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# Empirical Verification of the Fe II Oscillator Strengths in the FUSE BandpassBased on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the data archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under the NASA contract NAS 5-26555.

## 1 Introduction

The measurement and analysis of absorption lines provides the basis for much of our understanding of the content, physical conditions, and evolution of the gas-phase interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies. Measurements of gas-phase abundances using such techniques have allowed us to study the fundamental “cosmic” abundances of the solar neighborhood (e.g., Meyer, Jura, & Cardelli 1998; Meyer, Cardelli, & Sofia 1997) and the composition and processing of interstellar dust in the warm neutral medium (e.g., Howk, Savage, & Fabian 1999; Fitzpatrick 1997; Sembach & Savage 1996; Sofia, Cardelli, & Savage 1994) and the warm ionized medium (Howk & Savage 1999). Using absorption line measurements from the International Ultraviolet Explorer and the Hubble Space Telescope, quality abundance measurements have in a few cases been extended to the ISM of the Magellanic Clouds (Welty et al. 1999a; Roth & Blades 1995) and to the high velocity cloud system of the Galaxy (Wakker et al. 1999; Lu et al. 1998). The latter examples are potentially important as low-redshift comparisons for the abundances derived in the damped Lyman-$`\alpha `$ systems (e.g., Prochaska & Wolfe 1999; Pettini et al. 1997, 1999; Lu et al. 1996), which can be used to study the chemical evolutionary history of the universe over most of a Hubble time.

The recently-launched Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE; see Moos et al. 2000; Sahnow et al. 2000), a dedicated spectroscopic observatory operating in the wavelength range 905 to 1187 Å, will provide a wealth of data on gas-phase abundances of abundant elements in the local universe. Of these, iron is particularly important since it is both an indicator of the overall metal-enrichment of the gas as well as a significant constituent of interstellar dust grains (Savage & Sembach 1996). FUSE will observe interstellar clouds towards more than 50 stars in the Magellanic Clouds (e.g., Friedman et al. 2000), and tens of objects projected against high-velocity clouds (e.g., Murphy et al. 2000; Sembach et al. 2000). FUSE will also provide measurements of the abundances in low-redshift intergalactic absorbers (e.g., Oegerle et al. 2000; Shull et al. 2000). FUSE has sufficient resolution ($`\lambda /\mathrm{\Delta }\lambda 15,000`$) to give reliable ionic column densities in many cases, if the adopted oscillator strengths are reliable.

While most of the near-ultraviolet (NUV; $`\lambda 1200`$ Å) ground-state transitions of Fe II used to determine interstellar abundances have well-determined $`f`$-values that are tied to absolute laboratory measurements (Bergeson, Mullman, & Lawler 1994, Bergeson et al. 1996, Mullman, Sakai, & Lawler 1997), the far-ultraviolet (FUV; $`\lambda 1200`$ Å) transitions of Fe II are not as well constrained. In his new compilation of atomic oscillator strengths for use in absorption line measurements, Morton (2000) adopts the theoretical calculations of Raassen & Uylings (1998; hereafter RU98) in this wavelength range. These calculations, performed using the orthogonal operator technique with experimentally-determined energy levels, provide results that agree well with the laboratory measurement of many of the NUV transitions of both Fe II and Co II (with average deviations of 10% or less; see RU98).

Even though the agreement between theory and laboratory measurements for the NUV lines is encouraging, an experimental check on the $`f`$-values of the commonly-observed Fe II transitions in the FUSE bandpass is desirable. In this work we have empirically determined the absolute $`f`$-values of several FUV ground-state transitions of Fe II. Our emphasis is on those transitions in the wavelength range $`1100\lambda 1150`$ Å, which contains transitions spanning more than a factor of 30 in oscillator strength, though we also present results for a few shorter-wavelength transitions. Table 1 summarizes the results of this study, giving our final derived $`f`$-values and comparing our values with empirical and theoretical values from the literature. In general we find very good agreement between our empirically-derived oscillator strengths and the theoretical results of RU98. There are several exceptions, including the transitions at 1112.048, 1121.975, and 1127.098 Å.

We have used a multi-step approach to derive the oscillator strengths given in Table 1. First, we used observations of three nearby stars ($`\zeta `$ Ophiuchi, $`\delta `$ Orionis, and $`\mu `$ Columbae) taken with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) on-board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and literature measurements from the Copernicus satellite to determine the $`f`$-values of several FUV transitions using apparent optical depth (AOD; Savage & Sembach 1991), component fitting (see Howk et al. 1999), and curve-of-growth fitting methods (e.g., see Jenkins 1986). The oscillator strength measurements were placed on an absolute scale by reference to NUV transitions of Fe II whose oscillator strengths have been measured in the laboratory (Mullman et al. 1997; Bergeson et al. 1994, 1996). This analysis provided reliable $`f`$-value determinations for Fe II $`\lambda \lambda 1125`$, 1133, 1143, and 1144111We will often refer to transitions by rounding the Morton (2000) values for their wavelengths downward. Hence, Fe II $`\lambda 1144`$ refers to the line at 1144.938 Å. that are in excellent agreement with the theoretical calculations of RU98. This portion of our study is presented in §2.

With these well-determined absolute $`f`$-values in hand, we then used FUSE observations of 15 stars and curve-of-growth fitting methods to place the 1112, 1121, 1127, and 1142 Å transitions on the same absolute oscillator strength scale. Most of the sightlines used for determining these $`f`$-values are towards stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC; 12 of 15 stars); the remaining stars are located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC; 2 stars) and in the low halo of the Milky Way (1 object). We find an oscillator strength for the 1142 Å transition that agrees with the calculations of RU98, although the other three transitions examined require adjustments of 30% to 140%. This phase of the study is presented in §3.

We summarize our work and discuss its implications in §4.

## 2 GHRS and Copernicus Measurements of Fe II Oscillator Strengths at Far-Ultraviolet Wavelengths

In this section we derive the absolute oscillator strengths of several FUV Fe II transitions using archival GHRS data and literature measurements from the Copernicus satellite.

For this treatment we have chosen to focus on three well-observed, well-studied sightlines for which high-quality GHRS data and accurate Copernicus measurements exist, covering both the FUV lines with unknown $`f`$-values and the NUV lines with measured $`f`$-values. The three sightlines used here are the $`\mu `$ Col (Howk et al. 1999; Shull & York 1977), $`\zeta `$ Oph (Savage, Cardelli, & Sofia 1992; Morton 1975), and $`\delta `$ Ori (see Bohlin et al. 1983) sightlines.

