We propose a measurement protocol to generate path-entangled NOON states conditionally from two pulsed type II optical parametric oscillators. We calculate the fidelity of the produced states and the success probability of the protocol. The trigger detectors are assumed to have finite dead time, and for short pulse trigger fields they are modeled as on/off detectors with finite efficiency. Continuous-wave operation of the parametric oscillators is also considered.
We propose a linear optical scheme that can conditionally generate high NOON states using polarization modes. This scheme provides advantages over the previous proposals on path-entangled NOON states in view of success probability or required resources of optical elements. We also investigate two experimental schemes feasible within existing technology that can produce the NOON-like or the NOON state for N = 4.
We put forward two efficient entanglement concentration protocols (ECPs) for distilling the maximally entangled NOON state from arbitrary less-entangled NOON state with only an auxiliary single photon. With the help of the weak cross-Kerr nonlinearities, both the two ECPs can be used repeatedly to get a high success probability. In the first ECP, the auxiliary single photon should be shared by the two parties say Alice and Bob. In the second ECP, the auxiliary single photon is only possessed by Bob, which can greatly increase the practical success probability by avoiding the transmission loss.…
The simultaneous multi-parameter estimation problem using a class of multi-mode entangled states is investigated in this paper. Specifically, the problem of optical phase imaging is considered and the quantum probe is taken to be a balanced coherent superposition of components with an arbitrary quantum state in one mode and vacuum states in all the other modes, which is a generalization of the multi-mode NOON state. The analytical form for the quantum Cramer-Rao bound (QCRB) is presented, which shows the performance by providing a lower bound of the estimation uncertainty. It is shown that the…
We propose a bootstrapping approach to generation of maximally path-entangled states of photons, so called ``NOON states''. Strong atom-light interaction of cavity QED can be employed to generate NOON states with about 100 photons; which can then be used to boost the existing experimental Kerr nonlinearities based on quantum coherence effects to facilitate NOON generation with arbitrarily large number of photons all within the current experimental state of the art technology. We also offer an alternative scheme that uses an atom-cavity dispersive interaction to obtain sufficiently high Kerr-no…
Multi-photon entangled states play a crucial role in quantum information applications such as secure quantum communication, scalable computation, and high-precision quantum metrology. Quantum memory for entangled states is a key component of quantum repeaters, which are indispensable in realizing quantum communications. Storing a single photon or an entangled photon has been realized through different protocols. However, there has been no report demonstrating whether a multi-photon state can be stored in any physical system or not. Here, we report on the experimental storage of a two-photon NO…
Multi-party entangled states have important applications in quantum metrology and quantum computation. Experimental preparation of large entangled state, in particular, the NOON states, however, remains challenging as the particle number $N$ increases. Here we develop a deterministic method to generate arbitrarily high NOON states for phonons and experimentally create the states up to $N=9$ phonons in two radial modes of a single trapped \Yb ion. We demonstrate that the fidelity of the NOON states are significantly above the classical limit by measuring the interference contrast and the popula…
We construct a projection measurement process for the maximally entangled N-photon state (the NOON-state) with only linear optical elements and photodetectors. This measurement process will give null result for any N-photon state that is orthogonal to the NOON state. We examine the projection process in more detail for N=4 by applying it to a four-photon state from type-II parametric down-conversion. This demonstrates an orthogonal projection measurement with a null result. This null result corresponds to a dip in a generalized Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer for four photons. We find that the d…
We propose a novel scheme for the efficient production of "NOON states" based on the resonant interaction of a pair of quantized cavity modes with an ensemble of atoms. We show that in the strong-coupling regime the adiabatic evolution of the system tends to a limiting state that describes mesoscopic entanglement between photons and atoms which can easily be converted to a purely photonic or atomic NOON state. We also demonstrate the remarkable property that the efficiency of this scheme increases exponentially with the cavity cooperativity factor, which gives efficient access to high number N…
We describe an experimental demonstration of a novel three-photon NOON state generator using a single source of photons based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). The three-photon number-entangled state is deterministically generated by the detection of a heralding photon. Interference fringes measured with an emulated three-photon absorber reveal the three-photon de Broglie wavelength and exhibit visibility > 70% without background subtraction.
