Passive Linear Optics Research Articles

Deterministic Polarization Entanglement Purification of W State in Multiple Degrees of Freedom with Hyper-Entanglement

We present two deterministic entanglement purification protocols for distilling W state in polarization entanglement in a one-step fashion. The three parties can obtain a maximally entangled W polarization state with success probability 100 % from the hyper-entangled W state in multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs), and they do not require the quantum system to be entangled in polarization DOF but in spatial DOF. The former protocol is implemented with the passive linear optics, which is feasible with current experiments. The later one is implemented with cross-Kerr-nonlinearities, which can achieve higher efficiency of the entanglement transformation among different DOFs since it does not require the sophisticated single-photon detector. The present protocols are both suitable for polarization entanglement purification of multi-photon-entangled W state in quantum computation network because they need less operations and classical communications in the practical implementation.

Capacity of optical communication in loss and noise with general quantum Gaussian receivers

Laser-light (coherent-state) modulation is sufficient to achieve the ultimate (Holevo) capacity of classical communication over a lossy and noisy optical channel, but requires a receiver that jointly detects long modulated codewords with highly nonlinear quantum operations, which are near-impossible to realize using current technology. We analyze the capacity of the lossy-noisy optical channel when the transmitter uses coherent state modulation but the receiver is restricted to a general quantum-limited Gaussian receiver, i.e., one that may involve arbitrary combinations of Gaussian operations (passive linear optics: beamsplitters and phase-shifters, second order nonlinear optics (or active linear optics): squeezers, along with homodyne or heterodyne detection measurements) and any amount of classical feedforward within the receiver. Under these assumptions, we show that the Gaussian receiver that attains the maximum mutual information is either homodyne detection, heterodyne detection, or time sharing between the two, depending upon the received power level. In other words, our result shows that to exceed the theoretical limit of conventional coherent optical communications, one has to incorporate non-Gaussian, i.e., third or higher-order nonlinear operations in the receiver. Finally we compare our Gaussian receiver limit with experimentally feasible non-Gaussian receivers and show that in the regime of low received photon flux, it is possible to overcome the Gaussian receiver limit by relatively simple non-Gaussian receivers based on photon counting.

Efficient Multipartite Polarization Entanglement Distribution Over Arbitrary Noise Channel

We present an efficient faithful multipartite polarization entanglement distribution protocol over an arbitrary noisy channel. The spatial degree of freedom is used to carry the entanglement during the transmission. We describe the principle by distributing n-qubit Greenberge—Horne—Zeilinger state and n-qubit W state. Our scheme can be used to distribute arbitrary n-qubit entangled states to n distant locations. The remote parties can obtain maximally entangled states deterministically on the polarization of photons. Only passive linear optics are employed in our setup, which makes our scheme more feasible and efficient for practical application in long distance quantum communication.

POLARIZATION ENTANGLEMENT CONCENTRATIONS WITH LESS-HYPERENTANGLED PHOTON PAIRS IN MULTIPLE DEGREES OF FREEDOM

We demonstrate two entanglement concentration protocols (ECPs) for photon pairs in less-hyperentanglement, the simultaneous entanglement in multiple degrees of freedom. Using these ECPs, some maximally entangled states in polarization can be reconstructed deterministically from less-hyperentangled ones shared between remote participants. Both of the success probabilities are 100% in principle, and they do not require additional single photons. The former is implemented with the passive linear optics, which is achievable with current technology. The later adopts the cross-Kerr nonlinearity media to complete this task, which can increase the efficiency of the entanglement concentration process since it does not require the sophisticated single-photon detectors for measurements. The two ECPs are useful for practical long-distance quantum communication due to the fact that the entangled state in either the spatial degree of freedom or the frequency degree of freedom suffers little from channel noise in optical fiber.

Optimal local expansion ofWstates using linear optics and Fock states

We derive the maximum success probability of the circuits with passive linear optics for expanding an N-photon W state to an (N + n)-photon W state, by accessing only one photon of the initial W state and adding n photons in a Fock state. We show that the maximum success probability is achieved by a polarization-dependent beamsplitter and n-1 polarization-independent beamsplitters.

Deterministic polarization-entanglement purification using spatial entanglement

We present an efficient entanglement purification protocol with hyperentanglement in which additional spatial entanglement is utilized to purify the two-particle polarization-entangled state. The bit-flip error and phase-flip error can be corrected and eliminated in one step. Two remote parties can obtain maximally entangled polarization states deterministically and only passive linear optics are employed. We also discuss the protocol with practical quantum source and noisy channel.

