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International Journal of Modern Physics C

QUANTUM OPTICS NETWORKS, UNITARY OPERATORS AND COMPUTER ALGEBRA

Willi-Hans Steeb, Yorick Hardy

Published Jul 1, 2008• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

In linear quantum optics we consider phase shifters, beam splitters, displacement operations, squeezing operations etc. The evolution can be described by unitary operators using Bose creation and annihilation operators. This evolution can be reduced to matrix multiplication using unitary matrices. We derive these evolutions for the different unitary operators. Finally a computer algebra implementation is provided.

DOI
10.1142/s0129183108012674

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In linear quantum optics we consider phase shifters, beam splitters, displacement operations, squeezing operations etc. The evolution can be described by unitary operators using Bose creation and annihilation operators. This evolution can be reduced to matrix multiplication using unitary matrices. We derive these evolutions for the different unitary operators. Finally a computer algebra implementation is provided.
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The unitary evolution of linear optics can be used to model quantum computational networks. In this paper, a quantum simulation of a classically chaotic map (the baker's map) is developed using linear optics. Two different models are presented. The first model employs only 50-50 beam splitters and phase shifters to simulate universal 2-qubit gates of a quantum computer. The second model uses the discrete Fourier transform generated by symmetric $N\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}N$ fiber couplers. If single photons are used as inputs for these linear optics models, the result is a physical realization of the quantum baker's map.
Using the quantum fast Fourier transform in linear optics the input mode annihilation operators {â0,â1,...,âs−1} are transformed into output mode annihilation operators {b̂0,b̂1,...,b̂s−1}. We show how to implement experimentally such transformations based on the Cooley-Tukey algorithm, by the use of beam splitters and phase shifters in a linear optical system. Optical systems implementing 1,2, and 3 qubits discrete Fourier transform (DFT) are described, and a general method for implementing the n-qubit DFT is analyzed. These transformations are used on various input radiation states by which phase estimation and order finding can be computed.
Abstract Quadratic bosonic Hamiltonians and their associated unitary transformations form a fundamental class of operations in quantum optics, modelling key processes such as squeezing, displacement and beam-splitting. Their Heisenberg-picture dynamics simplifies to linear (or possibly affine) transformations on quadrature operators, enabling efficient analysis and decomposition into optical gate sets using matrix operations. However, this formalism discards a phase, which, while often neglected, is essential for a complete unitary characterization. We present efficient methods to recover this phase directly from the vacuum-to-vacuum amplitude of the unitary, using calculations that scale polynomially with the number of modes and avoid Fock space manipulations. We reduce the general problem for time-dependent Hamiltonians to integration, and provide analytical results for key cases including time-independent Hamiltonians which are positive definite, passive, active or single-mode. Finally, we show that our results can be easily used to obtain the phase associated with any Gaussian state, be it mixed or pure.
Abstract These lecture notes provide a comprehensive exploration of coherent and squeezed states, which are central to quantum optics and continuous-variable quantum information. We begin with the traditional formalism, where displacement and squeezing operators are defined via the creation and annihilation operators. Coherent states are presented as quantum analogues of classical fields with minimal uncertainty, while squeezed states are introduced as nonclassical resources that reduce quantum noise below the vacuum limit, enabling next-generation quantum technologies. A central feature of these notes is a parallel development from a group-theoretical standpoint. Here, these operators are defined abstractly by their algebraic properties, revealing their structure as bosonic realizations of the Weyl–Heisenberg and SU(1,1)SU(1,1)SU(1,1) S U ( 1 , 1 ) structures, respectively. This advanced perspective not only provides a more rigorous mathematical foundation but also leads to new insights, including a proof of the uniqueness of the single-mode squeezing operator and a no-go theorem for certain multi-mode squeezing configurations. Designed for both pedagogical clarity and advanced study, these notes bridge the foundational operator algebra of quantum optics with the modern group-theoretical structures essential for research in continuous-variable quantum systems.