The generation, manipulation and fundamental understanding of entanglement lies at very heart of quantum mechanics. Among various types of entangled states, the NOON states are a kind of special quantum entangled states with two orthogonal component states in maximal superposition, which have a wide range of potential applications in quantum communication and quantum information processing. Here, we propose a fast and simple scheme for generating NOON states of photons in two superconducting resonators by using a single superconducting transmon qutrit. Because only one superconducting qutrit a…
The photonic de Broglie wave, in which an ensemble of $N$ identical photons with wavelength $λ$ reveals $λ/N$ interference fringes, has been known to be a unique feature exhibited by the photon number-path entangled state or the NOON state. Here, we report the observation of the photonic de Broglie wave for a pair of photons, generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion, that are not photon number-path entangled. We also show that the photonic de Broglie wave can even be observed for a pair of photons that are completely separable (i.e., no entanglement in all degrees of freedom) and di…
With adiabatic techniques, it is possible to create quantum superposition states with high fidelity while exercising limited control over the parameters of a system. However, because these techniques are slow compared to other timescales in the system, they are usually not suitable for creating highly unstable states or performing time-critical processes. Both of these situations arise in quantum information processing, where entangled states may only be isolated from the environment for a short time and where quantum computers require high-fidelity operations to be performed quickly. Recently…
We present a method to generate NOON states with three photons by injecting photons in an array of three waveguides. Conditional measurements project the wave function in a given (desired) state. In passing, we show how the array of three waveguides, that effectively reproduces the interaction of three fields, may be reduced to the interaction of two fields.
The concept of entanglement, in which coherent quantum states become inextricably correlated, has evolved from one of the most startling and controversial outcomes of quantum mechanics to the enabling principle of emerging technologies such as quantum computation and quantum sensors. The use of entangled particles in measurement permits the transcendence of the standard quantum limit in sensitivity, which scales as N^1/2 for N particles, to the Heisenberg limit, which scales as N. This approach has been applied to optical interferometry using entangled photons and spin pairs for the measuremen…
We introduce schemes for linear-optical quantum state generation. A quantum state generator is a device that prepares a desired quantum state using product inputs from photon sources, linear-optical networks, and postselection using photon counters. We show that this device can be concisely described in terms of polynomial equations and unitary constraints. We illustrate the power of this language by applying the Grobner-basis technique along with the notion of vacuum extensions to solve the problem of how to construct a quantum state generator analytically for any desired state, and use metho…
To generate a NOON state with a large photon number $N$, the number of operational steps could be large and the fidelity will decrease rapidly with $N$. Here we propose a method to generate a new type of quantum entangled states, $(|NN00\rangle+|00NN\rangle)/\sqrt{2}$ called "double NOON" states, with a setup of two superconducting flux qutrits and five circuit cavities. This scheme operates essentially by employing a two-photon process, i.e., two photons are simultaneously and separately emitted into two cavities when each coupler qutrit is initially in a higher-energy excited state. As a con…
In this paper we investigate whether it is in general possible to substitute maximally path-entangled states, namely NOON-states by classical light in a Doppleron-type resonant multiphoton detection processes by studying adaptive phase measurement with classical light. We show that multiphoton detection probability using classical light coincides with that of NOON-states and the multiphoton absorbtion rate is not hindered by the spatially unconstrained photons of the classical light in our scheme. We prove that the optimal phase variance with classical light can be achieved and scales the same…
The presence of loss limits the precision of an approach to phase measurement using maximally entangled states, also referred to as NOON states. A calculation using a simple beam-splitter model of loss shows that, for all nonzero values L of the loss, phase measurement precision degrades with increasing number N of entangled photons for N sufficiently large. For L above a critical value of approximately 0.785, phase measurement precision degrades with increasing N for all values of N. For L near zero, phase measurement precision improves with increasing N down to a limiting precision of approx…
NOON states (states of the form $|N>_{a}|0>_{b}+|0>_{a}|N>_{b}$ where $a$ and $b$ are single particle states) have been used for predicting violations of hidden-variable theories (Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger violations) and are valuable in metrology for precision measurements of phase at the Heisenberg limit. We show theoretically how the use of two Fock state/Bose-Einstein condensates as sources in a modified Mach Zender interferometer can lead to the creation of the NOON state in which $a$ and $b$ refer to arms of the interferometer and $N$ is the total number of particles in the two condens…
NOON states are path entangled states which can be exploited to enhance phase resolution in interferometric measurements. In the present paper we analyze the quantum states obtained by optical parametric amplification of polarization NOON states. First we study, theoretically and experimentally, the amplification of a 2-photon state by a collinear Quantum Injected Optical Parametric Amplifier (QIOPA). We compared the stimulated emission regime with the spontaneous one, studied by Sciarrino et al. (PRA 77, 012324), finding comparable visibilities between the two cases but an enhancement of the …