Optimal two-copy discrimination of quantum measurements

We investigate optimal discrimination between two projective quantum measurements on a single qubit. We consider a scenario where the measurement that should be identified can be performed twice and we show that adaptive discrimination strategy, entangled probe states, and feed forward all help to increase the probability of correct identification of the measurement. We also experimentally demonstrate the studied discrimination strategies and test their performance. The employed experimental setup involves projective measurements on polarization states of single photons and preparation of required probe two-photon polarization states by the process of spontaneous parametric downconversion and passive linear optics.

Quantum computing with continuous-variable clusters

Continuous-variable cluster states offer a potentially promising method of implementing a quantum computer. This paper extends and further refines theoretical foundations and protocols for experimental implementation. We give a cluster-state implementation of the cubic phase gate through photon detection, which, together with homodyne detection, facilitates universal quantum computation. In addition, we characterize the offline squeezed resources required to generate an arbitrary graph state through passive linear optics. Most significantly, we prove that there are universal states for which the offline squeezing per mode does not increase with the size of the cluster. Simple representations of continuous-variable graph states are introduced to analyze graph state transformations under measurement and the existence of universal continuous-variable resource states.

Protecting an optical qubit against photon loss

We consider quantum error-correction codes for multimode bosonic systems, such as optical fields, that are affected by amplitude damping. Such a process is a generalization of an erasure channel. We demonstrate that the most accessible method of transforming optical systems with the help of passive linear networks has limited usefulness in preparing and manipulating such codes. These limitations stem directly from the recoverability condition for one-photon loss. We introduce a three-photon code protecting against the first order of amplitude damping, i.e. a single photon loss, and discuss its preparation using linear optics with single-photon sources and conditional detection. Quantum state and process tomography in the code subspace can be implemented using passive linear optics and photon counting. An experimental proof-of-principle demonstration of elements of the proposed quantum error correction scheme for a one-photon erasure lies well within present technological capabilites.

Linear-optics quantum Toffoli and Fredkin gates

We design linear-optics multiqubit quantum logic gates. We assume the traditional encoding of a qubit onto the state of a single photon in two modes (e.g., spatial or polarization). We suggest schemes allowing direct probabilistic realization of the fundamental Toffoli and Fredkin gates without resorting to a sequence of single- and two-qubit gates. This yields more compact schemes and potentially reduces the number of ancilla photons. The proposed setups involve passive linear optics, sources of auxiliary single photons or maximally entangled pairs of photons, and single-photon detectors. In particular, we propose an interferometric implementation of the Toffoli gate in the coincidence basis, which does not require any ancilla photons and is experimentally feasible with current technology.

Generation of a sub-Poissonian state with quantum high- and low-pass filters

We introduce a quantum component, the quantum high- and low-pass filter, and analyze its output characteristic. It is shown that a quantum bandpass filter can be achieved by using passive linear optics and projection measurements. Furthermore, we show that the sub-Poissonian state can be generated by using a cascaded quantum low-pass filter and high-pass filter.

Conditional generation of arbitrary multimode entangled states of light with linear optics

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.

Realization of multimode operators with passive linear optics and photodetection

We propose a scheme allowing a conditional implementation of suitably truncated general single- or multi-mode operators acting on states of traveling optical signal modes. The scheme solely relies on single-photon and coherent states and applies beam splitters and zero- and single-photon detections. The signal flow of the setup resembles that of a multi-mode quantum teleportation scheme thus allowing the individual signal modes to be spatially separated from each other. Some examples such as the realization of cross-Kerr nonlinearities, multi-mode mirrors, and the preparation of multi-photon entangled states are considered.

Conditional preparation of maximal polarization entanglement

A simple experimental setup consisting of a spontaneous parametric down-conversion source and passive linear optics is proposed for conditional preparation of a maximally entangled polarization state of two photons. Successful preparation is unambiguously heralded by coincident detection of four auxiliary photons. The proposed scheme utilizes the down-conversion term corresponding to the generation of three pairs of photons. We analyze imperfect detection of the auxiliary photons and demonstrate that its deleterious effect on the fidelity of the prepared state can be suppressed at the cost of decreasing the efficiency of the scheme.

Efficient linear optics quantum computation

Two qubit gates for photons are generally thought to require exotic materials with huge optical nonlinearities. We show here that, if we accept two qubit gates that only work conditionally, single photon sources, passive linear optics and particle detectors are sufficient for implementing reliable quantum algorithms. The conditional nature of the gates requires feed-forward from the detectors to the optical elements. Without feed forward, non-deterministic quantum computation is possible. We discuss one proposed single photon source based on the surface acoustic wave guiding of single electrons.