On the Formation of Lines in Quantum Phase Space

We study the formation of lines in phase space in Wigner's distribution $W.$ Whereas lines in phase space do not form in classical systems, unless special initial states are chosen, we find, for large classes of systems and initial states of quantum systems that $W$ tends to form straight line patterns crisscrossing phase space. These arise from the states' coherences. Some of those lines have astonishing extent, reaching across the entire state. We show that the formation of such straight line patterns is due to the formation of 'randomized grid states'. We establish their stability to perturbations, and that they are tied to interference phenomena in configuration space. We additionally identify generic higher-order `eye' patterns in phase space which occur less often since they require the formation of more specific regular grid states; and we show that the randomization of eye patterns tends to deform them into lines.Comment: 12 pages 17 figure

Generation of heralded optical `Schroedinger cat' states by photon-addition

Optical "Schr\"odinger cat" states, the non-classical superposition of two quasi-classical coherent states, serve as a basis for gedanken experiments testing quantum physics on mesoscopic scales and are increasingly recognized as a resource for quantum information processing. Here, we report the first experimental realization of optical "Schr\"odinger cats" by adding a photon to a squeezed vacuum state, so far only photon-subtraction protocols have been realized. Photon-addition gives us the advantage of using heralded signal photons as experimental triggers, and we can generate "Schr\"odinger cats" at rates exceeding $8.5 \times 10^4$ counts per second; at least one order of magnitude higher than all previously reported realizations. Wigner distributions with pronounced negative parts are demonstrated at down to -8.89 dB squeezing, even when the initial squeezed vacuum input state has low purity. Benchmarking against such a degraded squeezed input state we report a maximum fidelity of more than 80% with a maximum cat amplitude of $|\alpha| \approx 1.66$. Our experiment uses photon-addition from pairs, one of those photons is used for monitoring, giving us enhanced control; moreover the pair production rates are high and should allow for repeated application of photon-addition via repeat-stages.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

The Wigner flow on the sphere

Abstract We derive a continuity equation for the evolution of the SU(2) Wigner function under nonlinear Kerr evolution. We give explicit expressions for the resulting quantum Wigner current, and discuss the appearance of the classical limit. We show that the global structure of the quantum current significantly differs from the classical one, which is clearly reflected in the form of the corresponding stagnation lines

The Wigner flow on the sphere

We derive a continuity equation for the evolution of the SU(2) Wigner function under nonlinear Kerr evolution. We give explicit expressions for the resulting quantum Wigner current, and discuss the appearance of the classical limit. We show that the global structure of the quantum current significantly differs from the classical one, which is clearly reflected in the form of the corresponding stagnation lines