Abstract
It is shown that a linear superposition of two macroscopically distinguishable optical coherent states can be generated using a single photon source and simple all-optical operations. Weak squeezing on a single photon, beam mixing with an auxiliary coherent state, and photon detecting with imperfect threshold detectors are enough to generate a coherent state superposition in a free propagating optical field with a large coherent amplitude (alpha>2) and high fidelity (F>0.99). In contrast to all previous schemes to generate such a state, our scheme does not need photon number resolving measurements nor Kerr-type nonlinear interactions. Furthermore, it is robust to detection inefficiency and exhibits some resilience to photon production inefficiency.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 020101 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Physical Review A |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2004 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics