We consider the quantum cloning of continuous variable entangled states. This
is achieved by introducing two symmetric entanglement cloning machines (or
e-cloners): a local e-cloner and a global e-cloner; where we look at the
preservation of entanglement in the clones under the condition that the
fidelity of the clones is maximized. These cloning machines are implemented
using simple linear optical elements such as beam splitters and homodyne
detection along with squeeze gates. We show that the global e-cloner
out-performs the local e-cloner both in terms of the fidelity of the cloned
states as well as the strength of the entanglement of the clones. There is a
minimum strength of entanglement (3dB for the inseparability criterion and
5.7dB for the EPR paradox criterion) of the input state of the global e-cloner
that is required to preserve the entanglement in the clones.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
