field has a very rich transverse and longitudinal structure, which is determined by the phase-matching conditions. We observe many intriguing three-dimensional structures that demonstrate the presence of spatial antibunching, an extreme localization of twin photons, and spatial correlations that resemble Bessel beams in propagation. We link these observations with previous results in second harmonic generation and predict the presence of fourth-order phase singularities. Both experiments and theory are presented, yielding further insight into the nature of the two-photon field. ©2009 The American Physical Society