Stabilizer formalism in linear optics and application to Bell-state discrimination

TL;DR

This paper introduces a stabilizer formalism-based framework for analyzing linear optical circuits, demonstrating an optimized Bell-state discrimination scheme with high success probability and approaching maximal entanglement as ancilla photons increase.

Contribution

It develops a novel stabilizer formalism analogy for linear optics, enabling efficient analysis and optimization of Bell-state discrimination schemes with ancilla photons.

Findings

Maximum success probability of 0.787 with 28 ancilla photons

Success probability approaches a maximally entangling measurement asymptotically

Framework allows efficient computation for state discrimination in linear optics

Abstract

We propose a framework to analyze linear optical circuits based on an analogy with stabilizer formalism in quantum circuits, which provides efficiently computable formulas related to state discriminations. Hence, we analyze a Bell-state discrimination scheme with linear optics and ancillary single photons. With an increasing number of ancilla photons, the success probability of Bell-state discrimination has a maximum of $\frac{403}{512} \simeq 0.787$ at $28$ ancilla photons. By contrast, the corresponding two-qubit measurement asymptotically approaches a maximally entangling measurement.