Photon-number discrimination without a photon counter and its application to reconstructing non-Gaussian states
Date
2011
Authors
Chrzanowski, Helen
Bernu, Julien
Sparkes, Benjamin
Hage, Boris
Lund, A P
Ralph, Timothy Cameron
Lam, Ping Koy
Symul, Thomas
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Physical Society
Abstract
The nonlinearity of a conditional photon-counting measurement can be used to "de-Gaussify" a Gaussian state of light. Here we present and experimentally demonstrate a technique for photon-number resolution using only homodyne detection. We then apply this technique to inform a conditional measurement, unambiguously reconstructing the statistics of the non-Gaussian one- and two-photon-subtracted squeezed vacuum states. Although our photon-number measurement relies on ensemble averages and cannot be used to prepare non-Gaussian states of light, its high efficiency, photon-number- resolving capabilities, and compatibility with the telecommunications band make it suitable for quantum-information tasks relying on the outcomes of mean values.
Description
Keywords
Keywords: Conditional measurements; Ensemble averages; Gaussian state; Homodyne detection; Mean values; Non-Gaussian; Non-Gaussian state; Non-Linearity; Photon counters; Photon counting; Squeezed vacuum state; Gaussian distribution; Gaussian noise (electronic); Pho
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Collections
Source
Physical Review A: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
Type
Journal article
Book Title
Entity type
Access Statement
Open Access