A minimal energy quantum superposition of two maximally distinguishable, isoenergetic single mode Gaussian states is used to construct the system-environment representation of a class of linear bosonic quantum channels acting on a single bosonic mode. The quantum channels are further defined by unitary dynamics of the system and environment corresponding to either a passive linear optical element $U_{\text{BS}}$ or two-mode squeezing $U_{\text{TM}}$. The notion of nonclassicality distance is used to show that the initial environment superposition state becomes maximally nonclassical as the constraint energy is increased. When the system is initially prepared in a coherent state, application of the quantum channel defined by $U_{\text{BS}}$ results in a nonclassical state for all values of the environment energy constraint. We also discuss the following properties of the quantum channels: 1) the maximal noise that a coherent system can tolerate, beyond which the linear bosonic attenuator channel defined by $U_{\text{BS}}$ cannot impart nonclassical correlations to the system, 2) the noise added to a coherent system by the phase-preserving linear amplification channel defined by $U_{\text{TM}}$, and 3) a generic lower bound for the trace norm contraction coefficient on the closed, convex hull of energy-constrained Gaussian states.
We report the realization of an entangled quantum superposition of M=12 photons by a high gain, quantum-injected optical parametric amplification. The system is found so highly resilient against decoherence to exhibit directly accessible mesoscopic interference effects at normal temperature. By modern tomographic methods the non-separability and the quantum superposition are demonstrated for the overall mesoscopic output state of the dynamic ''closed system''. The device realizes the condition conceived by Erwin Schroedinger with his 1935 paradigmatic ''Cat'' apologue, a fundamental landmark i…
We report the successful generation of an entangled multiparticle quantum superposition of pure photon states. They result from a multiple (universal} cloning of a single photon qubit by a high gain, quantum-injected parametric amplifier. The information preserving property of the process suggests for these states the name of ''multi-particle qubits''. They are ideal objects for investigating the emergence of the classical world in quantum systems with increasing complexity, the decoherence processes and may allow the practical implementation of the universal 2-qubit logic gates.
We suggest a variant of the recently proposed experiment for the generation of a new kind of Schroedinger-cat states, using two coupled parametric down-converter nonlinear crystals [F. De Martini, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 2842 (1998)]. We study the parametric oscillator case and find that an entangled Schroedinger-cat type state of two cavities, whose mirrors are placed along the output beams of the nonlinear crystals, can be realized under suitable conditions.
In this paper, we study the superposition invariance of unitary operators and maximally entangled state respectively. Furthermore, we discuss the set of orthogonal maximally entangled states. We find that orthogonal basis of maximally entangled states can be divided into k subspaces. It is shown that some entanglement properties of superposed state in every subspace are invariant.
The well studied quantum optical Schrödinger cat state is a superposition of two distinguishable states, with quantum coherence between these macroscopically distinguishable states being of foundational and, in the context of quantum-information processing, practical use. We refer to these quantum-optical cat states as quantum dichotomous states, reflecting that the state is a superposition of two options, and we introduce the term quantum multichotomous state to refer to a superposition of multiple macroscopically distinguishable options. For a single degree of freedom, such as position, we c…
This paper proposes a scheme for teleporting an arbitrary coherent superposition state of two equal-amplitude and opposite-phase squeezed vacuum states (SVS) via a symmetric 50/50 beam splitter and photodetectors. It is shown that the quantum teleportation scheme has the successful probability 1/4. Maximally entangled SVS's are used as quantum channel for realizing the teleportation scheme. It is shown that if an initial quantum channel is in a pure but not maximally entangled SVS, the quantum channel may be distilled to a maximally entangled SVS through entanglement concentration.
