Singularity or negativity of Glauber P-function is a widespread notion of nonclassicality, with important implications in quantum optics and with the character of an irreducible resource. Here we explore how P-nonclassicality may be generated by conditional Gaussian measurements on bipartite Gaussian states. This nonclassical steering may occur in a weak form, which does not imply entanglement, and in a strong form that implies EPR-steerability and thus entanglement. We show that field quadratures are the best measurements to remotely generate nonclassicality, and exploit this result to derive necessary and sufficient conditions for weak and strong nonclassical steering. For two-mode squeezed thermal states (TMST), weak and strong nonclassical steering coincide, and merge with the notion of EPR steering. This also provides a new operational interpretation for P-function nonclassicality as the distinctive feature that allows one-party entanglement verification on TMSTs.
We introduce the concept of spatio-temporal steering (STS), which reduces, in special cases, to Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering and the recently-introduced temporal steering. We describe two measures of this effect referred to as the STS weight and robustness. We suggest that these STS measures enable a new way to assess nonclassical correlations in an open quantum network, such as quantum transport through nano-structures or excitation transfer in a complex biological system. As one of our examples, we apply STS to check nonclassical correlations among sites in a photosynthetic pigment-prote…
Nonclassicality according to the singularity or negativity of the Glauber P-function is a powerful resource in quantum information, with relevant implications in quantum optics. In a Gaussian setting, and for a system of two modes, we explore how P-nonclassicality may be conditionally generated or influenced on one mode by Gaussian measurements on the other mode. Starting from the class of two-mode squeezed thermal states (TMST), we introduce the notion of nonclassical steering (NS) and the graphical tool of Gaussian triangoloids. In particular, we derive a necessary and sufficient condition f…
Contextuality is a signature of operational nonclassicality in the outcome statistics of an experiment. This notion of nonclassicality applies to a breadth of physical phenomena. Here, we establish its relation to two fundamental nonclassical entities in quantum theory; measurement incompatibility and steering. We show that each is necessary and sufficient the failure of operational contextuality. We exploit the established connection to contextuality to provide a novel approach to problems in measurement incompatibility and steering.
Remote state preparation (RSP) enables a sender to remotely prepare the quantum state of a receiver without sending the state itself. Recently, it has been recognized that quantum discord is a necessary resource for RSP. Here, we theoretically and experimentally investigate whether RSP can outperform dynamic classical remote state preparation processes. We show that such classical processes can describe certain RSPs powered by quantum discord. Rather, we argue that a new kind of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering for dynamical processes, called quantum process steering, is the resource required …
Measurements serve as the intermediate communication layer between the quantum world and our classical perception. So, the question which measurements efficiently extract information from quantum systems is of central interest. Using quantum steering as a nonclassical phenomenon, we show that there are instances, where the results of all two-outcome measurements can be explained in a classical manner, while the results of some three-outcome measurements cannot. This points at the important role of the number of outcomes in revealing the nonclassicality hidden in a quantum system. Moreover, our…
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering is often (implicitly or explicitly) taken to be evidence for spooky action-at-a-distance. An alternative perspective on steering is that Alice has no causal influence on the physical state of Bob's system; rather, Alice merely updates her knowledge of the state of Bob's system by performing a measurement on a system correlated with his. In this work, we elaborate on this perspective (from which the very term 'steering' is seen to be inappropriate), and we are led to a resource-theoretic treatment of correlations in EPR scenarios. For both bipartite and mu…
The algebraic quantification of nonclassicality, which naturally arises from the quantum superposition principle, is related to properties of regular nonclassicality quasiprobabilities. The latter are obtained by non-Gaussian filtering of the Glauber-Sudarshan $P$~function. They yield lower bounds for the degree of nonclassicality. We also derive bounds for convex combinations of Gaussian states for certifying quantum non-Gaussianity directly from the experimentally accessible nonclassicality quasiprobabilities. Other quantum-state representations, such as $s$-parametrized quasiprobabilities, …
We evaluate a Gaussian distance-type degree of nonclassicality for a single-mode Gaussian state of the quantum radiation field by use of the recently discovered quantum Chernoff bound. The general properties of the quantum Chernoff overlap and its relation to the Uhlmann fidelity are interestingly illustrated by our approach.
