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arXiv:2509.04891 · Physical Review Research

Quantum non-Gaussian high Fock states of light pulses and their superpositions

G. P. Teja, Chandan Kumar, Lukáš Lachman, Radim Filip

Published Sep 4, 2025• 2 citations

Abstract

The generation of high Fock states of light pulses and their superpositions with provable quantum non-Gaussian features is still very challenging, although the power of conditional methods to herald the approximate state from the available Gaussian states is growing. The atom-light interaction in the high- cavity has been considered a viable alternative to the heralded Fock states of the light pulses from nonlinear optics limited to three-photon Fock states for the last decade. Here, by optimizing the realistic protocol combining it with available optical delay elements, we conclusively predict filtering of Fock states up to ten photons with a high success rate of 20 % using a hierarchy of quantum non-Gaussian criteria. Moreover, the filtering protocol enables the preparation of superposition of Fock states, and we analyze this emerging case up to two photons with provable quantum non-Gaussian coherence and high success rate of 50 % . To demonstrate their quality for applications, we evaluate the robustness of such features, the bunching capability in a linear network, and the sensing capability to estimate the magnitude of unknown force, noise, and phase. These assessments outline the essential conditions and application criteria for realistic optical cavity QED interaction on light pulses to outperform photon detection methods.

DOI: 10.1103/qyfz-zw2x

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Quantum non-Gaussian states of photons and phonons are conclusive and direct witnesses of higher-than-quadratic nonlinearities in optical and mechanical processes. Moreover, they are proven resources for quantum sensing, communication and error correction with diverse continuous-variable systems. This review introduces theoretical analyses of nonclassical and quantum non-Gaussian states of photons and phonons. It recapitulates approaches used to derive operational criteria for photons tolerant to optical losses, their application in experiments and their nowadays extension to quantum non-Gaussian photon coincidences. It extends to a recent comparison of quantum non-Gaussianity, including robustness to thermal noise, and sensing capability for high-quality phononic Fock states of single trapped cooled ions. The review can stimulate further development in the criteria of quantum non-Gaussian states and experimental effort to prepare and detect such useful features, navigating the community to advanced quantum physics and technology.

In this work, we develop a coherent control technique for cavity QED based on amplitude amplification. We consider two physical platforms. In the first setting, we study a three-level quantum emitter coupled to a single mode of an optical cavity and introduce a protocol for producing traveling single photons based on oblivious amplitude amplification. As the key ingredient of our protocol, we propose an extension of oblivious amplitude amplification which uses reflection unitaries solely on the signal qubit, along with

U

and

U^\dagger

, where the unitary

U

prepares the initial state. Our approach improves the scaling of the single-photon-generation protocol length from

N\sim 1/p

to

N\sim 1/\sqrt{p}

, with

N\sim 1/p

denoting the success probability of obtaining a short single photon from a single application of the weak control pulse. Furthermore, our protocol also reduces the error from intrinsic cavity loss compared to protocols using a single strong control pulse in various experimentally relevant regimes, suggesting the application of our methods for error reduction. In the second setting, we consider a superconducting qubit coupled to a single bosonic mode of a microwave cavity in a circuit QED architecture in the dispersive regime for preparing Fock states. Using fixed-point amplitude amplification, we obtain a protocol for preparing Fock states whose length scales as

O(n^{1/4})

, where

n

is the number of photons. Additionally, as an application of our methods for state preparation, we describe a protocol for preparing NOON states.

We propose an experimental method of recognizing quantum non-Gaussian multiphoton states.This is a native quantum property of Fock states, the fundamental quantum states with a constant number of particles.Our method allows experimental development and characterization of higher Fock states of light, reaching even beyond the current technical limits of their generation.We experimentally demonstrate that it is capable of distinguishing realistic quantum non-Gaussian light with the mean number of photons up to 5 despite detection efficiency of 50 %.We also provide evidence that our method can help to distinguish the number of single-photon emitters based only on their collective emission.

Photon coincidences represent an important resource for quantum technologies. They expose nonlinear quantum processes in matter and are essential for sources of entanglement. We derive broadly applicable criteria for quantum non-Gaussian two-photon coincidences that certify a new quality of photon sources. The criteria reject states emerging from Gaussian parametric processes, which often limit applications in quantum technologies. We also analyze the robustness of the quantum non-Gaussian coincidences and compare it to the heralded quantum non-Gaussianity of single photons based on them.

Abstract We propose an experimental method of recognizing quantum non-Gaussian multiphoton states. This is a native quantum property of Fock states, the fundamental quantum states with a constant number of particles. Our method allows experimental development and characterization of higher Fock states of light, reaching even beyond the current technical limits of their generation. We experimentally demonstrate that it is capable of distinguishing realistic quantum non-Gaussian light with the mean number of photons up to five despite detection efficiency of 50%. We also provide evidence that our method can help to distinguish the number of single-photon emitters based only on their collective emission.

Quantum coherence between energy eigenstates of harmonic oscillators is essential for quantum physics. Even the most elementary binary superpositions of the ground and the higher eigenstate are highly required for quantum sensing, thermodynamics, and computing. We derive upper bounds for quantum coherences achieved by classical and Gaussian states and operations and, subsequently, obtain a hierarchy of the thresholds for the off-diagonal elements necessary to reach genuine quantum non-Gaussian coherences. The presented analysis demonstrates that certification based solely on estimation of coherences can cover the quantum non-Gaussian states, which are undetectable by the criteria based solely on the estimation of the corresponding state populations. We experimentally demonstrate the unambiguous observation of quantum non-Gaussian coherences in mechanical vibrations of a single calcium ion up to the superposition of zero and six phonons. The analysis of the robustness with respect to pure dephasing in a motional Ramsey experiment demonstrates the feasibility of their storage for up to more than 20 ms for superpositions with a large energy difference of participating number states. The presented observations prove that atomic oscillations go deeply into a diverse area of discrete quantum non-Gaussian coherent phenomena critical for their applications.