Experimental realization of a quantum qiaincunx by use of linear optical elements

We report the experimental realization of a quantum analog of the classical Galton quincunx and discuss its possible use as a device for quantum computation. Our quantum quincunx is implemented with linear optical elements that allow an incoming photon to interfere with itself while traversing all possible paths from the source to the detector. We show that the experimentally determined intensity distributions are in excellent agreement with theory. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.