Our reduction of the archival GHRS data is discussed in §2.1. We have used three independent techniques to derive absolute Fe II oscillator strengths with these data. These are the three methods commonly used for deriving ionic column densities and include the apparent optical depth method of Savage & Sembach (1991), which we apply to the determination of $`f`$-values using the $`\mu `$ Col datasets in §2.2, component fitting techniques, which are applied to the $`\mu `$ Col sightline in §2.3, and curve-of-growth fitting, which is applied to all three sightlines in §2.4. We summarize the results of our GHRS and Copernicus analysis in §2.5.

### 2.1 GHRS Observations and Data Reduction

We have used archival GHRS observations of $`\mu `$ Col (HD 38666), $`\delta `$ Ori (HD 36486), and $`\zeta `$ Oph (HD 149757) to measure equivalent widths of FUV (and some NUV) Fe II transitions along these three sightlines. Although the nominal short-wavelength limit of the GHRS is 1150 Å, given the low efficiency of the MgF2 coatings of the HST optics at wavelengths shortward of 1150 Å, observations at such wavelengths are possible for sufficiently bright targets. Howk et al. (1999) have demonstrated this capability, presenting GHRS observations of Fe III $`\lambda 1122`$, the $`\lambda `$1134 triplet of N I, and Fe II $`\lambda \lambda 1133`$, 1143, and 1144 towards the low-halo star $`\mu `$ Col.

A log of the GHRS observations used in this work is given in Table 2. For the sightlines towards $`\mu `$ Col and $`\zeta `$ Oph, details of the observations at $`\lambda >1200`$ Å are given by Howk et al. (1999) and Savage et al. (1992). The GHRS data towards $`\delta `$ Ori are presented here for the first time.

Our reduction of the archival GHRS data follows that of Howk et al. (1999). The basic calibration makes use of the standard CALHRS routine222CALHRS is part of the standard Space Telescope Science Institute pipeline and the STSDAS IRAF reduction package. It is also distributed via the GHRS Instrument Definition Team for the IDL package. using the best calibration reference files as of the end of the GHRS mission. The CALHRS processing includes conversion of raw counts to count rates and corrections for particle radiation contamination, dark counts, known diode nonuniformities, paired pulse events and scattered light. The wavelength calibration was derived from the standard calibration tables. The absolute wavelength scale should be accurate to $`\pm 1`$ resolution element (see Table 2).

The final data reduction was performed using software developed and tested at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This includes the merging of individual spectra and allowing for additional refinements to the scattered light correction for echelle-mode observations. The inter-order scattered light removal in GHRS echelle-mode data discussed by Cardelli et al. (1990, 1993) is based upon extensive pre-flight and in-orbit analysis of GHRS data and is used by the CALHRS routine; the coefficients derived by these authors are appropriate for observations made through the small science aperture (SSA). The scattered light coefficients for the large science aperture (LSA) observations of $`\mu `$ Col used in this work are given in Table 2 of Howk et al. (1999). The first-order G140M, G160M, and G200M holographic gratings have very little scattered light, and no adjustment has been made to the zero point of spectra taken with these gratings.

In all cases the GHRS absorption line data were normalized with low-order ($`<5`$) Legendre polynomial fits to the local stellar continuum, as discussed by Sembach & Savage (1992; see their Appendix). Figure 1 shows the continuum-normalized absorption profiles of the Fe II absorption lines towards $`\delta `$ Ori. The top three profiles, observed with the first-order G160M grating, have a velocity resolution of $`\mathrm{\Delta }v21`$ km s-1, while the lower three lines were observed with the Ech-B echelle grating at a resolution of $`\mathrm{\Delta }v3.5`$ km s-1.

We have measured the equivalent widths for interstellar Fe II absorption lines along these three sightlines following Sembach & Savage (1992); these are given in Table 3. The error estimates include continuum placement uncertainties and the effects of a $`2\%`$ zero-level uncertainty. Also given are Copernicus and GHRS literature measurements for several transitions.

The NUV ($`\lambda >1200`$ Å) lines listed in Table 3 are considered reference transitions in our analysis. For these lines, we adopt oscillator strengths derived from the quality laboratory measurements of Mullman et al. (1997) and Bergeson et al. (1994, 1996). The laboratory determinations of the $`f`$-values for these transitions are given in Table 4 along with the $`f`$-values calculated by RU98 for comparison.

### 2.2 Apparent Optical Depth Analysis

The apparent optical depth method for interpreting absorption line spectra has been discussed by Savage & Sembach (1991) and Jenkins (1996). Its application to empirically deriving atomic oscillator strengths from astrophysical data has been discussed by Cardelli & Savage (1995) and Sofia, Fabian, & Howk (2000). The apparent optical depth, $`\tau _a(v)`$, an instrumentally-blurred version of the true optical depth of an absorption line, is given by

$$\tau _a(v)=\mathrm{ln}\left[I(v)/I_o(v)\right]$$
(1)
where $`I_o(v)`$ is the estimated continuum intensity and $`I(v)`$ is the observed intensity of the line as a function of velocity. This is related to the apparent column density per unit velocity, $`N_a(v)`$ \[in units $`\mathrm{atoms}\mathrm{cm}^2(\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1)^1`$\], by

$$N_a(v)=\frac{m_ec}{\pi e^2}\frac{\tau _a(v)}{f\lambda }=3.768\times 10^{14}\frac{\tau _a(v)}{f\lambda (\text{Å})},$$
(2)
where $`\lambda `$ is the wavelength in Å, and $`f`$ is the atomic oscillator strength. In the absence of unresolved saturated structure the $`N_a(v)`$ profile of a line is a valid, instrumentally-blurred representation of the true column density distribution as a function of velocity, $`N(v)`$. Where unresolved saturated structure is present, the values of the $`N_a(v)`$ profile are lower limits to the true instrumentally-blurred values of $`N(v)`$.

For regions of absorption that are well-resolved, i.e., where $`N_a(v)`$ represents $`N(v)`$ well,

$$\tau _a(v)\lambda fN(v).$$
(3)
If one compares two absorption lines from the same species, the ratio of their apparent optical depths over this well-resolved region should simply be the ratio of their respective values of $`\lambda f`$. Hence, the apparent column density profiles of multiple Fe II transitions can be used to derive relative oscillator strengths.

