NOON States Research Articles

Improving quantum phase estimation via power-law potential systems

Using the quantum Fisher information (QFI), we present an improved phase estimation scheme employing power-law potential (PLP) systems in comparison to NOON states under perfect and lossy conditions for a fixed mean photon number. The study is devoted to the phase estimation of the quantum states resulting from tightly binding, harmonic and loosely binding potentials for modest particle numbers. Finally, we discuss the saturation of the optimal phase uncertainty of this interferometric setting with parity detection.

Super-resolving single-photon number-path-entangled state and its generation

In this paper, we propose two protocols for generating super-resolving single-photon (SRSP) number-path-entangled states from general maximally number-path-entangled NOON states. It is our purpose to show that, contrary to popular belief, a field in a single-photon state can carry multifold phase information. We also show that both protocols generate the desired state with different probabilities depending on the type of detectors being used. Such SRSP number-path-entangled states preserve high resolving power but lack the requirement of a multiphoton absorbing resist, which may serve as a proof-of-principle prototype for quantum lithography in the future.

Joint estimation of phase and phase diffusion for quantum metrology.

Phase estimation, at the heart of many quantum metrology and communication schemes, can be strongly affected by noise, whose amplitude may not be known, or might be subject to drift. Here we investigate the joint estimation of a phase shift and the amplitude of phase diffusion at the quantum limit. For several relevant instances, this multiparameter estimation problem can be effectively reshaped as a two-dimensional Hilbert space model, encompassing the description of an interferometer phase probed with relevant quantum states--split single-photons, coherent states or N00N states. For these cases, we obtain a trade-off bound on the statistical variances for the joint estimation of phase and phase diffusion, as well as optimum measurement schemes. We use this bound to quantify the effectiveness of an actual experimental set-up for joint parameter estimation for polarimetry. We conclude by discussing the form of the trade-off relations for more general states and measurements.

Dynamical entanglement in coupled systems

We present a comparative analysis on the evolution of two coupled bosonic many-body quantum systems. Considering photons in two coupled cavities and bosonic atoms in a double-well potential, the effect of the boson-boson interaction on the spectral properties and the dynamical behavior is studied. In particular, we analyze the evolution of a Fock state to a N00N state, which is a superposition of two complementary Fock states. Such an entangled state appears in the evolution only if tunneling and many-body interaction are balanced.

Supersensitive Polarization Microscopy Using NOON States of Light

A quantum polarized light microscope using entangled NOON states with N=2 and N=3 is shown to provide phase supersensitivity beyond the standard quantum limit. We constructed such a microscope and imaged birefringent objects at a very low light level of 50 photons per pixel, where shot noise seriously hampers classical imaging. The NOON light source is formed by combining a coherent state with parametric down-converted light. We were able to show improved phase images with sensitivity close to the Heisenberg limit.

Quantum optical interferometry via the mixing of coherent and photon-subtracted squeezed vacuum states of light

Hofmann and Ono [Phys. Rev. A76, 031806, (2007)] showed that the mixing of coherent light and single-mode squeezed light at a beam splitter gives good approximation results in a superposition of path-entangled photon number states (so-called N00N states), which can be used for phase-shift measurements by coincident detections at the output of an interferometer. They showed that N00N states for arbitrary photon number N could be produced by this procedure. Afek et al. [Science328, 879 (2010)] have implemented the Hofmann–Ono proposal in the laboratory. In this paper, we show that, for a given coherent state amplitude and a given squeezing parameter, the mixing of coherent states and photon-subtracted squeezed vacuum states at the first beam splitter of an interferometer leads to improved phase-shift measurement sensitivity when using the photon-number detection technique on one of the output beams of the device. We also show that the phase-shift measurements will also be super-resolved to a greater degree than is possible by mixing coherent and squeezed vacuum light of the same field parameters.

Quantum entanglement of an entangled coherent state: Role of particle losses

We analyze entanglement properties of entangled coherent state (ECS), |α, 0〉1,2 + |0, α〉1,2, with and without photon losses. By separating the coherent state into , we derive exact results of the logarithmic negativity EN, which quantifies the degree of entanglement between the two bosonic modes. Without particle losses, EN = 1 for the N00N state; while for the ECS, EN increases from 0 to 1 as |α|2 → ∞. In the presence of photon losses, we find that the ECS with large enough photon number is more robust than that of the N00N state. An optimal ECS is obtained by maximizing EN with respect to |α|2.

