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Journal of Optics B Quantum and Semiclassical Optics

Amplification of Schrödinger-cat state in a degenerate optical parametric amplifier

Radim Filip

Published Jan 25, 2001• 16 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Amplification of the Schrödinger-cat state (even coherent-state superposition) can be accompanied by its non-exponential decoherence and strong squeezing effect in the degenerate optical parametric amplifier. In the classical pump approximation and small thermal noise limit, the Wigner function behaviour illustrates that this non-exponential effect is induced by the phase-selective character of amplification. The non-exponential decoherence is much slower, in contrast with phase-unselective amplification exhibiting faster exponential decay. Thus, if one is able to produce the Schrödinger-cat state with at least a small amplitude, then it can be partially amplified with only a weak decoherence effect.

DOI
10.1088/1464-4266/3/1/351

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Amplification of the Schrödinger-cat state (even coherent-state superposition) can be accompanied by its non-exponential decoherence and strong squeezing effect in the degenerate optical parametric amplifier. In the classical pump approximation and small thermal noise limit, the Wigner function behaviour illustrates that this non-exponential effect is induced by the phase-selective character of amplification. The non-exponential decoherence is much slower, in contrast with phase-unselective amplification exhibiting faster exponential decay. Thus, if one is able to produce the Schrödinger-cat state with at least a small amplitude, then it can be partially amplified with only a weak decoherence effect.
We examine the nonclassical property of a Schr\"odinger cat state, i.e., a superposition of two coherent states, when it is amplified by either a phase-sensitive or a phase-insensitive amplifier. In both cases the corresponding P representation remains nonpositive in some area of the complex plane, for any amplification factor. The contribution to the P function from these areas decreases exponentially with an amplification factor. With a phase-sensitive amplifier the onset of decay can be postponed to a larger amplification factor. Thus the nonclassical nature of the field can be preserved under a wide range of conditions, in spite of the noise introduced in the amplification process. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
The process of quantum-injection into an amplifier operating in a novel entangled configuration is adopted to “amplify” into a large dimensionality spin-12 Hilbert space the superposition properties of the entangled photon-couples generated by parametric down-conversion. The process is applied to the cases of mode-degenerate and mode non-degenerate Parametric Amplification. The quantum structure of the Wigner function and of the field correlation functions shows in both cases that the Schroedinger-cat behavior of the emitted field is largely detectable against the squeezed-vacuum noise. The absence of decoherence is explained in terms of a basic property of nonlinear complex systems.
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A cat-state is a superposition of two coherent states with amplitudes α0α_{0}α0​ and −α0-α_{0}−α0​. Recent experiments create cat states in a microwave cavity field using superconducting circuits. As with degenerate parametric oscillation (DPO) in an adiabatic and highly nonlinear limit, the states are formed in a signal cavity mode via a two-photon dissipative process induced by the down conversion of a pump field to generate pairs of signal photons. The damping of the signal and the presence of thermal fluctuations rapidly decoheres the state, and the effect on the dynamics is to either destroy the possibility of a cat state, or else to sharply reduce the lifetime and size of the cat-states that can be formed. In this paper, we study the effect on both the DPO and microwave systems of a squeezed reservoir coupled to the cavity. While the threshold nonlinearity is not altered, we show that the use of squeezed states significantly lengthens the lifetime of the cat states. This improves the feasibility of generating cat states of large amplitude and with a greater degree of quantum macroscopic coherence, which is necessary for many quantum technology applications. Using current experimental parameters for the microwave set-up, which requires a modified Hamiltonian, we further demonstrate how squeezed states enhance the quality of the cat states that could be formed in this regime. Squeezing also combats the significant decoherence due to thermal noise, which is relevant for microwave fields at finite temperature. By modeling a thermal squeezed reservoir, we show that the thermal decoherence of the dynamical cat states can be inhibited by a careful control of the squeezing of the reservoir. To signify the quality of the cat state, we consider different signatures including fringes and negativity, and the Cl1C_{l_{1}}Cl1​​ measure of quantum coherence.
We study the effect of non-coherent-state pumps on the behavior of the degenerate parametric amplifier. This is done both by developing some exact results and by extending the parametric approximation. Relations are found between the number fluctuations in the pump and those in the signal. The effect of initial phase uncertainty in the pump on the squeezing in the signal is also determined. In addition, we find that rotational symmetry in phase space of the signal-mode state is twice that of the pump-mode state. This implies, for example, that a pump in the squeezed vacuum state will produce a signal-mode state with a four-pronged structure. The effect of a squeezed pump with nonzero amplitude is studied by using a more general form of the parametric approximation. It is shown that in the time interval during which the parametric approximation is valid the effect of this pump is the same as one which is an incoherent superposition of coherent states. We find that while the squeezing of the pump degrades the squeezing of the signal it enhances its amplitude-squared squeezing.