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Physical Review A

Schrödinger-cat states of the electromagnetic field and multilevel atoms

P. L. Knight, Bruce W. Shore

Published Jul 1, 1993• 67 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate that the generalization of the two-level Jaynes-Cummings model to an N-level atom leads to the creation of up to N macroscopically distinct field states. These field states are Schmidt-orthogonalized superpositions of Fock states. They correspond to macroscopic states of the field, attainable with large mean photon numbers. Unlike the situation with a two-level atom and a coherent-state field, which evolves into a macroscopic coherent superposition state (a Schr\"odinger cat), we find that when the additional levels participate strongly in the excitation (e.g., all transitions are resonant with equal dipole moments) then the system does not evolve into a pure state.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.48.642

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In this article, we have studied how to generate macroscopic quantum superposition states in electromagnetic field, the Schrodinger cat states, from the large-detuning degenerate Raman process and the large-detuning two-photon Jaynes-Cummings model. The homodyne detection of these states is also discussed. When the initial state of the field is the Schrodinger cat state, the effects of the cat state on the collapse and revival phenomena in the intensity-dependent Jaynes-Cummings model are investigated. The revival in varying degrees occurs in the collapse region resulted from the evolution of initial coherent state.

Acta Physica Sinica•Jan 1, 1996•0 citations
We demonstrate that the generalization of the two-level Jaynes-Cummings model to an N-level atom leads to the creation of up to N macroscopically distinct field states. These field states are Schmidt-orthogonalized superpositions of Fock states. They correspond to macroscopic states of the field, attainable with large mean photon numbers. Unlike the situation with a two-level atom and a coherent-state field, which evolves into a macroscopic coherent superposition state (a Schr"odinger cat), we find that when the additional levels participate strongly in the excitation (e.g., all transitions are resonant with equal dipole moments) then the system does not evolve into a pure state.
We demonstrate that the generalization of the two-level Jaynes-Cummings model (JCM) to an N-level atom leads to the creation of up to N macroscopically distinct field states. These field states are Schmidt-orthogonalized superpositions of Fock states. They correspond to macroscopic states of the field, attainable with large mean photon numbers. Unlike the situation with a two-level atom and a coherent-state field, which evolves into a macroscopic coherent superposition state (a Schrodinger cat), we find that when the additional levels participate strongly in the excitation (e.g all transitions are resonant with equal dipole moments) then the system does not evolve into a pure state. We will present some examples of special cases, giving insight into the behavior of three-level atoms and the two-level two-photon JCM.
An asymptotic result is derived for the Jaynes-Cummings model of a two-level atom interacting with a quantized single-mode field, which is valid when the field is initially in a coherent state with a large average photon number. It is shown that for certain initial atomic states the joint atom-field wave function factors into an atomic and a field part throughout the interaction, so that each system remains separately in a pure state. The atomic part of the wave function displays a crossing of trajectories in the atom Hilbert space that leads to a unique state for the atom, independent of its initial state, at a specific time t0{\mathit{t}}_{0}t0​ (equal to half the revival time). The field part of the wave function resembles a crescent squeezed state. The well-known collapses and revivals are investigated from this perspective. The collapse appears to be associated with a ``measurement'' of the initial state of the atom with the field as the measuring apparatus. The measurement is not complete for finite average photon number: the system is instead left in a coherent superposition of macroscopically distinct states. At the half-revival time t0{\mathit{t}}_{0}t0​ this superposition of states is entirely in the field part of the state vector, so that the (pure) state of the field at that time is of the form sometimes referred to as a ``Schr\"odinger cat.'' The revivals of the population inversion are seen to be entirely due to the fact that the linear superposition of the two macroscopically distinct field states is coherent (i.e., a pure state), as opposed to an incoherent mixture.
The Jaynes-Cummings model of optical resonance describes the simplest fully quantized interaction between two quantum systems of different nature: a two-level atom (fermionic system) and a quantized field mode (bosonic system). This interaction leads to extreme quantum entanglement of the atom and field. However, the model also predicts that, at precisely half of the revival time, the atom and field become asymptotically disentangled. This disentanglement becomes more exact as the coherent-state amplitude increases. In this paper we investigate the nature of the pure-field-state superposition generated at such times. We show that this superposition is of distinguishable states of the field with the same amplitude but opposite phase. Interference between these components leads to nonclassical oscillations in photon-number distributions and squeezing in quadratures of the field. The Schr\"odinger-cat states of the field are highly transient, and depend very sensitively on the interaction time, the initial intensity of the field, and the atom-field detuning.
In this article, we have studied how to generate macroscopic quantum superposition states in electromagnetic field, the Schrodinger cat states, from the large-detuning degenerate Raman process and the large-detuning two-photon Jaynes-Cummings model. The homodyne detection of these states is also discussed. When the initial state of the field is the Schrodinger cat state, the effects of the cat state on the collapse and revival phenomena in the intensity-dependent Jaynes-Cummings model are investigated. The revival in varying degrees occurs in the collapse region resulted from the evolution of initial coherent state.