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arXiv:1107.3607 · Physical Review A

Robustness of nonclassical superposition states against decoherence

Faisal A. A. El-Orany

Published Apr 2, 2002• 13 citations
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Abstract

We make a comparative study of quadrature squeezing, photon-number distribution, and Wigner function in a decayed quantum system. Specifically, for a field mode prepared initially the Schr\"odinger cat states interacting with a zero-temperature environment, we show that the rate of reduction of the nonclassical effects in this system is proportional to the occurrence of the decoherence process.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.65.043814

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We make a comparative study of quadrature squeezing, photon-number distribution, and Wigner function in a decayed quantum system. Specifically, for a field mode prepared initially the Schr"odinger cat states interacting with a zero-temperature environment, we show that the rate of reduction of the nonclassical effects in this system is proportional to the occurrence of the decoherence process.
Non-Gaussian states, and specifically the paradigmatic cat state, are well known to be very sensitive to losses. When propagating through damping channels, these states quickly lose their nonclassical features and the associated negative oscillations of their Wigner function. However, by squeezing the superposition states, the decoherence process can be qualitatively changed and substantially slowed down. Here, as a first example, we experimentally observe the reduced decoherence of squeezed optical coherent-state superpositions through a lossy channel. To quantify the robustness of states, we introduce a combination of a decaying value and a rate of decay of the Wigner function negativity. This work, which uses squeezing as an ancillary Gaussian resource, opens new possibilities to protect and manipulate quantum superpositions in phase space.
In this paper we investigate the single-mode properties (Wigner function, photon-number distribution and quadrature squeezing) of a dissipative parametric amplifier when the signal and idler modes are initially prepared in the Schrödinger-cat states. We show that there are two sources producing decoherence in the system, which are spontaneous pump photon decay and interaction with the environment. For the latter case, the system collapses to both statistical mixture states as well as thermal states governed by the interaction parameters.
Using the Wigner function formalism in phase space, we analyze the decay of quantum coherences in phase-sensitive reservoirs. We show that the decay rate of quantum coherences in phase-sensitive reservoirs can be significantly modified compared to the decay rate in ordinary (phase-insensitive) thermal reservoirs. Depending on the phases of the quantum system (field mode) and the squeezed reservoir, the decay rate of the quantum coherence can be either enhanced or significantly suppressed, which is in agreement with the results obtained recently by other methods [T. A. B. Kennedy and D. F. Walls, Phys. Rev. A 37, 152 (1988)]. We show that in an ideally squeezed reservoir with a high degree of squeezing, the decay rate of the quantum coherence (i.e., the decay rate of off-diagonal terms of the density matrix in the coherent-state basis) can be equal to the decay rate of the energy of the system (i.e., the decay rate of diagonal terms of the density matrix). Suppression of the decay rate of the quantum coherence leads to preservation of nonclassical effects such as the oscillations in the photon number distribution. Moreover, we find that some initial superposition states of light exhibiting super-Poissonian photon statistics can be transformed into intermediate sub-Poissonian states under the influence of phase-sensitive reservoirs.
In this paper we discuss the nonclassical properties of quantum superpositions of coherent states of light. Using general expressions for the Wigner functions of superposition states we analyze the consequences of quantum interference between coherent states. We describe in detail nonclassical properties of a superposition of two coherent states. In particular, we study the oscillatory behavior of the photon number distribution of the even and odd coherent states. We show under which conditions a superposition of two coherent states can exhibit second- and fourth-order squeezing or sub-Poissonian photon statistics. We examine the sensitivity of nonclassical effects such as oscillations in the photon number distribution or second-order squeezing to dissipation. We demonstrate that quantities such as the photon number distribution and interferences in phase space are highly sensitive to even a quite small dissipative coupling, because they depend on all moments of the field observables, and higher moments decay more rapidly than lower moments. Quantities such as quadrature squeezing, on the other hand, are more robust against dissipation because they involve only lower moments. Finally, we find a remarkable effect whereby fourth-order squeezing is generated by damping.
Taking the decoherence into account, we investigate nonclassical features of the optical Schr\"odinger cat states in one-mode and two-coupled-modes systems with two-photon driving. In the one-mode system, the relationship between the Schr\"odinger cat states and the system parameters is derived. We observe that in the presence of single-photon decay the steady states would be a mixture of Schr\"odinger cat states. The dynamics and steady states of such a cat versus single-photon decay are examined. In the two-coupled-modes cases with linear and nonlinear couplings, the dynamics of entanglement and mutual information are examined with two different initial states and single-photon decay. Compared to the linear coupling case, more complicated structure appears in the Wigner function in the nonlinear coupling case. The joint quadrature distributions are also explored. Such nonclassical states can be used not only in exploring the boundary between the classical and the quantum worlds but also in quantum metrology and quantum information processing.
We consider a class of states in an ensemble of two-level atoms: a mesoscopic superposition of two distinct atomic coherent states, which can be regarded as atomic analogs of the states usually called Schr\"odinger-cat states in quantum optics. According to the relation of the constituents, we define polar and nonpolar cat states. The properties of these are investigated by the aid of the spherical Wigner function. We show that nonpolar cat states generally exhibit squeezing, the measure of which depends on the separation of the components of the cat, and also on the number of the constituent atoms. By solving the master equation for the polar cat state embedded in an external environment, we determine the characteristic times of decoherence and dissipation, and also the characteristic time of a new parameter, the nonclassicality of the state. This latter one is introduced by the help of the Wigner function, which is used also to visualize the process. The dependence of the characteristic times on the number of atoms of the cat and on the temperature of the environment shows that the decoherence of polar cat states is surprisingly slow.