We show how to implement several continuous-variable coherent protocols with linear optics. Noise can accumulate when implementing each coherent protocol with realistic optical devices. Our analysis bounds the level of noise accumulation. We highlight the connection between a coherent channel and a nonlocal quantum nondemolition interaction and give two new protocols that implement a coherent channel. One protocol is superior to a previous method for a nonlocal quantum nondemolition interaction because it requires fewer communication resources. We then show how continuous-variable coherent superdense coding implements two nonlocal quantum nondemolition interactions with a quantum channel and bipartite entanglement. We finally show how to implement continuous-variable coherent teleportation experimentally and provide a way to verify the correctness of its operation.
The general transformation of the product of coherent states $prod_{i=1}^N|alpha_i>$ to the output state $prod_{i=1}^M|beta_i>$ ($N=M$ or $N eq M$), which is realizable with linear optical circuit, is characterized with a linear map from the vector $(alpha^{ast}_1,...,alpha^{ast}_N)$ to $(beta^{ast}_1,...,beta^{ast}_M)$. A correspondence between the transformations of a product of coherent states and those of a single photon state is established with such linear maps. It is convenient to apply this linear transformation method to design any linear optical scheme working with coherent states. The examples include message encoding and quantum database searching. The limitation of manipulating entangled coherent states with linear optics is also discussed.
The study of non-equilibrium physics from the perspective of the quantum limits of thermodynamics and fluctuation relations can be experimentally addressed with linear optical systems. We discuss recent experimental investigations in this scenario and present new proposed schemes and the potential advances they could bring to the field.
Linear optics underpins tests of fundamental quantum mechanics and computer science, as well as quantum technologies. Here we experimentally demonstrate the longstanding goal of a single reprogrammable optical circuit that is sufficient to implement all possible linear optical protocols up to the size of that circuit. Our six-mode universal system consists of a cascade of 15 Mach-Zehnder interferometers with 30 thermo-optic phase shifters integrated into a single photonic chip that is electrically and optically interfaced for arbitrary setting of all phase shifters, input of up to six photons and their measurement with a 12 single-photon detector system. We programmed this system to implement heralded quantum logic and entangling gates, boson sampling with verification tests, and six-dimensional complex Hadamards. We implemented 100 Haar random unitaries with average fidelity 0.999 $pm$ 0.001. Our system is capable of switching between these and any other linear optical protocol in seconds. These results point the way to applications across fundamental science and quantum technologies.
We show theoretically that two atomic dipoles in a resonator constitute a non-linear medium, whose properties can be controlled through the relative position of the atoms inside the cavity and the detuning and intensity of the driving laser. We identify the parameter regime where the system operates as a parametric amplifier, based on the cascade emission of the collective dipole of the atoms, and determine the corresponding spectrum of squeezing of the field at the cavity output. This dynamics could be observed as a result of self-organization of laser-cooled atoms in resonators.
A unitary interaction coupling two parties enables quantum communication in both the forward and backward directions. Each communication capacity can be thought of as a tradeoff between the achievable rates of specific types of forward and backward communication. Our first result shows that for any bipartite unitary gate, coherent classical communication is no more difficult than classical communication -- they have the same achievable rate regions. Previously this result was known only for the unidirectional capacities (i.e., the boundaries of the tradeoff). We then relate the tradeoff curve for two-way coherent communication to the tradeoff for two-way quantum communication and the tradeoff for coherent communiation in one direction and quantum communication in the other.