We present an experimental method for complete identification of the nonclassicality of Gaussian states in the whole phase space. Our method relies on nonclassicality witnesses written in terms of measured integrated intensity moments up to the third order, provided that appropriate local coherent displacements are applied to the state under consideration. The introduced approach, thus, only requires linear detectors for measuring intensities of optical fields, that is very convenient and powerful from the experimental point of view. Additionally, we demonstrate that the proposed technique not…
The behavior of general nonclassical two-mode Gaussian states at a beam splitter is investigated. Single-mode nonclassicality as well as two-mode entanglement of both input and output states are analyzed suggesting their suitable quantifiers. These quantifiers are derived from local and global invariants of linear unitary two-mode transformations such that the sum of input (or output) local nonclassicality measures and entanglement measure gives a global invariant. This invariant quantifies the global nonclassicality resource. Mutual transformations of local nonclassicalities and entanglement …
Optical downconversion is a key resource for generating nonclassical states. Very recently, direct nondegenerate triple-photon spontaneous downconversion (NTPSD) with bright photon triplets and strong third-order correlations has been demonstrated in a superconducting device (2020 Phys. Rev. X 10 011011). Besides, linear and nonlinear tripartite entanglement in this process have also been predicted (2018 Phys. Rev. Lett. 120 043601; 2020 Phys. Rev. Lett. 125 020502). In this paper, we consider the generation of nonclassical optical quantum superpositions and investigate nonlinear quantum steer…
We introduce a new quantity for describing nonclassicality of an arbitrary optical two-mode Gaussian state which remains invariant under any global photon-number preserving unitary transformation of the covariance matrix of the state. The invariant naturally splits into an entanglement monotone and local nonclassicality quantifiers applied to the reduced states. This shows how entanglement can be converted into local squeezing and vice versa. Twin beams and their transformations at a beam splitter are analyzed as an example providing squeezed light. An extension of this approach to pure three-…
In a recent paper [I.I. Arkhipov, Phys. Rev. A 98, 021803 (2018)], it was shown that one can completely identify the nonclassicality of single- and two-mode Gaussian states by means of certain nonclassicality witnesses which are based on intensity moments up to the third order of optical fields, provided that an appropriate coherent displacement is applied to a given Gaussian state. Here, we utilize a mathematical equivalence between the description of the coherent displaced Gaussian states generated in the spontaneous parametric processes and the Gaussian states generated in the corresponding…
Non-Gaussian and nonclassical states and processes are already found to be important resources for performing various tasks related to quantum gravity and quantum information processing. The effect of non-Gaussianity inducing operators on the nonclassicality of quantum states has also been studied rigorously. Considering these facts, a quantitative analysis of the nonclassical and non-Gaussian features is performed here for photon added displaced Fock state, as a test case, using a set of measures like entanglement potential, Wigner Yanese skew information, Wigner logarithmic negativity and re…
We study nonclassical correlations beyond entanglement in a family of two-mode non-Gaussian states which represent the continuous-variable counterpart of two-qubit Werner states. We evaluate quantum discord and other quantumness measures obtaining exact analytical results in special instances, and upper and lower bounds in the general case. Non-Gaussian measurements such as photon counting are in general necessary to solve the optimization in the definition of quantum discord, whereas Gaussian measurements are strictly suboptimal for the considered states. The gap between Gaussian and optimal …
Measures of quantum properties are essential to understanding the fundamental differences between quantum and classical systems as well as quantifying resources for quantum technologies. Here two broad classes of bosonic phase-space functions, which are filtered versions of the Glauber-Sudarshan $P$ function, are compared with regard to their ability to uncover nonclassical effects of light through their negativities. Gaussian filtering of the $P$ function yields the family of $s$-parametrized quasiprobabilities, while more powerful regularized nonclassicality quasiprobabilities are obtained b…
We present Bell-type tests of nonclassicality and non-Gaussianity for single-mode fields employing a generalized quasiprobability function. Our nonclassicality tests are based on the observation that two orthogonal quadratures in phase space (position and momentum) behave as independent realistic variables for a coherent state. Taking four (three) points at the vertices of a rectangle (right triangle) in phase space, our tests detect every pure nonclassical Gaussian state and a range of mixed Gaussian states. These tests also set an upper bound for all Gaussian states and their mixtures, which…
A standard method to obtain information on a quantum state is to measure marginal distributions along many different axes in phase space, which forms a basis of quantum state tomography. We theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate a general framework to manifest nonclassicality by observing a single marginal distribution only, which provides a novel insight into nonclassicality and a practical applicability to various quantum systems. Our approach maps the 1-dim marginal distribution into a factorized 2-dim distribution by multiplying the measured distribution or the vacuum-state d…
