Copyright © 2010 A. Casado et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

We apply the Wigner function formalism to partial Bell-state analysis using polarization entanglement produced in parametric down conversion. Two-photon statistics at a beam-splitter are reproduced by a wave-like description with zeropoint fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. In particular, the fermionic behaviour of two photons in the singlet state is explained from the invariance on the correlation properties of two light beams going through a balanced beam-splitter. Moreover, we show that a Bell-state measurement introduces some fundamental noise at the idle channels of the analyzers. As a consequence, the consideration of more independent sets of vacuum modes entering the crystal appears as a need for a complete Bell-state analysis.