title: Optical Synthesis of Large-Amplitude Squeezed Coherent-State Superpositions with Minimal Resources.
abstract: We propose and experimentally realize a novel versatile protocol that allows the quantum state engineering of heralded optical coherent-state superpositions. This scheme relies on a two-mode squeezed state, linear mixing, and a n-photon detection. It is optimally using expensive non-Gaussian resources to build up only the key non-Gaussian part of the targeted state. In the experimental case of a two-photon detection based on high-efficiency superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, the freely propagating state exhibits a 67% fidelity with a squeezed even coherent-state superposition with a size |α|(2)=3. The demonstrated procedure and the achieved rate will facilitate the use of such superpositions in subsequent protocols, including fundamental tests and optical hybrid quantum information implementations.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, UPMC-Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, ENS-PSL Research University, Collège de France, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.|State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, UPMC-Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, ENS-PSL Research University, Collège de France, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Le Jeannic
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, UPMC-Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, ENS-PSL Research University, Collège de France, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruaudel
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
authors.forename: V B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marsili
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, UPMC-Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, ENS-PSL Research University, Collège de France, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Y-C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Department of Optics, Palacký University, 17. listopadu 1192/12, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Filip
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, UPMC-Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, ENS-PSL Research University, Collège de France, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Morin
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, UPMC-Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, ENS-PSL Research University, Collège de France, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laurat