Anti-symmetrization reveals hidden entanglement

Two-photon anti-bunching at a beamsplitter is only possible if the photons are entangled in a specific state, anti-symmetric in the spatial modes. Thus, observation of anti-bunching is an indication of entanglement in a degree of freedom, which might not be easily accessible in an experiment. We experimentally demonstrate this concept in the case of the interference of two frequency-entangled photons with continuous frequency detunings. The principle of anti-symmetrization of the spatial part of a wavefunction and subsequent detection of hidden entanglement via anti-bunching at a beamsplitter may facilitate the observation of entanglement in other systems, like atomic ensembles or Bose–Einstein condensates. The analogue for fermionic systems would be to observe bunching.