By sending a classical two-level system, one can transfer information about only \emph{two} distinguishable outcomes. Here we show that in quantum mechanics, using both the spin and path degrees of freedom of a spin-1/2 particle, and a Mach-Zehnder type interferometric arrangement with two suitable Stern-Gerlach detectors, it is possible to transfer information about \emph{four} distinguishable outcomes. This procedure does \emph{not} require using quantum entanglement as a resource as in the well-known protocol of dense coding, but instead hinges entirely on the quantum superposition principl…
Reducing decoherence is an essential step toward realizing general-purpose quantum computers beyond the present noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers. To this end, dynamical decoupling (DD) approaches in which external fields are applied to qubits are often adopted. We numerically study DD using a two-level model system (qubit) under the influence of Markovian decoherence by using quantum optimal control theory with slightly modified settings, in which the physical objective is to maximally create and maintain a specified superposition state in a specified control period. An optima…
In this work, we study the local distinguishability of maximally entangled states (MESs). In particular, we are concerned with whether any fixed number of MESs can be locally distinguishable for sufficiently large dimensions. Fan and Tian \emph{et al.} have already obtained two satisfactory results for the generalized Bell states (GBSs) and the qudit lattice states when applied to prime or prime power dimensions. We construct a general twist-teleportation scheme for any orthonormal basis with MESs that is inspired by the method used in [Phys. Rev. A \textbf{70}, 022304 (2004)]. Using this tele…
Starting from the requirement of distinguishability of two atoms by their positions, it is shown that photon recoil has a strong influence on finite-time disentanglement and in some cases prevents its appearance. At near-field inter atomic distances well localized atoms, with maximally one atom being initially excited, may suffer disentanglement at a single finite time or even at a series of equidistant finite times, depending on their mean inter atomic distance and their initial electronic preparation.
We present a protocol for generation of superpositions of states with distinguishable field amplitudes in an optical cavity by quantum nondemolition photon number measurements and coherent feeding of the cavity.
General wisdom tells us that if two quantum states are ``macroscopically distinguishable'' then their superposition should be hard to observe. We make this intuition precise and general by quantifying the difficulty to observe the quantum nature of a superposition of two states that can be distinguished without microscopic accuracy. First, we quantify the distinguishability of any given pair of quantum states with measurement devices lacking microscopic accuracy, i.e. measurements suffering from limited resolution or limited sensitivity. Next, we quantify the required stability that have to be…
One of the fundamental features of quantum mechanics is the superposition principle, a manifestation of which is embodied in quantum coherence. Coherence of a quantum state is invariably defined with respect to a preferred set of pointer states, and there exist quantum coherence measures with respect to deterministically as well as probabilistically distinguishable sets of quantum state vectors. Here we study the resource theory of quantum coherence with respect to an arbitrary set of quantum state vectors, that may not even be probabilistically distinguishable. Geometrically, a probabilistica…
We analyze the performance of a protocol to prepare an atomic ensemble in a superposition of two macroscopically distinguishable states. The protocol relies on conditional measurements performed on a light field, which interacts with the atoms inside an optical cavity prior to detection, and we investigate cavity enhanced probing with continuous beams of both coherent and squeezed light. The stochastic master equations used in the analysis are expressed in terms of the Hamiltonian of the probed system and the interaction between the probed system and the probe field and are thus quite generall…
In this paper we explore the possibility of performing Heisenberg limited quantum metrology of a phase, without any prior, by employing only maximally entangled states. Starting from the estimator introduced by Higgins et al. in New J. Phys. 11, 073023 (2009), the main result of this paper is to produce an analytical upper bound on the associated Mean Squared Error which is monotonically decreasing as a function of the square of the number of quantum probes used in the process. The analysed protocol is non-adaptive and requires in principle (for distinguishable probes) only separable measureme…
We consider a quantum system with a finite number of distinguishable quantum states, which may be partitioned freely by a number of quantum particles, assumed to be maximally entangled. We show that if we partition the system into a number of qudits, then the Hilbert space dimension is maximized when each quantum particle is allowed to represent a qudit of order $e$. We demonstrate that the dimensionality of an entangled system, constrained by the total number quantum states, partitioned so as to maximize the number of qutrits will always exceed the dimensionality of other qudit partitioning. …
Macroscopic realism is a classical worldview that a macroscopic system is always determinately in one of the two or more macroscopically distinguishable states available to it, and so is never in a superposition of these states. The question of whether there is a fundamental limitation on the possibility to observe quantum phenomena at the macroscopic scale remains unclear. Here we implement a strict and simple protocol to test macroscopic realism in a light-matter interfaced system. We create a micro-macro entanglement with two macroscopically distinguishable solid-state components and rule o…
We study the question of what kind of a macroscopic superposition can(not) naturally exist as a ground state of some gapped local many-body Hamiltonian. We derive an upper bound on the energy gap of an arbitrary physical Hamiltonian provided that its ground state is a superposition of two well-distinguishable macroscopic "semi-classical" states. For a large class of macroscopic superposition states we show that the gap vanishes in the macroscopic limit. This in turn shows that preparation of such states by simple cooling to the ground state is not experimentally feasible and requires different…
Each Bell state has the property that by performing just local operations on one qubit, the complete Bell basis can be generated. That is, states generated by local operations are totally distinguishable. This remarkable property is due to maximal quantum entanglement between the two particles. We present a set of local unitary transformations that generate out of partially entangled two-qubit state a set of four maximally distinguishable states that are mutually equally distant. We discuss quantum dense coding based on these alphabet states.
