Multimode quantum properties of a self-imaging optical parametric oscillator: Squeezed vacuum and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-beams generation

We investigate the spatial quantum properties of the light emitted by a perfectly spatially degenerate optical parametric oscillator (self-imaging optical parametric oscillator). We show that this device produces local squeezing for areas bigger than a coherence area that depends on the crystal length and pump width. Furthermore, it generates local EPR beams in the far field. We show, calculating the eigenmodes of the system, that it is highly multimode for realistic experimental parameters.