Thermal machines exploit interactions with multiple heat baths to perform useful tasks, such as work production and refrigeration. In the quantum regime, tasks with no classical counterpart become possible. Here, we consider the minimal setting for quantum thermal machines, namely two-qubit autonomous thermal machines that use only incoherent interactions with their environment, and investigate the fundamental resources needed to generate entanglement. Our investigation is systematic, covering different types of interactions, bosonic and fermionic environments, and different resources that can…
We propose classical interferometry with low-intensity thermal radiation for the estimation of nonclassical independent Gaussian processes in material samples. We generally determine the mean square error of the phase-independent parameters of an unknown Gaussian process, considering a noisy source of radiation the phase of which is not locked to the pump of the process. We verify the sufficiency of passive optical elements in the interferometer, active optical elements do not improve the quality of the estimation. We also prove the robustness of the method against the noise and loss in both i…
We theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate a nonclassicality test of single-mode field in phase space, which has an analogy with the nonlocality test proposed by Banaszek and Wodkiewicz [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 2009 (1999)]. Our approach to deriving the classical bound draws on the fact that the Wigner function of a coherent state is a product of two independent distributions as if the orthogonal quadratures (position and momentum) in phase space behave as local realistic variables. Our method detects every pure nonclassical Gaussian state, which can also be extended to mixed states.…
Multipartite entanglement and nonclassicality of four-mode Gaussian states generated in two simultaneous nonlinear processes involving parametric down-conversion and frequency up-conversion are analyzed assuming the vacuum as the initial state. Suitable conditions for the generation of highly entangled states are found. Transfer of the entanglement from the down-converted modes into the up-converted ones is also suggested. The analysis of the whole set of states reveals that sub-shot-noise intensity correlations between the equally-populated down-converted modes, as well as the equally-populat…
The possibility of observing nonclassical features in a physical system comprised of a cavity with two ensembles of two-level atoms has been investigated by considering different configurations of the ensembles with respect to the Node and Antinode of the cavity field under the framework of open quantum systems. The study reveals the strong presence of nonclassical characters in the physical system by establishing the existence of many facets of nonclassicality, such as the sub-Poissonian boson statistics and squeezing in single modes, intermodal squeezing, intermodal entanglement, antibunchin…
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering is a useful resource for secure quantum information tasks. It is crucial to investigate the effect of inevitable loss and noise in quantum channels on EPR steering. We analyze and experimentally demonstrate the influence of purity of quantum states and excess noise on Gaussian EPR steering by distributing a two-mode squeezed state through lossy and noisy channels, respectively. We show that the impurity of state never leads to sudden death of Gaussian EPR steering, but the noise in quantum channel can. Then we revive the disappeared Gaussian EPR steering …
We study the evolution of higher-order nonclassicality and entanglement criteria in atmospheric fluctuating-loss channels. By formulating input-output relations for the matrix of moments, we investigate the influence of such channels on the corresponding quantumness criteria. This generalization of our previous work on Gaussian entanglement [M. Bohmann et al., Phys. Rev. A 94, 010302(R) (2016)] not only exploits second-order-based scenarios, but it also provides a detailed investigation of nonclassicality and entanglement in non-Gaussian and multimode radiation fields undergoing a fluctuating …
Quantum steering---a strong correlation to be verified even when one party or its measuring device is fully untrusted---not only provides a profound insight into quantum physics but also offers a crucial basis for practical applications. For continuous-variable (CV) systems, Gaussian states among others have been extensively studied, however, mostly confined to Gaussian measurements. While the fulfillment of Gaussian criterion is sufficient to detect CV steering, whether it is also necessary for Gaussian states is a question of fundamental importance in many contexts. This critically questions…
We have explored quantum Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering in symmetric two-mode Gaussian states using Gaussian and non-Gaussian measurements. For Gaussian measurements, we show that steering between the output modes of a symmetric beamsplitter is possible regardless of purity when a threshold input-state quadrature variance compression is achieved. Using the non-Gaussian operators introduced in [1] we show that non-Gaussian measurements can outperform Gaussian measurements for symmetrical states. We also analyze the possibility of asymmetric measurements setups made possible by non-Gaussian me…
