Partial phase state as a nonlinear coherent state and some of its properties

Abstract

One introduces the phase state as a nonlinear coherent state. Some of its properties, such as the sub-Poissonian statistics, the squeezing effects, the phase properties in the Pegg-Barnett formalism and the quasiprobability function of the nonlinear coherent states, are calculated and discussed in this paper. The results show that the phase states are squeezed.     

Effect of losses on phase noise

Abstract

We study the effect of losses on the phase noise of single-mode field states. The losses are described by the standard loss master equation, and it is used to find an upper bound for the increase in the phase noise as a function of time. We compare the time dependence of the phase noise of an initial coherent state to that of a state that initially has very small phase noise. Both states have the same initial mean photon number. While the small-phase noise state is more susceptible to losses, the difference between its behaviour and that of the coherent state is not great.     

Operational phase distributions via displaced squeezed states

Abstract

We introduce an ‘effective’ phase state with which high-sensitivity phase-shift measurements can be performed. These states can be used for high-precision operational measurements of phase distributions of states which in phase space are localized in regions whose angular width is much larger than π. We propose a method by means of which the corresponding operational phase distribution can be measured.     

Phase Fluctuations and Squeezing

Abstract

We investigate the relationship between squeezing and reduced phase fluctuations for various states of the single-mode electromagnetic field, including the strongly-squeezed vacuum and phase states. We find that, although squeezing the fluctuations of the electric field that arise from the vacuum guarantees a more well-defined phase, reducing phase fluctuations does not guarantee a squeezed electric field. We also investigate the evolution of the electric field and its fluctuations for a phase state. Our results show that even though the electric field fluctuations never vanish for a phase state, the times when the electric field changes sign are precisely defined. We also discuss why it is not always possible to attribute physical properties to certain states, such as simple superpositions of phase states.     

Atomic Dipole Dynamics in the Thermal Quantized Cavity Field

Abstract

We consider the resonant interaction of a two-level atom with a thermal state of the quantized field in a lossless cavity. Non-trivial dynamics of the atomic dipole moment and the field quadrature components arise if the atom is initially prepared in a coherent superposition of its upper and lower states. In particular, the initial thermal field state acquires a well defined phase that corresponds to the initial phase of the superposition atomic state. Population trapping occurs when the intensity grows.     

Optical state measurement with a two-component probe

Abstract

A state of light which is a superposition of the vacuum and the one-photon number state is the simplest state containing phase information. Recently we have shown how a field in such a state might be generated and here we explore its usefulness as a probe for measuring unknown states of light. We find that this probe can be used reasonably simply both to determine completely some pure states of light and to measure the diagonal and nearest off-diagonal elements of the density matrix in the number state basis and hence to obtain the mean sine and cosine of the phase of an unknown mixed state. We suggest further how a field in a superposition of the vacuum and the two-photon number state might be generated and how this can be used as a probe, both to measure the off-diagonal matrix elements second nearest to the diagonal of a mixed state density matrix and to measure the variance of the cosine and the sine of the phase. We also examine the experimentally more likely case where the probe fields are in mixed states and show how the same information about the unknown state can still be retrieved.     

On the Interaction of Two-level Atoms with Superpositions of Coherent States of Light

Abstract

In this paper we study the decoherence process occurring when a field prepared in quantum superpositions of coherent states (Schrödinger cats) interacts with a two-level atom in the framework of the Jaynes-Cummings model. We emphasize the influence of the relative phase in the initial superposition state on the purity of the field during the evolution     

Two-mode Squeezed Gaussons

Abstract

Two-mode squeezed Gaussons are non-classical states of light which are intermediate between single-mode and two-mode squeezed states. They may be prepared by coherently mixing two single-mode squeezed states at a beam-splitter or via a frequency converter. When equally squeezed single-mode squeezed states are incident on a 50/50 beam-splitter the output will range between a two-mode squeezed state and two single-mode squeezed states as the phase of the input squeezed light is varied. This behaviour is reflected when the properties of such states are investigated.     

