Vortex phase qubit: generating arbitrary, counterrotating, coherent superpositions in Bose-Einstein condensates via optical angular momentum beams

We propose a scheme for the generation of arbitrary coherent superpositions of vortex states in Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) using the orbital-angular-momentum states of light. We devise a scheme to generate coherent superpositions of two such counterrotating states of light using well-known experimental techniques. We show that a specially designed Raman scheme allows for transfer of the optical vortex-superposition state onto an initially nonrotating BEC. This creates an arbitrary and coherent superposition of a vortex and antivortex pair in the BEC. The ideas presented here could be extended to generate entangled vortex states, design memories for the orbital-angular-momentum states of light, and perform other quantum information tasks. Applications to inertial sensing are also discussed.     

Tests of quantum mechanics with single atoms in high Q cavities

A Rydberg atom coupled to a single field mode in a high Q superconducting cavity is an ideal tool to perform experiments testing the most puzzling aspects of the quantum theory. The coupling between the atom and the field is either resonant or dispersive. In the resonant case, quantum Rabi oscillations in the vacuum or in a small coherent field injected in the cavity are observed. The analysis of these signals reveals in a striking way the quantization of the field. Quantum Rabi oscillations are also used to produce entanglement between successive atoms crossing the cavity. Dispersive atom-field coupling is used to prepare coherent superpositions of field states with different phases (Schrödinger cat states). The progressive decoherence of these states is studied by measuring correlations between the energies of pairs of atoms sent through the cavity with a variable delay between them. These experiments provide fundamental tests of quantum theory and shed light on the transition from quantum to classical in mesoscopic systems.     

Quantum state engineering by superpositions of coherent states along a straight line with a single atomic state measurement

A new scheme is proposed for preparation of a type of nonclassical state in cavity QED. In the scheme, an atom either flying through or trapped within a cavity, is controlled by the classical Stark effect; this makes it interact alternately with a (resonant) classical field and with the (dispersive) cavity field. The cavity field, which allows an arbitrary displacement operation during the process, after the detection on the atom, finally collapses to the specific superpositions of coherent states, with their weighting factors controllable. The scheme is also applied for preparation of superpositions of motional coherent states for a trapped ion. The scheme is in contrast to all the previous ones, and thus provides a new perspective for quantum state engineering.     

Coherence and squeezing in superpositions of spin coherent states

We consider the superpositions of spin coherent states and study the coherence properties and spin squeezing in these states. The spin squeezing is examined using a new version of spectroscopic squeezing criteria. The results show that the antibuching effect can be enhanced and spin squeezing can be generated in the superpositions of two spin coherent states.     

Mean spin direction and spin squeezing in superpositions of spin coherent states

We consider the mean spin direction (MSD) of superpositions of two spin coherent states (SCS) | ± μ〉, and superpositions of | μ〉 and | μ*〉 with a relative phase. We find that the azimuthal angle exhibits a π transition for both states when we vary the relative phase. The spin squeezing of the states, and the bosonic counterpart of the mean spin direction are also discussed.      

Generation of Superpositions of Coherent Interaction States Along a Straight Line via Raman Interaction

We present an alternative scheme for preparing the superpositions of coherent states along a straight line of a cavity field using degenerate atom-cavity field Raman interaction. In the scheme, a collection of A-type three-level atoms is orderly sent through the cavity to interact with the cavity field adjusted by a microwave source connected to it, followed by state-selective measurements. In this way, we can prepare the superpositions of several coherent states along a straight line with arbitrary weighting factors for the cavity field. In the scheme, the coherence of the atom-cavity system may be maintained and the second microwave field is unnecessary, which is prior to the previous scheme.     

Generation of Superpositions of Coherent States Along a Straight Line via Raman Interaction

We present an alternative scheme for preparing the superpositions of coherent states along a straight line of a cavity field using degenerate atom-cavity field Raman interaction. In the scheme, a collection of A-type three-level atoms is orderly sent through the cavity to interact with the cavity field adjusted by a microwave source connected to it, followed by state-selective measurements. In this way, we can prepare the superpositions of several coherent states along a straight line with arbitrary weighting factors for the cavity field. In the scheme, the coherence of the atom-cavity system may be maintained and the second microwave field is unnecessary, which is prior to the previous scheme.     