The sightline towards $`\mu `$ Col exhibits a blend of warm components centered on $`v_{\mathrm{LSR}}+3`$ km s-1 (component 1 of Howk et al. 1999) stretching from $`v_{\mathrm{LSR}}17`$ to $`+16`$ km s-1. This blend of components is well-resolved with the echelle-mode gratings of the GHRS. Howk et al. (1999) have shown lines of Fe II as strong as $`\lambda 2374.461`$ ($`f=0.0313`$) and $`\lambda 2586.650`$ ($`f=0.0691`$) exhibit no unresolved saturation over this velocity range (see their Figure 9). Components 2 through 4 ($`v_{\mathrm{LSR}}+16`$ to +47) along this sightline show varying degrees of unresolved saturated structure in the strongest lines.

We have used the $`N_a(v)`$ profiles of Fe II $`\lambda \lambda 1143`$ and 1144 derived from GHRS echelle-mode observations of the $`\mu `$ Col sightline to determine the $`f`$-values of these transitions by comparison with the $`N_a(v)`$ profiles of several NUV lines of Fe II. We have limited our use of the $`N_a(v)`$ profiles for determining $`f`$-values to those FUV transitions that were observed with the echelle-mode gratings on the GHRS with high signal-to-noise. This restriction is adopted to avoid problems with unresolved saturated structure. This limits our use of the $`N_a(v)`$ method of deriving oscillator strengths to the observations of Fe II $`\lambda \lambda 1143`$ and 1144 towards $`\mu `$ Col.

Using the NUV Fe II 2249.877, 2374.461, and 1608.451 Å profiles as reference transitions, we have calculated the value $`f_\lambda /f_{ref}`$ that minimizes $`\chi ^2`$ for each pair of unknown (FUV) and reference (NUV) line profiles. We have used only absorption from component 1 ($`v_{\mathrm{LSR}}17`$ to $`+16`$ km s-1) to avoid potential unresolved saturated structure. The presence of such structure in the strong $`\lambda 1144`$ transition would reveal itself through a divergence of the $`N_a(v)`$ profiles for highest $`\tau _a(v)`$ of the strong line compared with a weaker transition. We find no evidence for such saturation in the $`\lambda 1144`$ profile compared with, e.g., the $`\lambda 1608`$ profile. However, the noise in the $`\lambda 1144`$ profile can cause points with high $`\tau _a(v)`$ to have artificially high optical depths. To avoid biases associated with low signal to noise over a limited velocity range, we have restricted our analysis to data points having $`\tau _a2.5`$ in determining the $`f`$-values using the $`\lambda 1144`$ profile.

Table 5 summarizes all of our GHRS $`f`$-value determinations, giving the RU98 theoretical $`f`$-value, the average of our determinations for each line, the individual $`f`$-value measurements, and the star, instrument, and method used in deriving those measurements. The oscillator strengths derived as described above are marked AOD (apparent optical depth) in Table 5 and represent the average value of the $`f`$-values derived using each of the three reference transitions. For $`\lambda \lambda `$1143 and 1144 we derive $`f=0.0206(8)`$ and $`0.107(4)`$, respectively, using the apparent optical depth method. The errors include contributions from the uncertainties in the reference oscillator strengths, as well as the sources of error discussed by Howk et al. (1999).

The $`N_a(v)`$ profiles for the FUV Fe II lines $`\lambda \lambda `$1144 and 1143 are compared with the reference transitions $`\lambda \lambda `$1608 and 2374 in Figure 2 using our final $`f`$-values from Table 1. The profiles of the reference lines are plotted using open squares, while the circles show the $`\lambda \lambda `$1144 and 1143 profiles. For the lines shown in Figure 2, the agreement between the $`N_a(v)`$ profiles is excellent across the entire velocity range.

### 2.3 Component Fitting Analysis

The component structure of the neutral ISM along the $`\mu `$ Col sightline has been studied through an analysis of nearly 50 lines of 14 species from dominant ionization states (Howk et al. 1999). We make use of the Howk et al. component structure to determine the $`f`$-values of the FUV Fe II lines, following Fitzpatrick (1997) and Sofia et al. (2000). This method of analysis is most reliable when using high-resolution data, as the details of the component structure along a sightline can be hidden at lower resolution. Hence we do not apply this method to the FUV intermediate-resolution GHRS data for any of the sightlines, which precludes use of the $`\delta `$ Ori and $`\zeta `$ Oph sightlines for determining $`f`$-values in this way.

We use the component-fitting software originally written by E. Fitzpatrick and described by Spitzer & Fitzpatrick (1993) and Fitzpatrick & Spitzer (1997). This code has been updated to account for the post-COSTAR instrumental line spread function of GHRS observations made through the LSA (see Appendix A of Howk et al. 1999). A model for the interstellar medium along the sightline was constructed by assuming a number of “clouds,” or components, along the line of sight. Each component was defined by its column density, central velocity, and Dopper spread parameter ($`b`$-value). These three parameters were varied for each component until a minimum $`\chi ^2`$ value between the model, convolved by the instrumental spread function, and the original data was found. In the case of Fe II, which has many ultraviolet transitions, the component structure was tested simultaneously against all of the available absorption profiles (each of which was given an input $`f`$-value).

We have derived oscillator strengths of the FUV 1143 and 1144 Å transitions by simultaneously fitting all of the Fe II lines (see Table 3 and Howk et al. 1999) observed with the echelle-mode observations, allowing not only the parameters of the component model to vary, but also the $`f`$-values of the FUV transitions. The final derived component structure is indistinguishable from the results presented in Tables 5 and 6 of Howk et al. (1999), which is expected given that the same NUV transitions are used here to define the component structure while allowing the FUV $`f`$-values to vary in the fit. Table 5 gives the resulting $`f`$-values for $`\lambda \lambda 1143`$ and 1144 with $`\pm 1\sigma `$ error estimates. We have allowed for a $`4\%`$ zero-point uncertainty in the FUV lines. This seems prudent given that the observations were made through the LSA at wavelengths for which relatively little scattered light information exists for the GHRS echelle modes.

Figure 3 shows the observed absorption profiles of several Fe II profiles from the $`\mu `$ Col dataset with the component model overplotted. We have assumed the best-fit $`f`$-values derived through this method when displaying the 1143 and 1144 Å model profiles, namely $`f=0.0181`$ and 0.120, respectively. The ticks above the $`\lambda \lambda `$1143 and 1608 profiles show the locations of the centroids of the components in the assumed model (see Howk et al. 1999).

