Abstract

We realize an experimental implementation of one step of a quantum random walk at the single-photon level. After a single step, it is already possible to observe the difference between the quantum and classical random walk. The single photon is obtained using twin photons from parametric down-conversion, in which the detection of one photon of the idler prepares a single-photon state of the signal. We used two different experimental setups, one based on an interferometer and a second using a birefringent crystal. The physical process behind these effects is the spatial reshaping of the single-photon wave packet, which is the spatial analog of the time reshaping observed in tunneling experiments.