Incomplete Detection of Nonclassical Phase-Space Distributions

TL;DR

This paper presents a practical method for certifying nonclassical light using click-counting detectors and phase-space functions, effective even in high-loss regimes and with minimal detector resolution.

Contribution

The authors introduce a robust, resource-efficient technique for detecting nonclassicality via negative phase-space functions with limited detector capabilities.

Findings

Successfully certifies nonclassicality with only two detection bins

Outperforms Wigner function in high-loss, low-resolution scenarios

Demonstrates practical applicability in realistic experimental conditions

Abstract

We implement the direct sampling of negative phase-space functions via unbalanced homodyne measurement using click-counting detectors. The negativities significantly certify nonclassical light in the high-loss regime using a small number of detectors which cannot resolve individual photons. We apply our method to heralded single-photon states and experimentally demonstrate the most significant certification of nonclassicality for only two detection bins. By contrast, the frequently applied Wigner function fails to indicate such quantum characteristics for the quantum efficiencies present in our setup. In addition, it would require ideal photon-number resolution. Hence, we realize a robust, reliable, and resource-efficient approach to characterize nonclassical light in phase space under realistic conditions.