### 2.4 Curve of Growth Fitting Analysis

The ionic column densities along a sightline can be derived by fitting a curve of growth to the measured equivalent widths (Jenkins 1986; Spitzer 1978). Most often this approach assumes the absorption along a sightline can be approximated by a single Gaussian (Maxwellian) absorption model (e.g., Morton 1975). While this approximation is not always valid and can yield erroneous results, particularly when using lines of large peak optical depths (see, e.g., Jenkins 1987), it is possible to derive accurate column densities through this method (Jenkins 1986).

We use curve of growth fitting for the $`\mu `$ Col, $`\zeta `$ Oph, and $`\delta `$ Ori sightlines, using the equivalent widths given in Table 3, to derive oscillator strengths of the FUV Fe II $`f`$-values. To do this, we fit a single-component Maxwellian curve of growth to the NUV lines of Fe II for each star. Then, using the derived column densities and $`b`$-values, we determine the oscillator strength required to make the measured equivalent widths for each FUV line in Table 3 lie on the derived curve of growth. Recent studies have used similar curve of growth fitting techniques to derive oscillator strengths of C I (Zsargó, Federman, & Cardelli 1997), Ni II (Zsargó & Federman 1998), and Fe II (Cardelli & Savage 1995).

The results of this fitting process are summarized in Table 5. Figure 4 shows the curve of growth fit to the measured equivalent widths for the $`\mu `$ Col sightline. The solid points show the NUV lines used to derive the curve of growth, while the open symbols show the FUV measurements assuming the final $`f`$-values summarized in Table 1. The derived sightline-integrated column density, $`\mathrm{log}N(\text{Fe }\text{II})=14.29\pm 0.02`$, is consistent with the value adopted by Howk et al. (1999), $`\mathrm{log}N(\text{Fe }\text{II})=14.31\pm 0.01`$, based upon component fitting and apparent optical depth techniques. The best fit $`b`$-value is $`b=12.9\pm 0.2`$ km s-1.

For the $`\zeta `$ Oph sightline we derive $`\mathrm{log}N(\text{Fe }\text{II})=14.49\pm 0.02`$; Savage & Sembach (1996) derive $`\mathrm{log}N(\text{Fe }\text{II})=14.51\pm 0.02`$. The best fit $`b`$-value is $`b=6.6\pm 0.2`$ km s-1, consistent with the Copernicus study of Morton (1975). This curve of growth is shown in Figure 5. The FUV lines are placed on this diagram using the final $`f`$-values summarized in Table 1.

Towards $`\delta `$ Ori our best fit curve of growth gives $`\mathrm{log}N(\text{Fe }\text{II})=14.08\pm 0.03`$ and $`b=10.3\pm 1.2`$ km s-1; this fit is shown in Figure 6. We have not used the 2600 Å transition in constructing this fit given its very large optical depth (see Jenkins 1987). For comparison we derive $`\mathrm{log}N_a(\text{Fe }\text{II})=14.08\pm 0.02`$ by a straight integration of the $`N_a(v)`$ profile of $`\lambda `$2260. The peak apparent optical depth of this line is $`\tau _a=0.113\pm 0.002`$. An integration of the $`\lambda `$2374 profile, which has a peak apparent optical depth of $`\tau _a=1.440\pm 0.004`$, yields $`\mathrm{log}N_a(\text{Fe }\text{II})=14.02\pm 0.01`$. Although this suggests a modest degree of saturation in the $`\lambda `$2374 profile (all in the component centered near $`v_{\mathrm{LSR}}+10`$ km s-1), this line is a factor of 15 stronger than the 2260 Å transition. Given the low optical depth of the 2260 Å absorption and the relatively weak saturation for the much stronger 2374 Å line, we believe the apparent column density derived from the $`\lambda `$2260 profile is an accurate measure of the true column density, which is in agreement with that derived from our curve of growth fit.

### 2.5 Summary of GHRS/Copernicus Oscillator Strength Determinations

Table 5 summarizes the results of our $`f`$-value determinations using GHRS and Copernicus measurements. For each transition studied, this table gives the theoretically calculated $`f`$-value from RU98 and the unweighted mean, $`f_\lambda `$, of our individual $`f`$-value determinations. Two measures of the errors in the mean are given: the formal statistical error and, where appropriate, the standard deviation of the individual measurements, $`f_\lambda ^i`$, about the mean. Each of the individual $`f`$-value measurements is listed, along with the sightline, instrument, and method used to derive the individual measurement.

The oscillator strengths for the transitions at 1144.938, 1143.226, 1133.665, and 1125.448 Å all not only show good agreement with the theoretical values of RU98, but also have a reasonable number of consistent individual measurements. The determination of the $`\lambda `$1144 oscillator strength could potentially be prone to systematic errors in the shape of the true curves of growth of the individual sightlines. As mentioned above, it is possible that the complicated, multi-component nature of the absorption along a given line of sight could cause the true curve of growth to deviate from the theoretical single-component Maxwellian curve used in our fits (see, e.g., Morton & Bhavsar 1979). Towards $`\delta `$ Ori, for example, $`\lambda `$1144 is the strongest transition placed on the curve of growth and is thus somewhat sensitive to the adopted $`b`$-value, which is not terribly well-constrained by the weaker transitions. Towards $`\mu `$ Col and $`\zeta `$ Oph (to a somewhat lesser extent) this transition is well-bracketted by secure measurements of the 1608.451 and 2586.650 Å lines. The agreement in the $`f`$-value derived for $`\lambda `$1144 towards $`\delta `$ Ori with those derived for the other two sightlines is encouraging, suggesting that the systematics in the determination are within the range of the errors. It is also encouraging to note that the apparent optical depth, component fitting, and curve of growth fitting results for $`\mu `$ Col are all in good agreement.

The 1055.262, 1063.972, and 1142.366 Å transitions have formally-calculated $`f`$-values that are consistent with the RU98 results. However, the individual measurements are sparse and often in poor agreement with one another. The oscillator strengths derived here for the 1121.975 and 1127.098 transitions are in poor agreement with the RU98 calculations, though there are a limited number of individual measurements for the latter line. In the next section we use FUSE data to constrain the oscillator strengths of several of these lines.

## 3 FUSE Measurements of Fe II Oscillator Strengths at Far Ultraviolet Wavelengths

We have derived oscillator strengths for several of the FUV Fe II transitions in the FUSE bandpass in the previous section. The individual determinations of the $`f`$-values of Fe II $`\lambda \lambda `$1125.448, 1133.665, 1143.226, and 1144.938 are in good agreement with one another. Furthermore, the oscillator strengths derived for these transitions are consistent with the theoretical calculations of RU98. We believe that the $`f`$-values for these FUV transitions, as given in Table 5, are secure, and we will use these oscillator strengths to derive estimates for the $`f`$-values of Fe II $`\lambda \lambda `$1112.048, 1121.975, 1127.098, and 1142.366 using a suite of FUSE observations of absorption along extended pathlengths through the Milky Way.

