Propagation of temporal mode multiplexed optical fields in fibers: influence of dispersion

The field-orthogonal temporal modes (TM) of electromagnetic fields form a new framework for quantum information. A lot of efforts have been made to develop the tools for photonic quantum information processing in TM framework. However, the distribution of temporally multiplexed quantum states over long distance optical fibers has not been realized yet. As a first step toward long distance distribution of TMs, we study fourth-order interference and show how the dispersion influence the field spectrum by launching a pulsed field in different temporal modes into a M-Z interferometer with unbalanced dispersion induced by transmission fibers in two arms. The investigation is useful for further investigating the distribution of temporally multiplexed quantum states in fiber network.