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Physical Review Letters

All-Optical Model for the Generation and the Detection of Macroscopic Quantum Coherence

P. Tombesi, David Vitali

Published Jul 15, 1996• 18 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We show that with a suitable modification of the model proposed by Yurke, Schleich, and Walls [Phys. Rev. A 42, 1703 (1990)] for the generation of linear superpositions of macroscopically distinct quantum states, it is possible to arrange a scheme for generating and detecting optical Schr\"odinger catlike states which is experimentally feasible with current technologies.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.77.411

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We show that with a suitable modification of the model proposed by Yurke, Schleich, and Walls [Phys. Rev. A 42, 1703 (1990)] for the generation of linear superpositions of macroscopically distinct quantum states, it is possible to arrange a scheme for generating and detecting optical Schr"odinger catlike states which is experimentally feasible with current technologies.
A full comprehension of the fuzzy boundary between the classical and the quantum world is still lacking. A deeper understanding of the problem can be obtained form the study of the so-called "Schrödinger cat states", i.e. the paradoxical states arising when the superposition principle of quantum mechanics is extended to the macroscopic world. Quantum optics is, up to now, the most studied field for the experimental realization of these states. A survey of all the proposals made for generating and detecting linear superpositions of classically distinguishable states in quantum optical systems is presented. Then, one of the most recent proposals [P. Tombesi and D. Vitali, Phys. Rev. Lett.77, 411 (1996)] is presented in detail and its experimental feasibility discussed.
Most quantum computation schemes propose encoding qubits in two-level systems. Others exploit the use of an infinite-dimensional system. In "Encoding a qubit in an oscillator" [Phys. Rev. A 64, 012310 (2001)], Gottesman, Kitaev, and Preskill (GKP) combined these approaches when they proposed a fault-tolerant quantum computation scheme in which a qubit is encoded in the continuous position and momentum degrees of freedom of an oscillator. One advantage of this scheme is that it can be performed by use of relatively simple linear optical devices, squeezing, and homodyne detection. However, we lack a practical method to prepare the initial GKP states. Here we propose the generation of an approximate GKP state by using superpositions of optical coherent states (sometimes called "Schrödinger cat states"), squeezing, linear optical devices, and homodyne detection.
In 1935, Erwin Schrödinger put forward his famous gedanken experiment in which a microscopic degree of freedom - the emission state of a radioactive atom - and a macroscopic, classical state - the life or death of a cat - are entangled [1]. The resulting state is dubbed a Schrodinger-cat state. According to quantum theory, a measurement of the atom in a superposition basis projects the cat into a macroscopic superposition of being alive and dead. Here, we use coherent laser fields with different optical phases as a macroscopic model system and generate entangled Schrodinger-cat states in a deterministic way [3]. We reflect the coherent pulses from an optical cavity that contains a single strongly-coupled atom. This entangles the spin of the atom with the optical phase of the light field [2]. By manipulating and detecting the atomic state, we create a plethora of flying optical coherent-state superpositions. We reconstruct the corresponding Wigner functions (see Fig. 1) to demonstrate the tunability and non-classicality of the produced light state.