IOP Publishing, New Journal of Physics, 1(16), p. 013011, 2014
DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/16/1/013011
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We use the quantum correlations of twin beams of light to investigate the fundamental addition of noise when one of the beams propagates through a fast-light medium based on phase-insensitive gain. The experiment is based on two successive four-wave mixing processes in rubidium vapor, which allow for the generation of bright two-mode-squeezed twin beams followed by a controlled advancement while maintaining the shared quantum correlations between the beams. The demonstrated effect allows the study of irreversible decoherence in a medium exhibiting anomalous dispersion, and for the first time shows the advancement of a bright nonclassical state of light. The advancement and corresponding degradation of the quantum correlations are found to be operating near the fundamental quantum limit imposed by using a phase-insensitive amplifier.