Two schemes of projection measurement are realized experimentally to demonstrate the de Broglie wavelength of three photons without the need for a maximally entangled three-photon state (the NOON state). The first scheme is based on the proposal by Wang and Kobayashi (Phys. Rev. A {\bf 71}, 021802) that utilizes a couple of asymmetric beam splitters while the second one applies the general method of NOON state projection measurement to three-photon case. Quantum interference of three photons is responsible for projecting out the unwanted states, leaving only the NOON state contribution in thes…
For systems described by the two-site Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian, we show that a sinusoidal modulation of the tunneling matrix element assists higher-order co-tunneling processes. Using this mechanism, we propose an efficient new scheme for creating a coherent superposition of states in which all particles are either on one site or all on the other site, the so-called NOON state. This scheme yields an almost perfect NOON state periodically. For larger numbers of particles, further reduction of the time to create the state is possible if more than one modulation frequency is employed. With this s…
"Schrodinger's cat" is a gedankenexperiment intended to highlight conceptual difficulties in the interpretation of quantum mechanics. The generation of 'cat-like' states is central to numerous quantum information protocols. In particular, much attention has been drawn by states containing N photons in a superposition of all being in one of two designated modes. These maximally path entangled states, known as 'NOON' states, exhibit enhanced phase sensitivity and allow reaching the fundamental quantum limit of precision measurement. Such states could also be used for obtaining 'super-resolution'…
We propose a generalized form of entangled coherent states (ECS) and apply them in a multi-arm optical interferometer to estimate multiple phase shifts. We obtain the quantum Cramer-Rao bounds for both the linear and nonlinear parameterization protocols. Through the analysis, we find that, utilizing the simultaneous estimation, this generalized form of ECS gives a better precision than the generalized NOON states [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{111}, 070403 (2013)]. Moreover, comparing with the independent estimation, both the linear and nonlinear protocols have the same advantage in the relation to…
Quantum mechanics allows entanglement enhanced measurements to be performed, but loss remains an obstacle in constructing realistic quantum metrology schemes. However, recent work has revealed that entangled coherent states (ECSs) have the potential to perform robust sub-classical measurements [J. Joo et. al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 83601 (2011)]. Up to now no read out scheme has been devised which exploits this robust nature of ECSs, but we present here an experimentally accessible method of achieving precision close to the theoretical bound, even with loss. We show substantial improvements ov…
The advantage of using a single-photon two-mode entangled state in two-way communication via maximal violation of an inequality associated with the `Guess Your Neighbour's Input' (GYNI) game has been theoretically [Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 060503 (2018)] as well as experimentally [CLEO FID.4 (OSA, 2018)] established quite recently. We show that such an advantage can also be obtained using any single-mode pure non-classical state embedded in a two-mode pure entangled state, wherein the other mode is the vacuum (henceforth referred to as a generalized NOON state), regardless of the average photon n…
Quantum entanglement offers the possibility of making measurements beyond the classical limit, however some issues still need to be overcome before it can be applied in realistic lossy systems. Recent work has used the quantum Fisher information (QFI) to show that entangled coherent states (ECSs) may be useful for this purpose as they combine sub-classical phase precision capabilities with robustness (Joo et al., 2011). However, to date no effective scheme for measuring a phase in lossy systems using an ECS has been devised. Here we present a scheme that does just this. We show how one could m…
We propose a scheme for conditional generation of two-mode N-photon path-entangled states of traveling light field. These states may find applications in quantum optical lithography and they may be used to improve the sensitivity of interferometric measurements. Our method requires only single-photon sources, linear optics (beam splitters and phase shifters), and photodetectors with single photon sensitivity.
We propose a method to generate path-entangled $N00N$-state photons from quantum dots (QDs) and coupled nanocavities. In the systems we considered, cavity mode frequencies are tuned close to the biexciton two-photon resonance. Under appropriate conditions, the system can have the target $N00N$ state in the energy eigenstate, as a consequence of destructive quantum interference. The $N00N$ state can be generated by the resonant laser excitation. This method, first introduced for two-photon $N00N$ state ($N=2$), can be extended toward higher $N00N$ state ($N>2$) based on our recipe, which is app…
The maximally entangled mixed states of Munro, James, White, and Kwiat [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 64} (2001) 030302] are shown to exhibit interesting features vis a vis conditional entropic measures. The same happens with the Ishizaka and Hiroshima states [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 62} 022310 (2000)], whose entanglement-degree can not be increased by acting on them with logic gates. Special types of entangled states that do not violate classical entropic inequalities are seen to exist in the space of two qubits. Special meaning can be assigned to the Munro {\it et al.} special participation ratio of 1.8.
