Nonclassical statistics of intracavity coupled χ⁽²⁾ waveguides: The quantum optical dimer

A model is proposed where two χ⁽²⁾ nonlinear waveguides are contained in a cavity suited for second-harmonic generation. The evanescent wave coupling between the waveguides is considered as weak, and the interplay between this coupling and the nonlinear interaction within the waveguides gives rise to quantum violations of the standard quantum limit. Pronounced twin-beam behavior is observed as almost complete noise suppression in the difference as well as the sum of the waveguide intensities close to bistable transitions, self-pulsing instabilities as well as the transition from symmetric to asymmetric states. The correlations imply strong correlations and anticorrelations induced by the coupling. The violations of the standard quantum limit are particularly strong when two instabilities are competing. The results are based on the full quantum Langevin equations derived from the boson operator Hamiltonian and including cavity damping effects. The intensity correlations of the output fields are calculated semianalytically using a linearized version of the Langevin equations derived through the positive-P representation. Confirmation of the analytical results are obtained by numerical simulations of the nonlinear Langevin equations derived using the truncated Wigner representation.