The FUSE data used in this section, which are summarized in Table 6, were taken in late-1999/early-2000. Most of the stars in the current sample are located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), with two objects in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), and one in the Milky Way. We describe the details of the observations and reduction of the FUSE datasets in §3.1. The use of these FUSE data to constrain the remaining Fe II oscillator strengths is described in §3.2.

### 3.1 FUSE Observations and Data Reduction

The FUSE data for this investigation were obtained during the commissioning and early science operations stages of the FUSE mission. An observation log can be found in Table 6. Each observation was performed with the source centered in the $`30\mathrm{}\times 30\mathrm{}`$ aperture of the LiF1 spectrograph channel.333The K1-16 data were obtained as part of in-orbit checkout activities that required multiple exposures with the object at different locations within the aperture. The processing of this observation required special care to ensure that the individual exposures were shifted and summed properly. This will be discussed in more detail by Kruk et al. (2000, in prep.). In many cases, the LiF2 channel was co-aligned well enough with the LiF1 channel that a second set of spectra covering the 1000–1187 Å wavelength range was obtained. Exposure times ranged from 3 ksec to 27 ksec for the Magellanic Cloud stars observed. The time-tagged photon event lists were processed through the standard FUSE calibration pipeline (CALFUSE) available at the Johns Hopkins University. Pipeline version 1.5.3 was used for the 1999 observations, and version 1.6.8 was used for the February 2000 observations. The photon lists were screened for valid data with constraints imposed for earth limb angle avoidance and passage through the South Atlantic Anomaly. Corrections for detector backgrounds, Doppler shifts caused by spacecraft orbital motions, and geometrical distortions were applied (Sahnow et al. 2000; see also Blair et al. 2000). No corrections were made for optical astigmatism aberrations since the data were obtained prior to completion of in-orbit focusing activities. No flatfield solutions existed at the time of these observations; therefore, we compared the LiF1 and LiF2 spectra whenever possible to determine the significance of the observed features.

The processed data have a nominal spectral resolution of 20–25 km s-1 (FWHM), with a relative wavelength dispersion solution accuracy of $`6`$ km s-1 ($`1\sigma `$). The zero point of the wavelength scale for each individual observation is poorly determined, although the absolute velocities of the material are not important for our purposes. When necessary, small velocity shifts were applied to individual spectral lines to ensure that the line strength comparisons were judged over a common velocity scale. In particular, the lines at 1142, 1143, and 1144 Å were systematically shifted by $`20`$ km s-1 with respect to those at 1112, 1121, and 1125 Å using the dispersion solution applied to the data used in this work.

Figure 7 shows portions of the FUSE spectra of two O-type stars: Sk-65 22 in the LMC, and AV 232 in the SMC. These spectra represent only data from the LiF1 channel for each star. Most of the narrow interstellar lines in this bandpass are due to Fe II (see Table 1). Also present in these spectra are interstellar absorption from the Lyman (0-0) band of molecular hydrogen (near 1110.1, 1112.5, and 1115.5 Å), from Fe III at 1122.5 Å, and from a triplet of N I lines between 1134 and 1135 Å. These species are present in the Milky Way and the host galaxies of these stars, in some cases causing quite complex blending of the absorption. Prominent stellar wind lines are also visible in this spectrum, particularly the strong P Cygni profiles of P V $`\lambda \lambda `$1118.0 and 1128.0 and Si IV $`\lambda \lambda `$1122.5 and 1128.3.

We have measured equivalent widths of the Fe II lines in the spectra of all of the stars listed in Table 6 in the same manner as described above for the GHRS data. The measured equivalent widths are summarized in Table 7. For gas arising in the LMC or SMC, many of the Fe II lines with well-determined $`f`$-values are blended or in regions of uncertain continuum placement. Hence, we only present the equivalent widths of absorption lines arising from gas in the Milky Way.

The values in Table 7 are averages of the equivalent widths measured in the LiF1B and LiF2A detector segments (where the latter were available). When comparing spectra taken through the LiF1 and LiF2 channels, there are occasionally differences in the profiles of absorption lines in the two channels. This seems to be associated with the greater degree of fixed pattern noise in the LiF2A channel. Typically these profile differences result in large discrepancies in the measured equivalent widths between the two channels. In cases where the LiF1 and LiF2 measurements differ by more than $`2\sigma `$, we have discarded the measurements from both channels.

### 3.2 Curve of Growth Fitting Analysis

Our determination of oscillator strengths using FUSE data relies on curve of growth fitting methods and follows the procedure discussed in §2.4. We adopt the mean $`f`$-values of Fe II $`\lambda \lambda `$1125.448, 1133.665, 1143.226, and 1144.938 from Table 1 as our reference oscillator strengths and use these to derive the $`f`$-values of $`\lambda \lambda `$1112.048, 1121.975, 1127.098, and 1142.366. The results of this fitting procedure are summarized in Table 8. This table gives the individual $`f`$-value measurements, $`f_\lambda ^i`$, for each sightline. Given at the bottom of the table are the average, $`f_\lambda `$, of our $`f`$-value determinations and the RU98 theoretical oscillator strengths for these transitions. The average $`\lambda \lambda `$1121, 1127, and 1142 $`f`$-values were calculated using the FUSE determinations and the GHRS/Copernicus measurements given in Table 5. Also given with the average $`f`$-values are the statistical error (in parentheses) and standard deviation of the individual measurements about the mean (in brackets).

Two sample curves of growth are shown in Figure 8. These are towards the central star of a planetary nebula, K1-16, in the Milky Way and Sk-65 22 in the LMC. Each curve of growth represents only Galactic absorption. The best-fit column densities and $`b`$-values are shown on the plots. For the sightline towards Sk-65 22, the $`\lambda `$1143 absorption is not available due to blending with LMC $`\lambda `$1142 absorption.

Figure 9 shows the individual $`f`$-value determinations and error estimates for the 1112.048, 1121.975, 1127.098, and 1142.366 Å transitions. The ordinate of each panel shows the derived oscillator strength of the transition. Each measurement is offset along an otherwise meaningless abscissa. The open squares in Figure 9 mark measurements made using FUSE data (Table 8), while the filled circles mark estimates derived from GHRS and/or Copernicus data (Table 5). The dotted lines show the oscillator strengths calculated by RU98, while the thick dashed lines show the unweighted means of the individual $`f`$-value determinations derived in this work.