We propose a universal scheme for the probabilistic generation of an arbitrary multimode entangled state of light with finite expansion in Fock basis. The suggested setup involves passive linear optics, single photon sources, strong coherent laser beams, and photodetectors with single-photon resolution. The efficiency of this setup may be greatly enhanced if, in addition, a quantum memory is available.
A system of cascaded qubits interacting via the oneway exchange of photons is studied. While for general operating conditions the system evolves to a superposition of Bell states (a dark state) in the long-time limit, under a particular resonance condition no steady state is reached within a finite time. We analyze the conditional quantum evolution (quantum trajectories) to characterize the asymptotic behavior under this resonance condition. A distinct bimodality is observed: for perfect qubit coupling, the system either evolves to a maximally entangled Bell state without emitting photons (the…
Fiber optic gyroscopes (FOG) based on the Sagnac effect are a valuable tool in sensing and navigation and enable accurate measurements in applications ranging from spacecraft and aircraft to self-driving vehicles such as autonomous cars. As with any classical optical sensors, the ultimate performance of these devices is bounded by the standard quantum limit (SQL). Quantum-enhanced interferometry allows us to overcome this limit using non-classical states of light. Here, we report on an entangled-photon gyroscope that uses path-entangled NOON-states (N=2) to provide phase supersensitivity beyon…
We propose a simple scheme to generate an arbitrary photon-added coherent state of a travelling optical field by using only a set of degenerate parametric amplifiers and single-photon detectors. Particularly, when the single-photon-added coherent state (SPACS) is observed by following, e.g., the novel technique of Zavatta \emph{$et al.$} (Science 306, 660 (2004)), we also obtain the generalized optical entangled $W$ state. Finally, a qualitative analysis of possible losses in our scheme is given.
We present a scheme for an integrated four-wave mixing source of narrow-band path-entangled photon pairs with efficient spatial pump self-rejection. The scheme is based on correlated loss in a system of waveguides in Kerr nonlinear media. We demonstrate that this setup allows for upwards of 100dB pump rejection, without additional filtering. The effect is reached by driving the symmetric collective mode that is strongly attenuated by an engineered dissipation, while photon pairs are born in the antisymmetric mode. A similar set-up can additionally be realized for generation of two-photon NOON …
Integrated optical devices are expected to play a promising role in the field of quantum information science and technology. In this paper, we propose a scheme for the generation of nondegenerate, copolarised, modal, and path- entangled photons using a directional coupler and an asymmetric Y-coupler geometry in type 0 phase-matched domain engineered lithium niobate(LN) waveguide. The nonlinearity in LN is tailored in such a way that quasi phase matching conditions for two different spontaneous parametric down conversion processes are obeyed simultaneously, leading to a modal and path-entangled…
We address the intrinsic multimode nature of the quantum state of light obtained by pulsed spontaneous parametric downconversion and develop a theoretical model based only on experimentally accessible quantities. We exploit the pairwise entanglement as a resource for conditional multimode measurements and derive closed formulas for the detection probability and the density matrix of the conditional states. We present a set of experiments performed to validate our model in different conditions that are in excellent agreement with experimental data. Finally, we evaluate nonGaussianity of the con…
It has been proposed and demonstrated that path-entangled Fock states (PEFSs) are robust against photon loss over NOON states [S. D. Huver \emph{et al.}, Phys. Rev. A \textbf{78}, 063828 (2008)]. However, the demonstration was based on a measurement scheme which was yet to be implemented in experiments. In this work, we quantitatively illustrate the advantage of PEFSs over NOON states in the presence of photon losses by analytically calculating the quantum Fisher information. To realize such an advantage in practice, we then investigate the achievable sensitivities by employing three types of …
Precise measurements are the key to advances in all fields of science. Quantum entanglement shows higher sensitivity than achievable by classical methods. Most physical quantities including position, displacement, distance, angle, and optical path length can be obtained by optical phase measurements. Reducing the photon wavelength of the interferometry can further enhance the optical path length sensitivity and imaging resolution. By quantum frequency up conversion, we realized a short wavelength two photon number entangled state. Nearly perfect Hong Ou Mandel interference is achieved after bo…
In [\href{http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/037596019290711T}{Phys. Lett. A {\bf 166}, 293 (1992)}] Popescu characterized nonlocality of pure $n$-partite entangled systems by studying bipartite violation of local realism when $n-2$ number of parties perform projective measurements on their particles. A pertinent question in this scenario is whether similar characterization is possible for $n$-partite mixed entangled states also. In the present work we have followed an analogous approach so as to explore whether given a tripartite mixed entangled state the conditional bipartite s…
We present an scheme to generate entangled state between two traveling modes for fixed number of photon, which is based on beam splitter transformation and conditional zero photon counters.
