Engineering superpositions of N00N states using an asymmetric non-linear Mach-Zehnder interferometer

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to generate tailored superpositions of N00N states using an asymmetric non-linear Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a self-Kerr interaction, enabling customized quantum state engineering.

Contribution

It introduces an inverse-engineering approach for creating N00N state superpositions via a novel nonlinear interferometer with a self-Kerr effect, expanding quantum state control capabilities.

Findings

Demonstrates a method for mapping single-mode states to N00N superpositions.

Develops inverse-engineering techniques for optimal state transformations.

Provides a framework for generating states with desired quantum properties.

Abstract

We revisit a method for mapping arbitrary single-mode pure states into superpositions of N00N states using an asymmetric non-linear Mach-Zehnder interferometer (ANLMZI). This method would allow for one to tailor-make superpositions of N00N states where each axis of the two-mode joint-photon number distribution is weighted by the statistics of any single-mode pure state. The non-linearity of the ANLMZI comes in the form of a $\chi^{\left(3\right)}$ self-Kerr interaction occurring on one of the intermediary modes of the interferometer. Motivated by the non-classical interference effects that occur at a beam splitter, we introduce inverse-engineering techniques aimed towards extrapolating optimal transformations for generating N00N state superpositions. These techniques are general enough so as to be employed to probe the means of generating states of any desired quantum properties.