Our measurements of the $`f`$-value for $`\lambda `$1142 are consistent with the RU98 calculations. The empirically-derived oscillator strengths of the remaining three lines, however, differ significantly from the theoretical values. Of these, the 1121.975 Å transition is the most prone to systematic uncertainties in the curve of growth fitting technique. Its strength places it between the 1125 and 1144 Å transitions. It is somewhat sensitive to the adopted $`b`$-value, which is determined in large part by the strong 1144 Å transition. This could, for sightlines whose curves of growth depart strongly from the single-component, Doppler-broadened model assumed here, potentially cause systematic uncertainties in our $`f`$-value determination. Furthermore, because we only measure one line stronger than the 1121 Å transition, the determination of $`b`$-values could be skewed by systematics in the measurement of the strong 1144 Å line. The good agreement of the three GHRS/Copernicus determinations of $`f_{\lambda 1121}`$, which are quite secure, with the majority of the FUSE determinations suggests these systematics play a minor role. Systematics of this sort are likely of order $`5\%`$ given the the agreement of the FUSE and GHRS/Copernicus determinations.

The systematic uncertainties are likely small for the weaker 1112, 1127, and 1142 Å transitions, which all fall on or near the linear part of the curve of growth for the sightlines studied. In these cases the systematics associated with measurements of weak interstellar lines in FUSE data are more important than the peculiarities of the fitting procedures. It should be noted that we have found no systematic differences across our sample of sightlines between the equivalent widths measured in the LiF1 and LiF2 channels for the weak 1112, 1127, and 1142 Å transitions.

## 4 Discussion and Summary

We have presented a self-consistent set of empirically-derived $`f`$-values for the Fe II transitions in the range $`1100\lambda 1150`$ Å, which are placed on an absolute scale by reference to the NUV laboratory measurements of Mullman et al. (1997) and Bergeson et al. (1994, 1996). The results of our work are summarized in Table 1, where we compare the empirically-derived $`f`$-values from this work with previous theoretical and empirical determinations. Our derived oscillator strengths agree with the orthogonal operator calculations of Raassen & Uylings (1998), with the exception of those at 1112.048, 1121.975, and 1127.098 Å. This is shown graphically in Figure 10, which displays the ratio of our best $`f`$-values to the theoretical $`f`$-values of RU98 versus their values. Over a factor of 30 range in oscillator strengths we find good agreement (within $`1.5\sigma `$) between the RU98 strengths and those derived here for 8 of the 11 lines studied in this work.

Our $`f`$-value determinations are in good agreement, for the most part, with the empirical results of Lugger et al. (1982) and Shull, van Steenberg, & Seab (1983). The empirical determinations by van Buren (1986) are at times in disagreement with our values. To some extent the agreement of our work with these empirical studies is expected since these studies used curve of growth fitting methods (which carry the heaviest weight in our averages) for some of the same sightlines used here.

We note that our derived $`f`$-value for $`\lambda `$1142, $`f_{\lambda 1142}=0.0042(3)`$, is in disagreement with that of Cardelli & Savage (1995), who derive $`f_{\lambda 1142}=0.00247(32)`$ using GHRS observations of the star $`\beta ^1`$ Scorpii. We believe our determination is more robust since it does not rely on a single measurement, although the dispersion of our measurements about the mean is relatively large for this transition. Welty et al. (1999b; their Appendix) discuss the potential discrepancies in FUV Fe II oscillator strengths, noting that the Cardelli & Savage (1995) $`f`$-value for $`\lambda `$1142 might imply the need to revise the $`f`$-values of the 1143 and 1144 Å lines of the same multiplet. However, the RU98 calculations are in agreement with our empirical determinations for the FUV $`y^6F^o`$ multiplet transitions out of the ground state.

As the FUSE mission proceeds, there may be other opportunities (and requirements) for studying the atomic oscillator strengths at far ultraviolet wavelengths. Some of the more important species for which it will be important to test the quality of the current oscillator strengths include O I, N I, and the shorter wavelength Fe II transitions. These species will be well-observed by FUSE and will allow researchers to study the gas-phase abundances in a variety of environments, but only if the oscillator strengths are reasonably well known.

We thank E. Fitzpatrick for sharing his component fitting software with us. This work is based on data obtained for the Guaranteed Time Team by the NASA-CNES-CSA FUSE mission operated by the Johns Hopkins University. Financial support to U. S. participants has been provided by NASA contract NAS5-32985.


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# Experimental Demonstration of Optimal Unambiguous State Discrimination

## Abstract

We present the first full demonstration of unambiguous state discrimination between non-orthogonal quantum states. Using a novel free space interferometer we have realised the optimum quantum measurement scheme for two non-orthogonal states of light, known as the Ivanovic-Dieks-Peres (IDP) measurement. We have for the first time gained access to all three possible outcomes of this measurement. All aspects of this generalised measurement scheme, including its superiority over a standard von Neumann measurement, have been demonstrated within 1.5% of the IDP predictions.

PACS: 03.67.k, 03.65.Bz, 42.50.-p

One of the major themes of the emerging subject of quantum information is the classical information bearing capabilities of quantum systems. In classical physics, different signal states are, at least in principle, fully distinguishable, although errors do occur due the practical difficulty of eliminating noise. By contrast, the identification of signals carried by quantum states will, in general, be imperfect. This a consequence of the nature of the quantum measurement process, which implies that only orthogonal states can be distinguished perfectly. Consider two parties, Alice and Bob. Alice sends Bob a system prepared in some quantum state chosen from a set $`\{|\psi _j\}`$ known to Bob. Bob cannot construct a measuring apparatus which will conclusively identify which state Alice sent with zero probability of error unless the states $`|\psi _j`$ are orthonormal.

If the states are non-orthogonal, then Bob is forced by physical law to weaken the specifications of his measurement. He can relax the condition of accuracy, in which case his measurement result will sometimes be incorrect. If the signal is in one of two possible states, $`|\psi _\pm `$, with respective a priori probabilities $`\eta _\pm `$, then the minimum error probability is given by the Helstrom bound:

$$P_e(\mathrm{o}pt)=\frac{1}{2}\left(1\sqrt{14\eta _+\eta _{}|\psi _+|\psi _{}|^2}\right).$$
(1)
Notice that this is zero only when the states are orthogonal. Minimum error measurements always identify the signal as being one of the possible states, which is to say that they are *conclusive*, although this identification will be *incorrect* with probability $`P_e(\mathrm{o}pt)`$. The Helstrom measurement has recently been demonstrated in the laboratory , using weak optical pulses where the two states were non-orthogonal polarisation states.

