We introduce and discuss a set of tunable two-mode states of
continuous-variable systems, as well as an efficient scheme for their
experimental generation. This novel class of tunable entangled resources is
defined by a general ansatz depending on two experimentally adjustable
parameters. It is very ample and flexible as it encompasses Gaussian as well as
non-Gaussian states. The latter include, among others, known states such as
squeezed number states and de-Gaussified photon-added and photon-subtracted
squeezed states, the latter being the most efficient non-Gaussian resources
currently available in the laboratory. Moreover, it contains the classes of
squeezed Bell states and even more general non-Gaussian resources that can be
optimized according to the specific quantum technological task that needs to be
realized. The proposed experimental scheme exploits linear optical operations
and photon detections performed on a pair of uncorrelated two--mode Gaussian
squeezed states. The desired non-Gaussian state is then realized via ancillary
squeezing and conditioning. Two independent, freely tunable experimental
parameters can be exploited to generate different states and to optimize the
performance in implementing a given quantum protocol. As a concrete instance,
we analyze in detail the performance of different states considered as
resources for the realization of quantum teleportation in realistic conditions.
For the fidelity of teleportation of an unknown coherent state, we show that
the resources associated to the optimized parameters outperform, in a
significant range of experimental values, both Gaussian twin beams and
photon-subtracted squeezed states.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure
