Conditional preparation of non-Gaussian quantum optical states by mesoscopic measurement

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel method for preparing non-Gaussian quantum optical states using mesoscopic photon counters and displacement techniques, enabling high-rate, highly nonclassical state generation despite detector imperfections.

Contribution

It introduces a displacement-based approach with mesoscopic detectors for non-Gaussian state preparation, overcoming limitations of traditional single-photon conditioning methods.

Findings

High Wigner negativity states can be heralded with this method.

Precise photon-number resolution is not required for effective state preparation.

The approach is robust against experimental non-idealities such as loss and noise.

Abstract

Non-Gaussian states of an optical field are important as a proposed resource in quantum information applications. While conditional preparation is a highly successful approach to preparing such states, their quality is limited by detector non-idealities such as dead time, narrow dynamic range, limited quantum efficiency and dark noise. Mesoscopic photon counters, with peak performance at higher photon number, offer many practical advantages over single-photon level conditioning detectors. Here we propose a novel approach involving displacement of the ancilla field into the regime where mesoscopic detectors can be used. We explore this strategy theoretically and present simulations accounting for experimental non-idealities such as loss and amplification noise, showing that precise photon-number resolution is not necessary to herald highly nonclassical states. We conclude that states with strong Wigner negativity can be prepared at high rates by this technique under experimentally attainable conditions.