Quantum Teleportation, the transfer of the state of one quantum system to another without direct interaction between both systems, is an important way to transmit information encoded in quantum states and to generate quantum correlations (entanglement) between remote quantum systems. So far, for photons, only superpositions of two distinguishable states (one ``qubit'') could be teleported. Here we show how to teleport a ``qudit'', i.e. a superposition of an arbitrary number $d$ of distinguishable states present in the orbital angular momentum of a single photon using $d$ beam splitters and $d$…
Quantum mechanics allows coherent superposition between different states of matter. This quality is responsible for major non-classical phenomena that occur in quantum systems. Beyond states, coherent superpositions are also possible between quantum evolutions. We characterize such superpositions here. A resource theoretic framework is developed to quantify superposition present in an arbitrary quantum evolution. In addition to characterization, the framework considers superposition as a quantum resource. This resource can be exploited to perform certain quantum tasks that are otherwise imposs…
In the present paper, we study spin squeezing under decoherence in the superposition of tripartite maximally entangled GHZ and W states. Here we use amplitude damping, phase damping and depolarisation channel. We have investigated the dynamics of spin squeezing with the interplay of superposition and decoherence parameters with different directions of the mean spin vector. We have found the mixture of GHZ and W states is robust against spin squeezing generation for amplitude damping and phase damping channels for certain directions of the mean spin vector. However, the depolarisation channel p…
Quantum mechanics predicts microscopic phenomena with undeniable success. Nevertheless, current theoretical and experimental efforts still do not yield conclusive evidence that there is, or not, a fundamental limitation on the possibility to observe quantum phenomena at the macroscopic scale. This question prompted several experimental efforts producing quantum superpositions of large quantum states in light or matter. Here we report on the observation of entanglement between a single photon and an atomic ensemble. The certified entanglement stems from a light-matter micro-macro entangled stat…
We consider two celebrated criteria for defining the non-classicality of bipartite bosonic quantum systems, the first stemming from information theoretic concepts and the second from physical constraints on the quantum phase-space. Consequently, two sets of allegedly classical states are singled out: i) the set C composed of the so called classical-classical (CC) states---separable states that are locally distinguishable and do not possess quantum discord; ii) the set P of states endowed with a positive P-representation (P-classical states)---mixture of Glauber coherent states that, e.g., fail…
We propose how to generate macroscopic quantum superposition states using a microwave cavity containing a superconducting charge qubit. Based on the measurement of charge states, we show that the superpositions of two macroscopically distinguishable coherent states of a single-mode cavity field can be generated by a controllable interaction between a cavity field and a charge qubit. After such superpositions of the cavity field are created, the interaction can be switched off by the classical magnetic field, and there is no information transfer between the cavity field and the charge qubit. We…
We investigate the feasibility of observing matter-wave interference of a micron-sized charged particle by putting it into a quantum superposition of states with a distinguishable separation. In the proposed method, an atomic ion is confined in a linear Paul trap along with the massive charged particle so that we can make use of the extensive toolbox of experimental techniques developed to control quantum states of trapped ions, and to manipulate their motions with high fidelity operations. This approach provides a stringent test of the predictions of dynamical reduction models of delocalised …
We construct quantum coherence resource theories in symmetrized Fock space (QCRTF), thereby providing an information-theoretic framework that connects analyses of quantum coherence in discrete-variable (DV) and continuous variable (CV) bosonic systems. Unlike traditional quantum coherence resource theories, QCRTF can be made independent of the single-particle basis and allow to quantify coherence within and between particle number sectors. For example, QCRTF can be formulated in such a way that neither Bose-Einstein condensates nor Heisenberg-Weyl coherent states are considered as quantum many…
The superposition principle is at the heart of quantum mechanics and at the root of many paradoxes arising when trying to extend its predictions to our everyday world. Schroedinger's cat is the prototype of such paradoxes and here, in contrast to many others, we choose to investigate it from the operational point of view. We experimentally demonstrate a universal strategy for producing an unambiguously distinguishable type of superposition, that of an arbitrary pure state and its orthogonal. It relies on only a limited amount of information about the input state to first generate its orthogona…
This essay considers a model quantum universe consisting of a very large box containing a screen with two slits and an observer (us) that can pass though the slits. We apply the modern quantum mechanics of closed systems to calculate the probabilities for alternative histories of how we move through the universe and what we see. After passing through the screen with the slits, the quantum state of the universe is a superposition of classically distinguishable histories. We are then living in a superposition. Some frequently asked questions about such situations are answered using this model. T…
We study the single-photon transport in a single-mode waveguide, in which two-level atoms in spatial superpositions are embedded. We find that the transmission of the photon can be used as a non-destructive probe for coherence of the superposition. The protocol proposed is shown to be independent of the distance between the wells in which the atoms are trapped. Furthermore, we show that by looking at the transmission in a suitable regime, a maximally entangled state can be post-selected from an unknown superposition.
