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arXiv:2601.08894 · Physical Review A

Nonclassicality of multi-photon-added cat states

Jhordan Santiago, Petr Steindl

quant-phSubmitted Jan 13, 2026• Announced Jan 14, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Multi-photon-added cat states are constructed by repeatedly applying the creation operator to a cat state. We study in detail their photon-number distribution, $Q$ parameter, squeezing properties, and Wigner function. We show that photon addition induces a $π$ phase shift in the original parity configuration whenever an odd number of photons is added, reflected as swapped vanishing probabilities and phase space displacements at the origin. Remarkably, the same process drives these states into a sub-Poissonian regime regardless of the relative phase between their coherent state components, making them valuable resources for quantum imaging, at the cost of losing quadrature squeezing, but gaining amplitude-squared one. We also discuss how these states can be generated using existing hardware.

Journal reference
Phys. Rev. A 113, L041701 (2026)
DOI
10.1103/6lz4-gzkf
Comments
7 pages, 6 figures

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Multi-photon-added cat states are constructed by repeatedly applying the creation operator to a cat state. We study in detail their photon-number distribution, QQQ parameter, squeezing properties, and Wigner function. We show that photon addition induces a πππ phase shift in the original parity configuration whenever an odd number of photons is added, reflected as swapped vanishing probabilities and phase space displacements at the origin. Remarkably, the same process drives these states into a sub-Poissonian regime regardless of the relative phase between their coherent state components, making them valuable resources for quantum imaging, at the cost of losing quadrature squeezing, but gaining amplitude-squared one. We also discuss how these states can be generated using existing hardware.
In this Letter, we introduce four distinct classes of f-deformed photon-added nonlinear cat state. This would be achieved by recalling a nonlinear coherent states approach, as well as a particular class of Gilmore-Perelomov-type of SU(1,1) coherent state and a class of SU(2) coherent state. We then examine the role of photon addition and nonlinearity functions in the phase space structure and sub-Poissonianity of even, odd, and Yurke-Stoler nonlinear cat states. The effect of photon addition, which results in a π phase shift at the origin of the Wigner function toward negativity, interestingly enhances the nonclassicality by means of the Wigner function and Mandel parameter. Furthermore, owing to photon addition, we can observe a deformation in the Gaussian shape of the Wigner function, which may be found to be potentially useful in quantum noise reduction. Moreover, the deformation function shows a remarkable role in revealing the nonclassical behavior and can increase the depth and the domain of nonclassicality.
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The phase space structure and statistics of the photon added cat state are studied in the state’s general form. Photon addition leads to a π phase shift at the origin in the observed phase space interference of the Wigner function, which may serve as an error syndrome detector. The maxima and minima of the sub-Planck tiles in the phase space of the kitten state are interchanged after photon addition, leading to their orthogonality. Interestingly, photon addition to the Yurke–Stoler state characterized by Poissonian statistics leads to a sub-Poissonian distribution, which may find potential use in quantum noise reduction.
The addition of a photon into the same mode as a coherent state produces a nonclassical state that has interesting features, including quadrature squeezing and a sub-Poissonian photon-number distribution. The squeezed nature of photon-added coherent (PAC) states potentially offers an advantage in quantum sensing applications. Previous theoretical works have employed a single-mode treatment of PAC states. Here, we use a continuous-mode approach that allows us to model PAC state pulses. We study the properties of a single-photon and coherent-state wave packet superimposed with variable temporal and spectral overlap. We show that, even without perfect overlap, the state exhibits a sub-Poissonian number distribution, second-order quantum correlations, and quadrature squeezing for a weak coherent state. We also include propagation loss in waveguides and study how the fidelity and other properties of PAC state pulses are affected.
Abstract In this paper, we aim to introduce a new state called photon-subtracted-then-added squeezing-enhanced coherent state (PSASECS) by multiple photon subtraction and then addition to a squeezing-enhanced coherent state. We investigate the non-Gaussianity and nonclassicality of this new state in detail, including its Wigner function, sub-Poissonian statistics, Q -function, squeezing, and antibunching properties. The obtained results indicate that these non-Gaussian and nonclassical characteristics have been enhanced by appropriately changing between photon subtraction l and photon addition k . Additionally, the non-Gaussianity and nonclassicality of PSASECS are enhanced compared to cases involving only the addition or subtraction of photons. This demonstrates the importance of subtracting and then adding photons to the squeezing-enhanced coherent state, and introducing a significant state for application in quantum optics, particularly in mitigating phase noise fluctuations in quantum devices.