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Journal of Mathematical Physics

Quasiprobability distributions and the analysis of the linear quantum channel with thermal noise

Carl W. Helstrom

Published Oct 1, 1979• 13 citations

Abstract

The quasiprobability distributions (QPD) introduced by Cahill and Glauber much simplify calculating the density operator of the output of a linear quantum channel from the density operator of the input when the channel attenuates and is corrupted by thermal noise. This channel models, for instance, an attenuator viewed as a simple harmonic oscillator in contact with a heat bath, or the relation between the radiating field mode in the aperture of a transmitter and the field mode it excites at the aperture of a distant receiver. It is shown how the attenuation and the noise in the channel modify the dependence of the QPD on the ordering parameter s. The form of the QPD at the output indicates that the greater the attenuation, the more nearly the state of the output resembles a classical state. Indeed, the addition of thermal noise contributing on the average only one photon suffices to convert an arbitrary unimodal state into a classical state. The principal result of the paper is applied to determining the output of a quantum channel whose input mode is in a generalized coherent state.

DOI: 10.1063/1.523973

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The quasiprobability distributions (QPD) introduced by Cahill and Glauber much simplify calculating the density operator of the output of a linear quantum channel from the density operator of the input when the channel attenuates and is corrupted by thermal noise. This channel models, for instance, an attenuator viewed as a simple harmonic oscillator in contact with a heat bath, or the relation between the radiating field mode in the aperture of a transmitter and the field mode it excites at the aperture of a distant receiver. It is shown how the attenuation and the noise in the channel modify the dependence of the QPD on the ordering parameter s. The form of the QPD at the output indicates that the greater the attenuation, the more nearly the state of the output resembles a classical state. Indeed, the addition of thermal noise contributing on the average only one photon suffices to convert an arbitrary unimodal state into a classical state. The principal result of the paper is applied to determining the output of a quantum channel whose input mode is in a generalized coherent state.

When the phase of the transmittance between a unimodal transmitter and a unimodal receiver is uniformly distributed over(0,2\pi), the density operator of the received signal field commutes with the photon number operator, and the optimum detector of the signal counts photons. A simple formula is given for the probability generating function of the number of photons in terms of the quasi-probability distribution of the transmitted signal. It is used to determine the average error probability of an on-off binary communication system transmitting two-photon coherent-state signals, received in the presence of thermal noise.

The classical capacity of phase-invariant Gaussian channels has been recently determined under the assumption that such channels are memoryless. In this work we generalize this result by deriving the classical capacity of a model of quantum memory channel, in which the output states depend on the previous input states. In particular we extend the analysis of Lupo et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 030501 (2010) and Phys. Rev. A 82, 032312 (2010)] from quantum limited channels to thermal attenuators and thermal amplifiers. Our result applies in many situations in which the physical communication channel is affected by nonzero memory and by thermal noise.

The Glauber-Sudarshan, Wigner and Husimi quasiprobability distributions are indispensable tools in quantum optics. However, although mathematical relations between them are well established, not much is known about their operational connection. In this paper, we prove that a single composition of finite-strength quantum limited amplifier and attenuator channels, known for their noise-adding properties, turns the Glauber-Sudarshan distribution of any input operator into its Wigner distribution, and its Wigner distribution into its Husimi distribution. As we dissect, the considered process, which can be performed in a quantum optical laboratory with relative ease, may be interpreted as realizing a quantum-to-classical transition.

We use the exact calculation of the quantum mechanical, temporal characteristic function $\ensuremath{\chi}(\ensuremath{\eta})$ and the degree of second-order coherence ${g}^{(2)}(\ensuremath{\tau})$ for a single-mode, degenerate parametric amplifier for a system in the Gaussian state, viz., a displaced-squeezed thermal state, to study the different criteria for nonclassicality. In particular, we contrast criteria that involve only one-time functions of the dynamical system, for instance, the quasiprobability distribution $P(\ensuremath{\beta})$ of the Glauber-Sudarshan coherent or P representation of the density of state and the Mandel ${Q}_{M}(\ensuremath{\tau})$ parameter, versus the criteria associated with the two-time correlation function ${g}^{(2)}(\ensuremath{\tau})$.

We investigate a free monochromatic electromagnetic field which is the superposition of a squeezed thermal radiation and a coherent one. The main tool in our analysis is the characteristic function that has a Gaussian form. We establish an analytic formula for an arbitrary correlation function, as well as its strong-squeezing limit. Besides the usual quasiprobability densities, the coherent-state, number-state, coordinate, and momentum representations of the density operator are derived. We point out the nonclassical oscillations of the photon-number distribution and find its generating function. Collaterally, displaced thermal states and squeezed thermal states are revisited as nontrivial particular cases. We examine finally the squeezing properties of the field using the distribution functions of the quadratures.