A recent paper by Souza, Oliveira and Sarthour (SOS) reports the experimental violation of a Leggett-Garg inequality (sometimes referred to as a temporal Bell inequality). The inequality tests for quantum mechanical superposition: if the inequality is violated, the dynamics cannot be explained by a large class of classical theories under the heading of macrorealism. Experimental tests of the LG inequality are beset by the difficulty of performing the necessary so-called 'non-invasive' measurements (which for the macrorealist will extract information from a system of interest without disturbing…
Quantum teleportation of qudits is revisited. In particular, we analyze the case where the quantum channel corresponds to a non-maximally entangled state and show that the success of the protocol is directly related to the problem of distinguishing non-orthogonal quantum states. The teleportation channel can be seen as a coherent superposition of two channels, one of them being a maximally entangled state thus, leading to perfect teleportation and the other, corresponding to a non-maximally entangled state living in a subspace of the d-dimensional Hilbert space. The second channel leads to a t…
We investigate the presence of spin- and planar- squeezing in generalized superpositions of atomic (or spin) coherent states (ACS). Spin-squeezing has been shown to be a useful tool in determining the presence of entanglement in multipartite systems, such as collections of two-level atoms, as well as being an indication of reduced projection noise and sub-shot-noise limited phase uncertainty in Ramsey spectroscopy, suitable for measuring phases $ϕ\sim 0$. On the other hand, planar-squeezed states display reduced projection noise in two directions simultaneously and have been shown to lead to e…
Absolutely maximally entangled pure states of multipartite quantum systems
BEIT sp. z o.o.（BEIT有限责任公司）；Jagiellonian University（雅盖隆大学）；Universität Siegen（锡根大学）；Indian Institute of Technology Madras（马德拉斯印度理工学院）；Polish Academy of Sciences（波兰科学院）
We proposed two linear optics based entanglement concentration protocols (ECPs) to obtain maximally entangled 4-mode Cluster-type entangled coherent state (ECS) from less (partially) entangled Cluster-type ECS. The first ECP is designed using a superposition of single-mode coherent state with two unknown parameters, whereas the second ECP is obtained using a superposition of single-mode coherent state and a superposition of two-mode coherent state with four unknown parameters. The success probabilities have been calculated for both the ECPs. Necessary quantum circuits enabling future experimen…
A novel ultrabright parametric source of polarization entangled photon pairs with striking spatial characteristics is reported. The distribution of the output electromagnetic k-modes excited by Spontaneous Parametris Down Conversion and coupled to the output detectors can be very broad. It could coincide with the full set of phase-matched excited modes, at least in principle. In this case a relevant conditional quasi-pure output state should be realized. By these (approximate) states realized over a full Entanglement-Ring output distribution, the non local properties of the generated entanglem…
We propose the notion of quantum coherence for superpositions over states which are not necessarily mutually orthogonal. This anticipatedly leads to a resource theory of non-orthogonal coherence. We characterize free states and free operations in this theory, and connect the latter with free operations in the resource theory of quantum coherence for orthogonal bases. We show that the concept of non-orthogonal coherence naturally furnishes us with a wave-particle duality in quantum double-slit experiments where the channels beyond the slits are leaky between them. Furthermore, we demonstrate ex…
One of the key ingredients of many LOCC protocols in quantum information is a multiparticle (locally) maximally entangled quantum state, aka a critical state, that possesses local symmetries. We show how to design critical states with arbitrarily large local unitary symmetry. We explain that such states can be realised in a quantum system of distinguishable traps with bosons or fermions occupying a finite number of modes. Then, local symmetries of the designed quantum state are equal to the unitary group of local mode operations acting diagonally on all traps. Therefore, such a group of symmet…
Conventional Glauber coherent states (CS) can be defined in several equivalent ways, e.g., by displacing the vacuum or, explicitly, by their infinite Poissonian expansion in Fock states. It is well known that these definitions become inequivalent if applied to finite $d$-level systems (qudits). We present a comparative Wigner-function description of the qudit CS defined (i) by the action of the truncated displacement operator on the vacuum and (ii) by the Poissonian expansion in Fock states of the Glauber CS truncated at $(d-1)$-photon Fock state. These states can be generated from a classical…
