Thermal-difference states of light: true states of heralded photons
We introduce a three-parameter family of single-mode optical states whose density operator is a weighted difference of two thermal states, the thermal-difference states. We identify the parameter values for which these states have a negative non-singular P-function, implying they are nonclassical. W...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
EDP Sciences
2019-01-01
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| Series: | EPJ Web of Conferences |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201919800010 |
| Summary: | We introduce a three-parameter family of single-mode optical states whose density operator is a weighted difference of two thermal states, the thermal-difference states. We identify the parameter values for which these states have a negative non-singular P-function, implying they are nonclassical. We show that the states of the “heralded photons” generated via spontaneous parametric downconversion belong to this family, with the three parameters corresponding to the nonlinear gain and the losses in the signal and the idler channels. The thermal-difference states yield new benchmark states for the analysis of nonclassicality and quantum macroscopicity criteria. |
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| ISSN: | 2100-014X |