An arbitrary radiation field has limits on its quadrature variances and cross-correlations given by the positivity of the density matrix. These limits are derived and related to the optimisation of the squeezing measurements. The results are designed to deal with typical multimode squeezing experiments. In particular, the bounds indicate the necessity of achieving equal photon number intensities for optimal squeezing. A photon number imbalance can be compensated to some extent by using unequal gains. The optimal relative gain is obtained here.
An arbitrary radiation field has limits on its quadrature variances and cross-correlations given by the positivity of the density matrix. These limits are derived and related to the optimisation of the squeezing measurements. The results are designed to deal with typical multimode squeezing experiments. In particular, the bounds indicate the necessity of achieving equal photon number intensities for optimal squeezing. A photon number imbalance can be compensated to some extent by using unequal gains. The optimal relative gain is obtained here.
Quadrature variances of a radiation field depend not only on the photon number distribution in the field but also on the relative phases of the photon number probability amplitudes. Two fields with the same photon number distribution can show different degrees of squeezing if photon number states are superposed with different relative phases. It is thus possible, for example, for a radiation field with Poissonian photon statistics to exhibit squeezed quadrature fluctuations. Since different relative superposition phases in general yield different maximum and minimum values of the quadrature variances, measurement of the variances can yield information concerning the relative phases between different number states.
In our work, we show how, for a network of bosonic modes, canonical commutation relations constrain the coefficients relating input and internal modes. Based on these constraints, we derive a lower bound on the total steady-state squeezing achievable in reservoir-engineered (dissipative) squeezing schemes, quantified by the sum of mode-optimal quadrature variances normalized to its corresponding input variance. The bound follows solely from canonical commutation relations and stability, and is saturated in the strong-coupling limit at 1. Furthermore, we show that adding independent parametric driving terms for each mode changes the quantum noise-gain balance and yields a distinct optimum bound, approaching 1/2. In addition, we show how these constraints allow us to reformulate the Duan inseparability criterion for a three-mode bosonic system in terms of a single parameter-dependent figure of merit. Our results apply directly to current electromechanical and nanomechanical experiments and indicate that the two-mode bounds can be experimentally approached even at room temperature.
The question of an efficient multimode description of optical pulses is studied. We show that a relatively very small number of nonmonochromatic modes can be sufficient for a complete quantum description of pulses with Gaussian quadrature statistics. For example, a three-mode description was enough to reproduce the experimental data of photon number correlations in optical solitons [S. Sp\"alter, N. Korolkova, F. K\"onig, A. Sizmann, and G. Leuchs, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 786 (1998)]. This approach is very useful for a detailed understanding of squeezing properties of soliton pulses with the main potential for quantum communication with continuous variables. We show how homodyne detection and/or measurements of photon number correlations can be used to determine the quantum state of the multimode field. We also discuss a possible way of physical separation of the nonmonochromatic modes.
Squeezing of a coherent light field in a cavity by repeated interaction with atoms is studied in the resonance Jaynes-Cummings model. The least quadrature variance \ensuremath{\delta} is calculated for different values of N (mean photon number), t (interaction interval for each time), and K (number of times of interaction). In the one-photon-transition case, \ensuremath{\delta} could be reduced by this process to a certain extent for suitably chosen t. The squeezing becomes worse if K is too large. \ensuremath{\delta} as a function of t and K (for fixed N) has a minimum, which becomes smaller when N increases. The situation of the two-photon-transition case is similar, the only new feature is that \ensuremath{\delta}(K,t) varies with t periodically when N is large. With a favorably chosen value of t (half of the period), analytical formulas for \ensuremath{\delta}(N,K) are obtained in the large-N approximation. These formulas show definitely, both for atoms initially in the upper or lower level, the least quadrature variance \ensuremath{\delta} goes down when K increases up to a quite large value (for atoms in the upper level it is of order N3/2, while for atoms in the lower level it is of order N) and the achievable minimum value of ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\delta}}}^{2}$ is of order 1/ \ensuremath{\surd}N . Moreover, the light fields so obtained are nearly in pure states with minimum uncertainty product ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\delta}}}_{1}$${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\delta}}}_{2}$=1/4.
We first calculate the mean photon number and quadrature variance of superposed coherent and squeezed light, following a procedure of analysis based on combining the Hamiltonians and using the usual definition for the quadrature variance of superposed light beams. This procedure of analysis leads to physically unjustifiable mean photon number of the coherent light and quadrature variance of the superposed light. We then determine both of these properties employing a procedure of analysis based on superposing the Q functions and applying a slightly modified definition for the quadrature variance of a pair of superposed light beams. We find the expected mean photon number of the coherent light and the quadrature variance of the superposed light. Moreover, the quadrature squeezing of the superposed output light turns out to be equal to that of the superposed cavity light.
We present a complete analysis of variance matrices and quadrature squeezing for arbitrary states of quantum systems with any finite number of degrees of freedom. Basic to our analysis is the recognition of the crucial role played by the real symplectic group Sp(2n,openR) of linear canonical transformations on n pairs of canonical variables. We exploit the transformation properties of variance (noise) matrices under symplectic transformations to express the uncertainty-principle restrictions on a general variance matrix in several equivalent forms, each of which is manifestly symplectic invariant. These restrictions go beyond the classically adequate reality, symmetry, and positivity conditions. Towards developing a squeezing criterion for n-mode systems, we distinguish between photon-number-conserving passive linear optical systems and active ones. The former correspond to elements in the maximal compact U(n) subgroup of Sp(2n,openR), the latter to noncompact elements outside U(n). Based on this distinction, we motivate and state a U(n)-invariant squeezing criterion applicable to any state of an n-mode system, and explore alternative ways of expressing it. The set of all possible quantum-mechanical variance matrices is shown to contain several interesting subsets or subfamilies, whose definitions are related to the fact that a general variance matrix is not diagonalizable within U(n). Definitions, characterizations, and canonical forms for variance matrices in these subfamilies, as well as general ones, and their squeezing nature, are established. It is shown that all conceivable variance matrices can be generated through squeezed thermal states of the n-mode system and their symplectic transforms. Our formulas are developed in both the real and the complex forms for variance matrices, and ways to pass between them are given.