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering, as one of the most intriguing phenomenon of quantum mechanics, is a useful quantum resource for quantum communication. Understanding the type of EPR steering in a graph state is the basis for application of it in a quantum network. In this paper, we present EPR steering in a Gaussian weighted graph state, including a linear tripartite and a four-mode square weighted graph state. The dependence of EPR steering on weight factor in the weighted graph state is analyzed. Gaussian EPR steering between two modes of a weighted graph state is presented, which doe…
We calculate exactly the quantum mechanical, temporal characteristic function $χ(η)$ for a single-mode, degenerate parametric amplifier for a system in the Gaussian state, viz., a displaced-squeezed thermal state. Knowledge of $χ(η)$ allows only the determination of the time development of arbitrary functions of equal-time products of creation and annihilation photon operators. We calculate, in particular, the fluctuations in photon number, quadrature operators, and quadrature variance. We contrast the very important difference between the nonclassicality criteria based on the one-time charact…
Einstein-Podolski-Rosen steering is a form of quantum correlation exhibiting an intrinsic asymmetry between two entangled systems. In this paper, we propose a scheme for examining dynamical Gaussian quantum steering of two mixed mechanical modes. For this, we use two spatially separated optomechanical cavities fed by squeezed light. We work in the resolved sideband regime. Limiting to the adiabatic regime, we show that it is possible to generate dynamical Gaussian steering via a quantum fluctuations transfer from squeezed light to the mechanical modes. By an appropriate choice of the environme…
Genuinely quantum states of a harmonic oscillator may be distinguished from their classical counterparts by the Glauber-Sudarshan P-representation -- a state lacking a positive P-function is said to be nonclassical. In this paper, we propose a general operational framework for studying nonclassicality as a resource in networks of passive linear elements and measurements with feed-forward. Within this setting, we define new measures of nonclassicality based on the quantum fluctuations of quadratures, as well as the quantum Fisher information of quadrature displacements. These lead to fundamenta…
Understanding how quantum resources can be quantified and distributed over many parties has profound applications in quantum communication. As one of the most intriguing features of quantum mechanics, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering is a useful resource for secure quantum networks. By reconstructing the covariance matrix of a continuous variable four-mode square Gaussian cluster state subject to asymmetric loss, we quantify the amount of bipartite steering with a variable number of modes per party, and verify recently introduced monogamy relations for Gaussian steerability, which establ…
Gaussian geometric discord, entanglement and EPR-steering of two rotational mirrors in a double Laguerre-Gaussian cavity optomechanics in the presence of YIG sphere
In view of the increasing importance of non-Gaussian entangled states in quantum information protocols like teleportation and violations of Bell inequalities, the steering of continuous variable non-Gaussian entangled states is investigated. The EPR steering for Gaussian states may be demonstrated through the violation of the Reid inequality involving products of the inferred variances of non-commuting observables. However, for arbitrary states the Reid inequality is not always necessary because of the higher order correlations in such states. One then needs to use the entropic steering inequa…
Quantum steering is a kind of quantum correlations stronger than entanglement but weaker than Bell-nonlocality. In an optomechanical system pumped by squeezed light and driven in the red sideband, we study-under thermal effects-stationary Gaussian steering and its asymmetry of two mechanical modes. In the resolved sideband regime using experimentally feasible parameters, we show that Gaussian steering can be created by quantum fluctuations transfer from the squeezed light to the two mechanical modes. Moreover, one-way steering can be observed by controlling the squeezing degree or the environm…
While negativity in phase space is a well-known signature of nonclassicality, a wide variety of nonclassical states require their characterization beyond negativity. We establish a framework of nonclassicality in phase space that addresses nonclassical states comprehensively with a direct experimental evidence. This includes the negativity of phase-space distribution as a special case and further analyzes quantum states with positive distributions effectively. We prove that it detects all nonclassical Gaussian states and all non-Gaussian states of arbitrary dimension remarkably by examining th…
As one of the most intriguing features of quantum mechanics, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering is a useful resource for secure quantum networks. Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state plays important role in quantum communication network. By reconstructing the covariance matrix of a continuous variable tripartite GHZ state, we fully quantify the amount of bipartite steering under Gaussian measurements. We demonstrate that the (1+1)-mode steerability is not exist in the tripartite GHZ state, only the collectively steerability exist between the (1+2)-mode and (2+1)-mode partitions. These p…
