We study the entanglement generated by a weak cross-Kerr nonlinearity between two initial coherent states, one of which has an amplitude close to the single-photon level, while the other one is macroscopic. We show that strong micro-macro entanglement is possible for weak phase shifts by choosing the amplitude of the macroscopic beam sufficiently large. We analyze the effects of loss and discuss possible experimental demonstrations of the micro-macro entanglement based on homodyne tomography and on a new entanglement witness.
We propose to create and detect opto-mechanical entanglement by storing one component of an entangled state of light in a mechanical resonator and then retrieving it. Using micro-macro entanglement of light as recently demonstrated experimentally, one can then create opto-mechanical entangled states where the components of the superposition are macroscopically different. We apply this general approach to two-mode squeezed states where one mode has undergone a large displacement. Based on an analysis of the relevant experimental imperfections, the scheme appears feasible with current technology.
Logic-qubit entanglement has attracted much attention in both quantum communication and quantum computation. Here, we present an efficient protocol to distill the logic-qubit entanglement with the help of cross-Kerr nonlinearity. This protocol not only can purify the logic bit-flip error and logic phase-flip error, but also can correct the physical bit-flip error completely. We use cross-Kerr nonlinearity to construct quantum nondemolition detectors. Our distillation protocol for logic-qubit entanglement may be useful for the practical applications in quantum information, especially in long-distance quantum communication.
Schroedingers famous thought experiment involves a (macroscopic) cat whose quantum state becomes entangled with that of a (microscopic) decaying nucleus. The creation of such micro-macro entanglement is currently being pursued in several fields, including atomic ensembles, superconducting circuits, electro-mechanical and opto-mechanical systems. For purely optical systems, there have been several proposals to create micro-macro entanglement by greatly amplifying one half of an initial microscopic entangled state of light, but experimental attempts have so far been inconclusive. Here we experimentally demonstrate micro-macro entanglement of light. The macro system involves over a hundred million photons, while the micro system is at the single-photon level. We show that microscopic differences (in field quadrature measurements) on one side are correlated with macroscopic differences (in the photon number variance) on the other side. On the other hand, we demonstrate entanglement by bringing the macroscopic state back to the single-photon level and performing full quantum state tomography of the final state. Our results show that it is possible to create and demonstrate micro-macro entanglement for unexpectedly large photon numbers. Schroedingers thought experiment was originally intended to convey the absurdity of applying quantum mechanics to macroscopic objects. Today many quantum physicists believe that quantum principles in fact apply on all scales. By combining the present approach with other (e.g. mechanical) systems, or by applying its basic ideas in different contexts, it may be possible to bring quantum effects ever closer to our everyday experience.
State measurement of a quantum harmonic oscillator is essential in quantum optics and quantum information processing. In a system of trapped ions, we experimentally demonstrate the projective measurement of the state of the ions motional mode via an effective cross-Kerr coupling to another motional mode. This coupling is induced by the intrinsic nonlinearity of the Coulomb interaction between the ions. We spectroscopically resolve the frequency shift of the motional sideband of the first mode due to presence of single phonons in the second mode and use it to reconstruct the phonon number distribution of the second mode.
We theoretically study complementarity between micro-micro and micro-macro entanglement in a Bose-Einstein condensate with two Rydberg impurities. We investigate quantum dynamics of micro-micro and micro-macro entanglement in the micro-macro system. It is found that strong micro-macro entanglement between Rydberg impurities and the BEC can be generated by the use of initial micro-micro entanglement between two Rydberg impurities, which acts as the seed entanglement to create micro-macro entanglement. We demonstrate a curious complementarity relation between micro-micro and micro-macro entanglement, and find that the complementarity property can be sustained to some extend even though in the presence of the BEC decoherence.