Tunable Bell-inequality violations by non-maximally-violating states in type-II parametric down-conversion

Abstract

We use a tunable quantum interference in type-II parametric down-conversion to construct two-photon quantum states that exhibit less-than-maximal, and tunable, violations of Bell-type inequalities. These states, no longer singlet-state analogs, possess an interference term of controllable magnitude that we adjust by tuning the measurement bandwidth. We show violations of two Bell-type inequalities in polarization variables, one more general than the other. We use these tunable violations to probe the threshold degree of interference that must be present to generate a violation, using an appropriate quantitative figure of merit.