The other option available to Bob is to drop the requirement of conclusiveness: that is, the condition that the measurement result will always announce one of the possible states. This kind of strategy was first described by Ivanovic, who showed that it allows two non-orthogonal states to be discriminated *without error*, but with a finite probability of getting a third and *inconclusive* result. The optimum strategy of this kind is that which minimises the probability of inconclusive results. Further work by Dieks and Peres established this minimum, which is given by the Ivanovic-Dieks-Peres (IDP) bound:

$$P_\mathrm{?}(\mathrm{o}pt)=|\psi _+|\psi _{}|.$$
(2)
This bound applies when the two states appear with equal a priori probabilities. A more general bound for two states with arbitrary a priori probabilities was later obtained by Jaeger and Shimony.

Non-orthogonal photon polarisation states are also well-suited to the realisation of this kind of measurement. Indeed, unambiguous discrimination between non-orthogonal polarisations in the vicinity of the IDP limit has been carried out by Huttner *et al*. In this experiment, linearly polarised, weak optical pulses ($``$0.1 photons/pulse) were transmitted though an optical fiber with polarisation-dependent loss. This loss was adjusted so that the photons which were not absorbed emerged in one of two orthogonal states, corresponding to the two non-orthogonal input states, which were then measured in a von Neumann measurement. Occasions when the polarisation-dependent loss resulted in photon absorption were interpreted as inconclusive results, and the inferred loss was in agreement with the IDP prediction. However, the inconclusive results could not be positively confirmed, since there were other reasons for non-detection. Also, the experiment was only performed using one pair of input states.

In this Letter, we report an implementation of unambiguous polarisation discrimination at the IDP limit using free-space interferometry, overcoming the limitations of the fiber-based implementation. Importantly, it allows total access to all output ports, particularly those corresponding to the three outcomes of the IDP measurement. The absorption in our interferometer is negligible implying that all input photons will result in either conclusive discrimination or inconclusive results in accordance with the IDP bound. Consequently, our experiment is the first full demonstration of the IDP measurement.

The measurement scheme was designed to discriminate between two non-orthogonal linear polarisation states of light. An optical interferometer using polarising beamsplitters and waveplates was used to physically separate appropriate polarisation components of the input light, manipulated them, and recombine them to perform the final measurement. Our experiment is based on a similar proposal by Huttner *et al*.

The states we chose to discriminate between were

$$|\psi _\pm =\mathrm{cos}\alpha |\pm \mathrm{sin}\alpha |,$$
(3)
where $`0\alpha 45^{}`$, and $`|`$ and $`|`$ correspond to horizontal and vertical polarisation. These states are depicted in figure 1.

Figure 1 also demonstrates that orthogonalisation of the two input polarisation states, $`|\psi _+`$ and $`|\psi _{}`$, can be achieved by reducing the amplitude along $`|`$. Upon such a transformation, they can be distinguished perfectly by a von Neumann measurement. The remaining amplitude must not be involved in this measurement process, and corresponds to an inconclusive result. In the experiment of Huttner *et al* it was this component was absorbed in the fiber cladding and could not be measured directly. In our experiment this amplitude is detected as light from one of the output ports of the interferometer.

The interferometer is shown in the uppermost part of Figure 2. Isolation of the horizontal and vertical components was performed with PBS2. PBS3 was made partially reflecting by varying the orientation of waveplate WP4. To orthogonalise the input states, the amplitude of the reflected light from PBS3 must have the same magnitude as that reflected from PBS2. The two beams are recombined in PBS5 and analysed in a von Neumann measurement using WP6 and PBS6. The outcome of this measurement is detected with photodiodes PD1 and PD2. The two path lengths through the interferometer are chosen such that input state $`|\psi _+`$ is detected by PD1 and input state $`|\psi _{}`$ is detected by PD2. The transmission of PBS3 is the required reduction in the horizontal component of the input light common to both input states, and corresponds to the inconclusive result. This light was detected on PD3 and was defined as the loss required to orthogonalise the input states. We measured this loss as $`\alpha `$ was varied from 0 to 45 degrees. It can be seen from equation 2 that, theoretically, the fraction of the light measured on PD3 is $`\mathrm{cos}2\alpha `$.

Although the alignment and stabilisation requirements of our interferometer are much more stringent than for a fiber arrangement, our apparatus offers several significant benefits. The greatest of these is full detection of the light in the three possible outcomes of the measurement. Indeed, it is necessary to be able to monitor all the output ports in more complex experiments, for example the discrimination of trine and tetrad polarisation states. Secondly, we are able to vary the induced loss along the horizontal component continuously and deterministically.

The light source was a mode-locked Ti:Sapphire laser operating at 780 nm with a repetition rate of 80.3 MHz. The pulse duration was 1 ps, corresponding to a pulse length of 300 $`\mu `$m. This ensured that there was only one pulse in the optical system at any one time and that the length of the pulse was much shorter than the path length of the interferometer. The output was focused with lens L1 through a 60 $`\mu `$m pinhole to produce a clean spherical wavefront. The light was then passed through lens L2 to produce a shallow focus on the centres of the 1 mm2 photodiodes (Centronix, BPX65) beyond the interferometer, which were arranged to be of equal optical path lengths away. In this way almost 100% of the light input into the interferometer reached the detectors.

Neutral density filters were inserted to attenuate the light to an average of 0.2 photons per pulse (4 pW) at the interferometer input. Fine adjustment of the intensity was possible by rotating the waveplate WP1, placed before the Rochon polarising beamsplitter, PBS1. This type of beamsplitter was chosen for its high extinction ratio, measured to be greater than 1 part in 5000. A Wollaston type beamsplitter, PBS6, was used in the analyser part of the experiment for the same reason.

The input to the interferometer was obtained from the linearly polarised straight through beam of PBS1. The polarisation state of this input beam was changed using two half waveplates, WP2 and WP3. The first rotated the polarisation angle from 0 to 45 degrees above the horizontal, preparing the polarisation state $`|\psi _+`$. The second waveplate, WP3, was oriented such that it had the effect of flipping the polarisation state about the horizontal axis, transforming the input state $`|\psi _+`$ to $`|\psi _{}`$. In this way, the input states were easily exchanged.