We discuss what can be inferred from measurements on one- and two-qubit systems using a single measurement basis at various times. We show that, given reasonable physical assumptions, carrying out such measurements at quarter-period intervals is enough to demonstrate coherent oscillations of one or two qubits between the relevant measurement basis states. One can thus infer from such measurements alone that an approximately equal superposition of two measurement basis states has been created in a coherent oscillation experiment. Similarly, one can infer that a near maximally entangled state of…
Schrödinger cat states, consisting of superpositions of macroscopically distinct states, provide key resources for a large number of emerging quantum technologies in quantum information processing. Here we propose how to generate and manipulate mechanical and optical Schrödinger cat states with distinguishable superposition components by exploiting the unique properties of cavity optomechanical systems based on Bose-Einstein condensate. Specifically, we show that in comparison with its solid-state counterparts, almost a $3$ order of magnitude enhancement in the size of the mechanical Schröding…
Guided by the intuition of coherent superposition of causal relations, recent works presented quantum processes without classical common-cause and direct-cause explanation, that is, processes which cannot be written as probabilistic mixtures of quantum common-cause and quantum direct-cause relations (CCDC). In this work, we analyze the minimum requirements for a quantum process to fail to admit a CCDC explanation and present "simple" processes, which we prove to be the most robust ones against general noise. These simple processes can be realized by preparing a maximally entangled state and ap…
Entanglement is one of the key feature of quantum world that has no classical counterpart. This arises due to the linear superposition principle and the tensor product structure of the Hilbert space when we deal with multiparticle systems. In this paper, we will introduce the notion of entanglement for quantum systems that are governed by non-Hermitian yet PT-symmetric Hamiltonians. We will show that maximally entangled states in usual quantum theory behave like non-maximally entangled states in PT-symmetric quantum theory. Furthermore, we will show how to create entanglement between two PTQub…
In two-mode interferometry, for a given total photon number $N$, entangled Fock state superpositions of the form $(|N-m\rangle_a|m\rangle_b+e^{i (N-2m)ϕ}|m\rangle_a|N-m\rangle_b)/\sqrt{2}$ have been considered for phase estimation. Indeed all such states are maximally mode-entangled and violate a Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality. However, they differ in their optimal phase estimation capabilities as given by their quantum Fisher informations. The quantum Fisher information is the largest for the $N00N$ state $(|N\rangle_a|0\rangle_b+e^{i Nϕ}|0\rangle_a|N\rangle_b)/\sqrt{2}$ and dec…
We describe the entanglement of two indistinguishable delocalized spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ particles in the simplest spatial configuration of three spatial modes with the constraint that at most one particle occupy each mode. It is show that this is the only number of modes for which maximally entangled states exist in such a system. The set of entangled states, including the set of maximally entangled states, is described and different types of entanglement in terms of Bell-nonlocal correlations for different partitions of the system are identified. In particular we focus on the entangled states th…
We study the distinguishability of bipartite quantum states by Positive Operator-Valued Measures with positive partial transpose (PPT POVMs). The contributions of this paper include: (1). We give a negative answer to an open problem of [M. Horodecki $et. al$, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 047902(2003)] showing a limitation of their method for detecting nondistinguishability. (2). We show that a maximally entangled state and its orthogonal complement, no matter how many copies are supplied, can not be distinguished by PPT POVMs, even unambiguously. This result is much stronger than the previous known on…
While the objective of conventional quantum key distribution (QKD) is to secretly generate and share the classical bits concealed in the form of maximally mixed quantum states, that of private quantum channel (PQC) is to secretly transmit individual quantum states concealed in the form of maximally mixed states using shared one-time pad and it is called Gaussian private quantum channel (GPQC) when the scheme is in the regime of continuous variables. We propose a GPQC enhanced with squeezed coherent states (GPQCwSC), which is a generalization of GPQC with coherent states only (GPQCo) [Phys. Rev…
