  We present the novel embodiment of a photonic qubit that makes use of one
continuous spatial degree of freedom of a single photon and relies on the the
parity of the photon's transverse spatial distribution. Using optical
spontaneous parametric downconversion to produce photon pairs, we demonstrate
the controlled generation of entangled-photon states in this new space.
Specifically, two Bell states, and a continuum of their superpositions, are
generated by simple manipulation of a classical parameter, the optical-pump
spatial parity, and not by manipulation of the entangled photons themselves. An
interferometric device, isomorphic in action to a polarizing beam splitter,
projects the spatial-parity states onto an even--odd basis. This new physical
realization of photonic qubits could be used as a foundation for future
experiments in quantum information processing.