Superposed coherent states improve fidelity of NOON states generated in post-selection

Mixing the squeezed vacuum and coherent state in a beam splitter generates NOON states of the electromagnetic field, but with fidelity less than unity. In this article it is shown that the output of the beam splitter generates the NOON states with unit fidelity if superposed coherent states are used instead of the squeezed vacuum. Also, the post-selection probability of NOON states is shown to be higher.

Fast and simple scheme for generating NOON states of photons in circuit QED.

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 and two resonators are used, the experimental setup for this scheme is much simplified when compared with the previous proposals requiring a setup of two superconducting qutrits and three cavities. In addition, this scheme is easier and faster to implement than the previous proposals, which require using a complex microwave pulse, or a small pulse Rabi frequency in order to avoid nonresonant transitions.

Entanglement Dynamics of Second Quantized Quantum Fields

We study the entanglement dynamics in the system of coupled boson fields. We demonstrate that there are different natural notions of locality in this context leading to inequivalent notions of entanglement. We concentrate on the particle picture, when entanglement of one particle is determined by one-particle density matrix. We study, in detail, the effect of interaction preserving populations of individual one-particle states. We show that if the system is initially in a disentangled state with the definite total number of particles and the dimension of the one-particle Hilbert space is more than two, then only potentials of the special form admit complete entanglement, which is shown to be reached at NOON states. If the system is initially in Glauber’s coherent state, complete entanglement is not reached despite the presence of two entangling channels in this case. We conclude with studying the time evolution of entanglement of photons in a cavity with multiple quantum dots in the limit of large number of photons. We show that in a relatively short time scale the completely entangled states belong to the class of graph states and are formed due to the interaction with dots in resonance with the cavity modes.

Multi-ion Mach—Zehnder interferometer with artificial nonlinear interactions

We propose a method to implement a Mach—Zehnder interferometry based upon a string of trapped ions with artificial nonlinear interactions. By manipulating the coupling strength between two involved internal states of the ions, we could achieve the beam splitting/recombination with NOON states. Using current techniques for manipulating trapped ions, we discuss the experimental feasibility of our scheme and analyze some undesired uncertainty under realistic experimental environment.

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering using quantum correlations in non-Gaussian entangled states

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 inequality. We examine several classes of currently important non-Gaussian entangled states, such as the two-dimensional harmonic oscillator, the photon subtracted two mode squeezed vacuum, and the NOON state, in order to demonstrate the steering property of such states. A comparative study of the violation of the Bell-inequality for these states shows that the entanglement present is more easily revealed through steering compared to Bell-violation for several such states.

NOON states in star-topology spin-systems: Applications in diffusion studies and RF inhomogeneity mapping

The NOON state is a special multiple quantum coherence that can be prepared easily using a star-topology spin-system. In this Letter we describe two important applications of such systems: (i) measuring translational diffusion constants in liquids and (ii) quantitative characterization of radio-frequency (RF) inhomogeneity of NMR probes. When compared with the standard single quantum method, the NOON state method requires shorter diffusion delays or weaker pulsed-field-gradients. Similarly, Torrey oscillations with NOON states decay at a faster rate than that of single quantum coherences and allow accurate characterization of RF inhomogeneity at higher RF powers.

Super-resolving quantum radar: Coherent-state sources with homodyne detection suffice to beat the diffraction limit

There has been much recent interest in quantum metrology for applications to sub-Raleigh ranging and remote sensing such as in quantum radar. For quantum radar, atmospheric absorption and diffraction rapidly degrades any actively transmitted quantum states of light, such as N00N states, so that for this high-loss regime the optimal strategy is to transmit coherent states of light, which suffer no worse loss than the linear Beer's law for classical radar attenuation, and which provide sensitivity at the shot-noise limit in the returned power. We show that coherent radar radiation sources, coupled with a quantum homodyne detection scheme, provide both longitudinal and angular super-resolution much below the Rayleigh diffraction limit, with sensitivity at shot-noise in terms of the detected photon power. Our approach provides a template for the development of a complete super-resolving quantum radar system with currently available technology.