An approach for generating the entangled photonic states |F1,F2>+|F2,F1> from two arbitrary states |F1> and |F2> is proposed. The protocol is implemented by the conditionally induced beam-splitter coupling which leads to the selective swapping between two photonic modes. Such coupling occurs in a quantum system prepared in the superposition of two ground states with only one of them being involved in the swapping. All the entangled states in the category, such as entangled pairs of coherent states or Fock states (N00N states), can be efficiently produced in the same way by this method.
The quantum fluctuations of a physical property can be observed in the measurement statistics of any measurement that is at least partially sensitive to that physical property. Quantum theory indicates that the effective distribution of values taken by the physical property depends on the specific measurement context based on which these values are determined and weak values have been identified as the contextual values describing this dependence of quantum fluctuations on the measurement context. Here, the relation between classical statistics and quantum contextuality is explored by consider…
We show that the recently proposed scheme of teleportation of continuous variables [S.L. Braunstein and H.J. Kimble, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 869 (1998)] can be improved by a conditional measurement in the preparation of the entangled state shared by the sender and the recipient. The conditional measurement subtracts photons from the original entangled two-mode squeezed vacuum, by transmitting each mode through a low-reflectivity beam splitter and performing a joint photon-number measurement on the reflected beams. In this way the degree of entanglement of the shared state is increased and so is t…
We study the sensitivity of phase estimation using a generic class of path-symmetric entangled states $|φ\rangle|0\rangle+|0\rangle|φ\rangle$, where an arbitrary state $|φ\rangle$ occupies one of two modes in quantum superposition. This class of states includes the previously considered states, i.e. $NOON$ states and entangled coherent states, as special cases. With its generalization, we identify the practical limit of phase estimation under energy constraint that is characterized by the photon statistics of the component state $|φ\rangle$. We first show that quantum Cramer-Rao bound (QCRB) c…
In this paper, we describe how to realize conditional frequency entanglement swapping and to produce probabilisticly a three-photon frequency entangled state from two pairs of frequency entangled states by using an Acoustic-Optical-Modulator. Both schemes are very simple and may be implementable in practice.
Conditions to generate high-purity entangled vacuum-evacuated coherent states ($|0>|α>^0 - |-α>^0 |0>$ were studied for two cascade-placed beam splitters, with one squeezed state input and two coherent state inputs whenever a single photon is detected. Controlling the amplitudes and the phases of the beams allows for various amplitudes of the vacuum-evacuated coherent states ($|α>^ 0 = |α> -e^{-|α|^2} |0> $) up to $α= 2.160$ to be manipulated with high-purity.
We study single photon optomechanics conditioned on photon counting events. By selecting only detection events that occur long after a photon pulse arrives at the cavity, the optomechanical interaction time can be increased, allowing a large momentum kick to be applied to the oscillator. We apply this to two optomechanical cavities set up within a Mach-Zhender interferometer driven by a single photon source. The conditional state of the mechanical modes in such a system becomes an entangled cat state for detection times resulting in maximum mechanical amplitude in phase space. Further we study…
We report measurements of time-frequency entangled photon pairs and heralded single photons at telecommunications wavelengths, generated using a periodically-poled, lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) waveguide pumped optically by a diode laser. We achieve a high Coincidences-to-Accidentals Ratio (CAR) at high pair brightness, a low value of the conditional self-correlation function [$g^{(2)}$(0)], and high two-photon energy-time Franson interferometric visibility, which demonstrate the high quality of the entangled photon pairs and heralded single photons.
The generation and storage of entangled photons play important roles in quantum information technique. Spontaneous Raman scattering (SRS) in atomic ensembles provides a promising method to generate entangled photons capable of storage. In the past experiments, a spin-wave-photon entangled state is produced via SRS in an atomic ensemble, with which a pair of entangled photons is obtained. Here, we report a scheme of simultaneously generating two spin-wave-photon entangled states in an atomic ensemble by collecting Stokes photons at two different directions. Based on the obtained two atom-photon…