Due to the very low light levels, phase sensitive detection, using a chopper wheel, was required to recover the analogue signals from detectors 1-5. The photodiodes had a nominal quantum efficiency of 83% and were terminated by 10 M$`\mathrm{\Omega }`$, and were biased in parallel by a single 9 V source. For light levels equivalent to 0.1 photons per pulse, the average current obtained is 1.1 pA, which equates to 11 $`\mu `$V across the termination. Regular measurements were taken of the small offsets that arose when using this technique. Light levels equivalent to less than 0.01 photons per pulse were detectable.

To normalise out the amplitude noise of the Ti:Sapphire laser, a pick-off beam was measured on PD6 when *any* measurements of photodiodes 1-5 were taken. Again, phase-sensitive detection was performed, but using a separate lock-in amplifier. Photodiodes 1-5 were calibrated relative to each other to better than 1% by changing the distribution of light around the interferometer with waveplates.

The interferometer itself was constructed from four AR coated polarising beamsplitters PBS2-5 mounted on a machined monolithic aluminium block. The optical pathlength difference in the two arms was inferred to be less than 4 $`\mu `$m over the 80 mm total pathlength from the extinction ratio obtained when used in a Mach-Zehnder operation. PBS5 was capable of being rotated around and translated along all axes with piezo-electric transducers. The AR coated $`\lambda /2`$ waveplates used were measured to maintain the linearity of polarisation to 1 part in 2000.

The fringe visibility of the interferometer when used in a conventional Mach-Zehnder operation was measured to be better than 200:1. The translational and angular stability of the interferometer was inferred to be less than 100 nm and 0.001 degrees respectively over at least half an hour. This level of stability was vital when taking results over the prolonged periods of time needed when using phase sensitive detection.

Calibration of the beamsplitters was performed to determine their polarisation properties. This was particularly important for understanding the results for small $`\alpha `$. A small amount of birefringence of the beamsplitters meant that for horizontally polarised input light, the transmitted power was comprised of 98.2% horizontally and 0.9% vertically polarised light. The remaining power was reflected and almost equally distributed between the two polarisation components. Approximately the same leakages were found for vertically polarised input light.

To align the interferometer the input was set to $`|\psi _+`$, $`\alpha =45`$ degrees, and WP4 set so that PBS3 reflected all the light (zero loss ideally). This resulted in equal amplitudes of light reaching PBS5 from each arm, corresponding to a conventional Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The path lengths and angles were varied using PBS5 to obtain the maximum visibility of the interference. When this occurred, the signal from PD2 was at a minimum.

The experiment was performed by preparing the input state $`|\psi _+`$ in approximately 4 degrees steps from $`0\alpha 45`$ degrees. The exact angle was inferred by measuring the light in each arm immediately after PBS2 using all the detectors. High input powers were used to obtain a good signal to noise ratio. The light transmitted through PBS3 was then varied by rotating WP4 such that the signal from PD2 was at a minimum. The measured signal at PD2 is defined as the measured error rate since in theory 100% of the light should reach PD1. In practice, it is non-zero due to experimental imperfections.

The fraction of transmitted light through PBS3 was measured classically as the fraction of the total power incident on PD3 and the sum of the outputs of all the other photodiodes.

The transmittance of PBS3 was varied, using WP4, to obtain the minimum signal on PD2 at high light levels. It was verified that this minimum was obtained using the same angle of WP4 at any light level, including 0.2 photons per pulse. High light levels were therefore used to ensure a high signal to noise ratio in PD2 to obtain the best measure of the transmittance of PBS3.

The intensity was then reduced to 0.2 photons per pulse and the error rate, on PD2, measured. Given the extremely low light levels in PD2 (typically 0.01 photons per pulse or 0.2 pW), the measurement error of $`\pm 2.5`$% of the total light detected was comparable to the signal expected at this port. Therefore the extinction ratio of 1 in 200 could not be observed at these power levels. For $`\alpha <15^{}`$, the amplitude of the light entering the interferometer was increased up to a maximum of 1 photon per pulse in order that an error rate could be measured.

The input state was then changed from $`|\psi _+`$ to $`|\psi _{}`$ by inserting WP3. The error rate, the signal measured on PD1 this time, was measured with no other alteration to the apparatus. The alignment of the interferometer was checked after changing the angle $`\alpha `$ for the next pair of states $`|\psi _+`$ and $`|\psi _{}`$.

Figure 3 shows the light on PD3, the induced loss, needed to produce the minimum error rate of distinguishment against $`\alpha `$, for $`0<\alpha <45`$ degrees. The RMS deviation from the ideal theoretical curve is 1.3%, clearly validating the Ivanovic-Dieks-Peres measurement scheme. The error in PD3 was estimated by rotating WP4 until the signal on PD1 increased noticeably. For angles less than 30 degrees the sensitivity became so great that this error could not be estimated quantitatively and the uncertainty is less than the size of the points in the figure. A model based upon the measured characteristics of the PBS’s, described in the next paragraph, reproduces the experimental results within the estimated error values.

The error rates obtained with incident angle are plotted in figure 4. The states $`|\psi _+`$ and $`|\psi _{}`$ are shown at the same angle position. Also plotted is error rate associated with the best possible von Neumann measurement (Eq. 1 with $`\eta _1=\eta _2=\frac{1}{2}`$). Our data clearly shows error probabilities that are below this level. For $`14^{}<\alpha <45^{}`$ the average experimental error rate for the two input states is 2.8%. For smaller angles the error rate rises significantly. We modelled the behaviour of the interferometer using non-ideal PBS’s based on the calibration data obtained previously (no phase information was available and we assumed 0 and 90 degrees phase changes upon transmission and reflection respectively). The experimental procedure was followed, optimising the loss for state $`|\psi _+`$ and then flipping to state $`|\psi _{}`$ to obtain the error rates. These results are also shown in Figure 4 and are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental results. For small $`\alpha `$, the leakages of the PBS’s are such that the errors present are of comparable size to the ideal signals.

We have clearly demonstrated the IDP measurement scheme using a free space interferometer. For the first time the loss required to obtain unambiguous state discrimination was confirmed by direct measurement and found to be consistent with the ideal theoretical values at the 1% level. The low light levels used, typically 0.2 photons per pulse, were the limiting factor in measuring the error rate for $`\alpha >14^{}`$. We have shown that for angles smaller than this the performance of the polarising beamsplitters is the limiting factor.

This work was funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.