Time evolution of the classical and quantum mechanical versions of diffusive anharmonic oscillator: an example of Lie algebraic techniques

We present the general solutions for the classical and quantum dynamics of the anharmonic oscillator coupled to a purely diffusive environment. In both cases, these solutions are obtained by the application of the Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff (BCH) formulas to expand the evolution operator in an ordered product of exponentials. Moreover, we obtain an expression for the Wigner function in the quantum version of the problem. We observe that the role played by diffusion is to reduce or to attenuate the the characteristic quantum effects yielded by the nonlinearity, as the appearance of coherent superpositions of quantum states (Schr?dinger cat states) and revivals.     

Atomic Bell states generation in an open driven cavity QED system

We show that two uncorrelated two-level atoms can become maximally entangled if they are both off-resonantly coupled to a dissipative cavity mode, initially in the vacuum state, and strongly driven by a resonant coherent field. For moderate atom-field detuning we find that the quantum correlations in the tripartite system can alternatively concentrate either in the atom-atom subsystem or in the two atom-field subsystems. In the first case Bell states as well as their superpositions are generated for low enough cavity decay rates. In a dispersive coupling regime the atomic entanglement grows up monotonically to the maximum value where it remains nearly stationary without being affected by cavity dissipation.     

Semi-Cats: Nonclassicality and Generation

We define generalized cat states as linear superpositions of the semi-coherent states. They can be considered as superpositions of two distinguishable components of the Schrödinger cat states. We study the statistical properties of the introduced states in detail. The physical properties of these states, like the sub-Poissonian statistics and normal-order as well as amplitude-squared squeezing effect, are discussed analytically. Moreover, we find some interesting properties of their optical tomogram derived in terms of the exponential function. Finally, we suggest a new theoretical framework for preparing generalized cat states.     

Generation of superpositions of coherent states for an atomic sample in cavity QED

This paper proposes a scheme for generation of superpositions of coherent states of the effective bosonic mode in a collection of atoms. In the scheme an atomic sample interacts with a slightly detuned cavity mode and a resonant strong classical field. Under certain conditions the atomic system evolves from a coherent state to a superposition of coherent states.     

Long-lived memory for mesoscopic quantum bits

We describe a technique to create long-lived quantum memory for quantum bits in mesoscopic systems. Specifically we show that electronic spin coherence can be reversibly mapped onto the collective state of the surrounding nuclei. The coherent transfer can be efficient and fast and it can be used, when combined with standard resonance techniques, to reversibly store coherent superpositions on the time scale of seconds. This method can also allow for "engineering" entangled states of nuclear ensembles and efficiently manipulating the stored states. We investigate the feasibility of this method through a detailed analysis of the coherence properties of the system.     

Matter-wave interferometry with atoms in high Rydberg states

Matter-wave interferometry has been performed with helium atoms in high Rydberg states. In the experiments the atoms were prepared in coherent superpositions of Rydberg states with different electric dipole moments. Upon the application of an inhomogeneous electric field, the different forces on these internal state components resulted in the generation of coherent superpositions of momentum states. Using a sequence of microwave and electric field gradient pulses the internal Rydberg states were entangled with the momentum states associated with the external motion of these matter waves. Under these conditions matter-wave interference was observed by monitoring the populations of the Rydberg states as the magnitudes and durations of the pulsed electric field gradients were adjusted. The results of the experiments have been compared to, and are in excellent quantitative agreement with, matter-wave interference patterns calculated for the corresponding pulse sequences. For the Rydberg states used, the spatial extent of the Rydberg electron wavefunction was ～320?nm. Matter-wave interferometry with such giant atoms is of interest in the exploration of the boundary between quantum and classical mechanics. The results presented also open new possibilities for measurements of the acceleration of Rydberg positronium or antihydrogen atoms in the Earth's gravitational field.     