Simulations of continuum coherent states and its use in quantum cryptographic systems

Abstract

The continuum states formalism is suitable for field quantization in optical fibre; however, they are harder to use than discrete states. On the other hand, a Hermitian phase operator can be defined only in a finite dimensional space. We approximated a coherent continuum state by a finite tensor product of coherent states, each one defined in a finite dimensional space. Using this, in the correct limit, we were able to obtain some statistical properties of the photon number and phase of the continuum coherent states from the probability density functions of the individual, finite dimensional, coherent states. Then, we performed a simulation of the BB84 protocol, using the continuum coherent states, in a fibre interferometer commonly used in quantum cryptography. We observed the fluctuations of the mean photon number in the pulses that arrive at Bob, which occurs in the practical system, introduced by the statistical property of the simulation.     

Higher-generation Schrödinger cat states in cavity QED

Abstract

Higher-generation Schrödinger cat states of the quantized electromagnetic field can be produced in a high-Q cavity, starting from a coherent state, through the passage of prepared Rydberg atoms interacting dispersively across it. These states are natural generalizations of the even and odd coherent states, the N ^th-generations corresponding to specific superpositions of 2 ^N states on a circle in phase space with well defined parity, and present very peculiar properties. Their photon statistics interchange between super- and sub-Poissonian behaviours and the nature of the photon bunching oscillates as the field intensity in the cavity is varied. For higher-generation even states, the minimum value of the Mandel factor almost reaches ?1.0 and the state represents the Fock state |2 ^N ). Squeezing properties and the Wigner function of these higher-generation Schrödinger cat states are also considered.     

Hilbert-Schmidt distance and non-classicality of states in quantum optics

Abstract

The Hilbert—Schmidt distance between two arbitrary normalizable states is discussed as a measure of the similarity of the states. Unitary transformations of both states with the same unitary operator (e.g. the displacement of both states in the phase plane by the same displacement vector and squeezing of both states) do not change this distance. The nearest distance of a given state to the whole set of coherent states is proposed as a quantitative measure of non-classicality of the state which is identical when considering the coherent states as the most classical ones among pure states and the deviations from them as non-classicality. The connection to other definitions of the non-classicality of states is discussed. The notion of distance can also be used for the definition of a neighbourhood of considered states. Inequalities for the distance of states to Fock states are derived. For given neighbourhoods, they restrict common characteristics of the state as the dispersion of the number operator and the squared deviation of the mean values of the number operator for the considered state and the Fock state. Possible modifications in the definition of non-classicality for mixed states with dependence on the impurity parameter and by including the displaced thermal states as the most classical reference states are discussed.     

Reconstructing the Wavefunction in Quantum Optics

Abstract

The problem of reconstructing a wavefunction from probability distributions is re-examined in the context of whether a pure state vector of a single-mode optical field can be reconstructed from the photon number and phase probability distributions. An analytical solution is given for the case where the state of the mode is a superposition of a finite number of Fock states.     

Nonequilibrium phase transitions induced by external noise in distributed systems

A formalism is proposed to describe nonequilibrium phase transitions induced by external multiplicative noise in distributed systems. This approach can reduce the problem to an investigation of a regular differential equation whose roots correspond to possible phase states in the system. By means of this theory the relative probability of the existence of one state can be compared with another and the number of possible states identified, and the genesis of the system under the action of fluctuations of the external medium can be traced. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 25, 91–95 (February 26, 1999)     

Generation of amplitude squeezed states of light from phase squeezed coherent states

Abstract

We propose a scheme to generate a displaced macroscopic superposition of phase squeezed coherent states by incorporating an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and a nonlinear Kerr medium in a Mach-Zhender interferometer configuration. We show that the phase squeezed coherent state generated by the OPO evolves into a macroscopic superposition of phase squeezed coherent states on spending a specific amount of time inside a Kerr medium. The phase space displacement is achieved by the interference of the intense reference beam with the signal in the final beam splitter of the interferometer. The noise of the reference beam contaminating the signal is prevented by making this beam splitter highly reflective. We have calculated the photon number uncertainty of the outcoming beam and have shown that it is smaller than the usual amplitude squeezed coherent state's value.     

