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arXiv:0711.4212 · Physical Review A

Quantum cloning of a pair of orthogonally polarized photons with linear optics

Jaromı́r Fiurášek, Nicolas J. Cerf

Published May 7, 2008• 14 citations
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Abstract

A linear optical probabilistic scheme for the optimal cloning of a pair of orthogonally polarized photons is devised, based on single- and two-photon interferences. It consists in a partial symmetrization device realized with a modified unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer, followed by two balanced beam splitters where the Hong-Ou-Mandel photon bunching occurs. This scheme has the advantage that it enables quantum cloning without the need for stimulated amplification in a nonlinear medium. It can also be modified so to make an optical two-qubit partial SWAP gate, thereby providing a potentially useful tool to linear optics quantum computing.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.77.052308

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Journal of Modern Optics•Jan 18, 2011•0 citations
A linear optical probabilistic scheme for the optimal cloning of a pair of orthogonally polarized photons is devised, based on single- and two-photon interferences. It consists in a partial symmetrization device realized with a modified unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer, followed by two balanced beam splitters where the Hong-Ou-Mandel photon bunching occurs. This scheme has the advantage that it enables quantum cloning without the need for stimulated amplification in a nonlinear medium. It can also be modified so to make an optical two-qubit partial SWAP gate, thereby providing a potentially useful tool to linear optics quantum computing.
We report on two optical realizations of the $1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2$ asymmetric phase-covariant cloning machines for polarization states of single photons. The experimental setups combine two-photon interference and tunable polarization filtering, which enables us to control the asymmetry of the cloners. The first scheme involves a special unbalanced bulk beam splitter exhibiting different splitting ratios for vertical and horizontal polarizations, respectively. The second implemented scheme consists of a balanced fiber coupler where photon bunching occurs, followed by a free-space part with polarization filters. With this latter approach we were able to demonstrate very high cloning fidelities which are above the universal cloning limit.
In this paper we report an experimental realization of an ancilla-free $1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2$ phase-covariant quantum cloner. The cloner is realized by interfering a linearly polarized photon, which we wish to clone with a circularly polarized photon at a beam splitter. The two-photon effect can be understood in light of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. The fidelity of the cloner was measured as $0.829\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.008$ for the 0∕900∕900∕90 basis and $0.835\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.006$ for the 45∕13545∕13545∕135 basis, which is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction of 5∕65∕65∕6 fidelity. The experimental scheme is straightforward and has a high cloning success rate.
After a brief introduction to the quantum no-cloning theorem and its link with the linearity and causality of quantum mechanics, the concept of quantum cloning machines is sketched, following, whenever possible, the chronology of the main results. The important classes of quantum cloning machines are reviewed, in particular state-independent and state-dependent cloning machines. The 1-to-2 cloning problem is then studied from a formal point of view, using the isomorphism between completely positive maps and operators, which leads to the so-called double-Bell ansatz. This also yields an efficient numerical approach to quantum cloning, based on semidefinite programming methods. The derivation of the optimal N-to-M universal cloning machine in d dimensions is then detailed, as well as the notion of asymmetric cloning machines. In the second part of this review, the optical implementation of cloning machines is considered. It is shown that the universal cloning of photons can be achieved by parametric amplification of light or by symmetrization via the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect. The various experimental demonstrations of quantum cloning machines are reviewed. The cloning of orthogonally polarized photons is also considered, as well as the asymmetric and phase-covariant cloning of photons. Finally, the extension of quantum cloning to continuous variables is analyzed. The optimal cloning of coherent states of light by phase-insensitive amplification is explained, as well as the experimental realization of continuous-variable quantum cloning with linear optics, measurement, and feed-forward operations.
Quantum cloning relates to the security of quantum computation and quantum communication. In this paper, firstly we propose a feasible unified scheme to implement optimal 1 → 2 universal, 1 → 2 asymmetric and symmetric phase-covariant cloning, and 1 → 2 economical phase-covariant quantum cloning machines only via a beam splitter. Then 1 → 3 economical phase-covariant quantum cloning machines also can be realized by adding another beam splitter in context of linear optics. The scheme is based on the interference of two photons on a beam splitter with different splitting ratios for vertical and horizontal polarization components. It is shown that under certain condition, the scheme is feasible by current experimental technology.
We propose two simple implementations of the optimal symmetric $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{1}2$ phase-covariant cloning machine for qubits. The first scheme is designed for qubits encoded into polarization states of photons and it involves a mixing of two photons on an unbalanced beam splitter. This scheme is probabilistic and the cloning succeeds with the probability 1/3.1/3.1/3. In the second setup, the qubits are represented by the states of Rydberg atoms and the cloning is accomplished by the resonant interaction of the atoms with a microwave field confined in a high-Q cavity. This latter approach allows for deterministic implementation of the optimal cloning transformation.
We propose an experimentally unified linear optical scheme to implement the optimal symmetric one to two (1 → 2) universal, optimal symmetric 1 → 2 phase-covariant and optimal symmetric economical one to three (1 → 3) phase-covariant quantum cloning machines of the polarization state of the single photon. This scheme requires single-photon sources as the input state. Here, we use a laser beam attenuated to the single-photon level as the input source. The scheme relies on one polarized qubit and two location qubits and it also involves linear optical elements. It is shown that under certain conditions, the scheme is feasible by current experimental technology.