Gaussian representation of extended quantum states

Excited energy eigenstates and their superpositions typically exhibit a fine oscillatory structure near caustics. Semiclassical theory accesses these, but depends on detailed geometrical knowledge of the caustics. Here we show that a finite placement of coherent states on the classical region efficiently fits such extended states, reproducing structures that are much finer than the Gaussian width of the basis states. An extended state, evolved such that it becomes fully distinguishable from the original state, can also be faithfully reproduced by this finite basis. The ideal fitting follows from the projection of the extended state on the finite Hilbert space spanned by the Gaussians, rather than any discretization of the continuous (overcomplete) coherent state representation.     

叠加的奇偶SU(1,1)相干态的统计性质

研究了将两个SU(1,1)相干态｜ζ,k〉和｜ζ,k〉叠加起来得到的新的量子态的统计性质．偶SU(1,1)相干态｜ζ,1/4〉和奇SU(1,1)相干态｜ζ,3/4〉分别对应于压缩真空态和压缩单光子数态．适当选取SU(1,1)态的相位角和叠加时的相对相位,得到的新的量子态比单个SU(1,1)相干态表现出大大增强的正交分量压缩和光子反群聚效应．也说明了怎样准备这样的叠加态． 关键词：     

Hybrid long-distance entanglement distribution protocol

We propose a hybrid (continuous-discrete variable) quantum repeater protocol for long-distance entanglement distribution. Starting from states created by single-photon detection, we show how entangled coherent state superpositions can be generated by means of homodyne detection. We show that near-deterministic entanglement swapping with such states is possible using only linear optics and homodyne detectors, and we evaluate the performance of our protocol combining these elements.     

Heisenberg-limited Measurements and Sub-Planck Structures in Phase Space

It is shown how sub-Planck phase-space structures can be used to achieve Heisenberg-limited sensitivity in weak force measurements. Nonclassical states of harmonic oscillators, such as superpositions of coherent states, are shown to be useful for the measurement of weak forces that cause translations or rotations in phase space, which is done by entangling the quantum oscillator with a two-level system. This method is closely related to the Loschmidt echo techniques employed in nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. Implementations of this strategy in cavity QED and ion traps are described.     

Entangled and disentangled evolution for a single atom in a driven cavity

For an atom in an externally driven cavity, we show that special initial states lead to near-disentangled atom-field evolution, and superpositions of these can lead to near maximally entangled states. Somewhat counterintutively, we find that (moderate) spontaneous emission in this system actually leads to a transient increase in entanglement beyond the steady-state value. We also show that a particular field correlation function could be used, in an experimental setting, to track the time evolution of this entanglement.     

Entanglement of electronic subbands and coherent superposition of spin states in a Rashba nanoloop

The present work is concerned with an analysis of the entanglement between the electronic coherent superpositions of spin states and subbands in a quasi-one-dimensional Rashba nanoloop acted upon by a strong perpendicular magnetic field. We explicitly include the confining potential and the Rashba spin-orbit coupling into the Hamiltonian and then proceed to calculate the von Neumann entropy, a measure of entanglement, as a function of time. An analysis of the von Neumann entropy demonstrates that, as expected, the dynamics of entanglement strongly depends upon the initial state and electronic subband excitations. When the initial state is a pure one formed by a subband excitation and the z-component of spin states, the entanglement exhibits periodic oscillations with local minima (dips). On the other hand, when the initial state is formed by the subband states and a coherent superposition of spin states, the entanglement still periodically oscillates, exhibiting stronger correlations, along with elimination of the dips. Moreover, in the long run, the entanglement for the latter case undergoes the phenomenon of collapse-revivals. This behaviour is absent for the first case of the initial states. We also show that the degree of entanglement strongly depends upon the electronic subband excitations in both cases.     

Laser controlled tunneling in a vertical optical lattice

Raman laser pulses are used to induce coherent tunneling between neighboring sites of a vertical 1D optical lattice. Such tunneling occurs when the detuning of a probe laser from the atomic transition frequency matches multiples of the Bloch frequency, allowing for a spectroscopic control of the coupling between Wannier-Stark (WS) states. In particular, we prepare coherent superpositions of WS states of adjacent sites, and investigate the coherence time of these superpositions by realizing a spatial interferometer. This scheme provides a powerful tool for coherent manipulation of external degrees of freedom of cold atoms, which is a key issue for quantum information processing.