Adding and subtracting energy quanta of the harmonic oscillator

Abstract

We propose a scheme to add/subtract excitations to/from an arbitrary quantum state or the harmonic oscillator. The method displaces the photon-number distribution and leaves its shape unchanged for a wide range of displacements. Mathematically this is realized by the action of phase operators of the Susskind-Glogower type onto the initial quantum state. Consequently, the shape of the phase distribution is preserved unless the number statistics are modified due to displacing it by subtraction onto the vacuum state. Starting with an initially coherent state one may realize pure quantum states displaying either amplitude or phase squeezing. The implementation of the method is based on interactions of the Jaynes-Cummings type, in the case of subtracting quanta one additionally needs to perform measurements on the electronic quantum state of the atoms. Our approach could be used for adding and subtracting both photons on a cavity field and motional quanta of a trapped ion.     

Evolution of Coherent States in a Dispersionless Fibre with Saturable Nonlinearity and the Generation of Macroscopic Quantum-superposition States

Abstract

We study the evolution of a initially coherent state of an electromagnetic field propagating in a Kerr medium with saturable nonlinearity. By using the quantum phase distribution formalism, we analyse the dependence of the output signal phase configuration upon input field amplitude. We observe that the saturation of the nonlinear contribution of the refractive index of the propagation medium introduces interference effects that compromise the observation of macroscopically well distinguishable components of the output state. For input amplitudes much larger than a characteristic saturation amplitude the final state differs from the input state only by an overall phase shift. Possible relevance of the present results in the experimental search of Schrödinger cat-like states using semiconductor-doped glass optical fibres is discussed.     

Proposals for creating Schrödinger cat states in bose-einstein condensates

Abstract

Three different schemes for producing Schrödinger cat states in Bose-Einstein condensates are outlined and the effects of loss in each of them compared. The first scheme involves coupled interacting condensates and proves to be very fragile to loss. This is improved upon with a second scheme which first evolves a cat state in phase space and then rapidly transforms it to a number cat state. Finally a third scheme is discussed which makes use of number correlated condensates and is remarkably robust to loss. It may prove to be valuable for experimentally creating such states.     

Homodyne tomography of classical and non-classical light

Abstract

States with explicit quantum character, such as squeezed vacuum and bright squeezed light, as well as coherent states and incoherent superpositions of coherent states were generated and analysed by tomographical methods. Wigner functions, photon-number distributions, density matrices and phase distributions were reconstructed with high accuracy. Features such as photon number oscillations, sub-Poissonian and super-Poissonian photon statistics, bifurcations of the phase distribution, and loss of coherence were observed, demonstrating the usefulness of quantum state reconstruction as an analysing tool in quantum optics experiments.     

Two-mode Squeezed Pair Coherent States

Abstract

The properties of states generated by the application of the two-mode squeeze operator to the pair coherent states are studied. These states are the two-mode analogues of the single-mode squeezed states generated by the application of the single-mode squeeze operator to an ordinary coherent state. In the present case there are correlations between the modes and strong non-classical properties are to be expected. We study the statistical properties of the photon number distributions, squeezing, violations of the Cauchy-Schwartz inequality, quasiprobability distributions and the phase distributions.     

Measuring the phase variance of light

Abstract

The results of experiments designed to measure the operational phase cosine and sine variances of weak states of light disagree with the variances predicted by canonical phase formalisms. As these variances are fundamental manifestations of the quantum nature of phase, it is important to be able to measure the canonical variances also. A recent suggestion to do so, based on the use of a two-component probe, involves the difficult preparation of exotic states of light which have not yet been produced. In this paper we show how the variances can be measured with simple coherent state inputs. The retrodictive formalism of quantum mechanics provides useful insight into the physics involved.