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arXiv:quant-ph/9904058 · Physical Review A

Wigner functions, squeezing properties, and slow decoherence of a mesoscopic superposition of two-level atoms

M. G. Benedict, Attila Czirják

Published Nov 1, 1999• 97 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We consider a class of states in an ensemble of two-level atoms: a mesoscopic superposition of two distinct atomic coherent states, which can be regarded as atomic analogs of the states usually called Schr\"odinger-cat states in quantum optics. According to the relation of the constituents, we define polar and nonpolar cat states. The properties of these are investigated by the aid of the spherical Wigner function. We show that nonpolar cat states generally exhibit squeezing, the measure of which depends on the separation of the components of the cat, and also on the number of the constituent atoms. By solving the master equation for the polar cat state embedded in an external environment, we determine the characteristic times of decoherence and dissipation, and also the characteristic time of a new parameter, the nonclassicality of the state. This latter one is introduced by the help of the Wigner function, which is used also to visualize the process. The dependence of the characteristic times on the number of atoms of the cat and on the temperature of the environment shows that the decoherence of polar cat states is surprisingly slow.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.60.4034

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We consider a class of states in an ensemble of two-level atoms: a mesoscopic superposition of two distinct atomic coherent states, which can be regarded as atomic analogs of the states usually called Schr"odinger-cat states in quantum optics. According to the relation of the constituents, we define polar and nonpolar cat states. The properties of these are investigated by the aid of the spherical Wigner function. We show that nonpolar cat states generally exhibit squeezing, the measure of which depends on the separation of the components of the cat, and also on the number of the constituent atoms. By solving the master equation for the polar cat state embedded in an external environment, we determine the characteristic times of decoherence and dissipation, and also the characteristic time of a new parameter, the nonclassicality of the state. This latter one is introduced by the help of the Wigner function, which is used also to visualize the process. The dependence of the characteristic times on the number of atoms of the cat and on the temperature of the environment shows that the decoherence of polar cat states is surprisingly slow.
We investigate the time evolution of the superposition of macroscopically distinct quantum states in a system of two-level atoms interacting with a thermal environment of photon modes. We show that the atomic coherent states are robust against decoherence; therefore, we call their superpositions atomic Schr\"odinger cat states. The initial fast regime of the time evolution is associated with the process of decoherence and it is directed toward the statistical mixture of the constituent coherent states of the original state for most of the initial conditions. However, certain superpositions, called symmetric, exhibit exceptionally slow decoherence. By introducing a new measure, we generalize the usual decoherence scheme regarding the evolution of the state to account also for the symmetric case. To stress the fact that the environment preserves symmetric superpositions much longer than the other ones, we present Wigner function images of the decoherence of a suitably oriented four-component cat state.
Abstract Superposition of two coherent states, the Schrodinger’s cat state, can exhibit different nonclassical properties having foundational applications in quantum information processing. We consider the ‘superposition of Schrodinger’s cat state with the vacuum state (SCVS)’ of the optical field. We discuss different witness of nonclassicality properties such as lower- and higher-order squeezing (viz., squeezing, Hong & Mandel’s fourth-order squeezing, amplitude-squared squeezing) and sub-Poissonian photon statistics. Further, we discuss the negativity of the Wigner function of SCVS indicating the nonclassicality of the state under investigation. We find that the vacuum state contribution in SCVS exhibits different nonclassicalities under some conditions stronger where the nonclassicalities exhibited by the state without vacuum state contribution are weaker.
Non-Gaussian states, and specifically the paradigmatic cat state, are well known to be very sensitive to losses. When propagating through damping channels, these states quickly lose their nonclassical features and the associated negative oscillations of their Wigner function. However, by squeezing the superposition states, the decoherence process can be qualitatively changed and substantially slowed down. Here, as a first example, we experimentally observe the reduced decoherence of squeezed optical coherent-state superpositions through a lossy channel. To quantify the robustness of states, we introduce a combination of a decaying value and a rate of decay of the Wigner function negativity. This work, which uses squeezing as an ancillary Gaussian resource, opens new possibilities to protect and manipulate quantum superpositions in phase space.
The simple resonant Rabi oscillation of a two-level system in a single-mode coherent field reveals complex features at the mesoscopic scale, with oscillation collapses and revivals. Using slow circular Rydberg atoms interacting with a superconducting microwave cavity, we explore this phenomenon in an unprecedented range of interaction times and photon numbers. We demonstrate the efficient production of cat states, which are the quantum superposition of coherent components with nearly opposite phases and sizes in the range of few tens of photons. We measure cuts of their Wigner functions revealing their quantum coherence and observe their fast decoherence. This experiment opens promising perspectives for the rapid generation and manipulation of nonclassical states in cavity and circuit quantum electrodynamics.
ABSTRACT: The processes of quantum decoherence in QED cavities have been extensively studied in the last decade, both experimentally by Haroche, Raimond et. al., as theoretically by Nemes, Davidovich et. to the. We present here the dynamics of the Wigner function for a system consisting of a two-level atom and a cavity in a dissipative environment, using a numerical integration scheme that allows us to consider initial Squeezed and Schrodinger's Cat States. The interaction between the atom and the single-mode field is considered by a dispersive model, that is, the interaction in the Hamiltonian of Jaynes-Cummings appears as a small disturbance. The interest is focused both on the quantum characteristics of the dispersive approach (preparation of mesoscopic states) and on the aspects that characterize dynamics and dissipation. In particular, the gradual loss of quantum coherence is observed through the use of the Wigner function, where the disappearance of the interference regions of the initial quantum states is evidenced.