Parameter estimation using NOON states over a relativistic quantum channel

We study the effect of the acceleration of the observer on a parameter estimation protocol using NOON states. An inertial observer, Alice, prepares a NOON state in Unruh modes of the quantum field, and sends it to an accelerated observer, Rob. We calculate the quantum Fisher information of the state received by Rob. We find the counter-intuitive result that the single rail encoding outperforms the dual rail. The NOON states have an optimal $N$ for the maximum information extractable by Rob, given his acceleration. This optimal $N$ decreases with increasing acceleration.

Quantum Fisher information of entangled coherent states in the presence of photon loss

We investigate the performance of entangled coherent state for quantum enhanced phase estimation. An exact analytical expression of quantum Fisher information is derived to show the role of photon losses on the ultimate phase sensitivity. We find a transition of the sensitivity from the Heisenberg scaling to the classical scaling due to quantum decoherence of the photon state. This quantum-classical transition is uniquely determined by the number of photons being lost, instead of the number of incident photons or the photon loss rate alone. Our results also reveal that a crossover of the sensitivity between the entangled coherent state and the NOON state can occur even for very small photon loss rate.

Fundamental quantum interferometry bound for the squeezed-light-enhanced gravitational wave detector GEO 600

The fundamental quantum interferometry bound limits the sensitivity of an interferometer for a given total rate of photons and for a given decoherence rate inside the measurement device.We theoretically show that the recently reported quantum-noise limited sensitivity of the squeezed-light-enhanced gravitational-wave detector GEO600 is exceedingly close to this bound, given the present amount of optical loss. Furthermore, our result proves that the employed combination of a bright coherent state and a squeezed vacuum state is generally the optimum practical approach for phase estimation with high precision on absolute scales. Based on our analysis we conclude that neither the application of Fock states nor N00N states or any other sophisticated nonclassical quantum states would have yielded an appreciably higher quantum-noise limited sensitivity.

Effects of phase fluctuations on phase sensitivity and visibility of path-entangled photon Fock states

We study effects of phase fluctuations on phase sensitivity and visibility of a class of robust path-entangled photon Fock states (known as mm' states) as compared to the maximally path-entangled N00N states in presence of realistic phase fluctuations such as turbulence noise. Our results demonstrate that the mm' states, which are more robust than the N00N state against photon loss, perform equally well when subject to such fluctuations. We show that the phase sensitivity with parity detection for both of the above states saturates the quantum Cramer-Rao bound in presence of such noise, suggesting that the parity detection presents an optimal detection strategy.

Entangled-state engineering of vibrational modes in a multimembrane optomechanical system

We propose an efficient method to generate entangled states of vibrational modes of membranes which are coupled to a single-mode cavity field via the radiation pressure. By using sideband excitations, we show that arbitrary entangled states of vibrational modes in different membranes can be produced in principle by sequentially applying a series of classical pulses with desired frequencies, phases, and durations. As examples, we show how to synthesize several typical entangled states, such as Bell states, NOON states, Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, and W states. The environmental effect, information leakage, and experimental feasibility are briefly discussed. Our proposal can be applied to different setups of optomechanical systems, in which vibrating modes of many mechanical resonators are coupled to a single-mode cavity.

Quantum phase estimation for nonlinear phase shifts with entangled spin coherent states of two modes

Recently, we presented (Berrada K, Abdel-Khalek S and Raymond Ooi C H 2012 Phys. Rev. A 86 033823) an improved phase estimation scheme employing entangled spin coherent states (ESCSs) using the Holstein–Primakoff realization of angular momentum algebra. Here, we study the nonlinear phase enhancement from a generalized nonlinearity on ESCSs under perfect and lossy conditions with the same mean photon number and nonlinearity order. The results show that an increase in the spin number gives the smallest variance in the phase parameter in comparison to N00N states for different orders of nonlinearity. Finally, we study the physical properties of the input optical field and explore a connection between this quantity and the output state phase uncertainty. In particular, we show that the Mandel parameter may be used as an indicator of the phase estimation behavior in this interferometric setting.