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Generation of optical Cat States by squeezed photon subtraction

Thomas Gerrits, National Institute of Standards and Technology

(Session 1 : Friday from 09:30-10:00)

Collaborators: Thomas Gerrits, Tracy Clement, Scott Glancy, Sae Woo Nam, Richard Mirin, Manny Knill (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, 80303)

Abstract. Optical Cat States are superpositions of coherent states with opposite phases. Those states may be useful for optical phase measurements, as an interferometer's sensitivity is enhanced compared to a classical interferometer, when the light in both interferometers contains equal mean number of photons and wavelength. Also, in quantum computing they are a fundamental resource of fault-tolerant algorithms. Cat States are very sensitive to decoherence, and as a result their preparation is challenging and can serve as a demonstration of good quantum control. We will present our recent effort in generating and detecting these Cat States. Using a femtosecond laser and a KNbO3 downconversion source we are able to generate non-Gaussian states, which are similar to a Schroedinger Cat State.