Inseparability criterion for continuous variable systems

Distinguishable Consequence of Classical Gravity on Quantum Matter

What if gravity is classical? If true, a consistent coexistence of classical gravity and quantum matter requires that gravity exhibit irreducible fluctuations. These fluctuations can mediate classical correlations, but not quantum entanglement, between the quantized motion of the gravitationally interacting matter. We use a consistent theory of quantum-classical dynamics in the Newtonian limit of gravity to show that experimentally relevant observables can conclusively test the hypothesis that gravity is classical. This can be done, for example, by letting highly coherent source masses interact with each other gravitationally, and performing precise measurements of the cross-correlation of their motion. Theory predicts a characteristic phase response that distinguishes classical gravity from quantum gravity, and from naive sources of decoherence. Such experiments are imminently viable.

Two-mode light in optomechanical cavity with squeezed vacuum reservoir

We consider a two-mode light generated by nondegenerate three-level laser with parametric oscillator in optomechanical cavity coupled to two-mode squeezed vacuum reservoir. Effects of pump mode, optomechanical coupling strength and squeezed vacuum reservoir on squeezing and entanglement properties of the cavity modes have been analyzed using the expectation values of cavity mode variables at steady state. The results show that the two-mode light produced by the system under consideration exhibits quadrature squeezing and entanglement. The presence of parametric oscillator in the cavity and squeezed vacuum reservoir enhance the degree of squeezing, entanglement and mean photon number of the cavity mode lights. The optomechanical cavity has no effect on the mean photon number and entanglement of the cavity mode but increases the degree of quadrature squeezing.

Efficient In Situ Generation of Photon-Memory Entanglement in a Nonlinear Cavity

Parametrically driving an optical cavity that simultaneously couples to an atomic ensemble quantum memory enables in situ generation of multimode photon-memory entanglement. A high-rate bipartite photon-memory entanglement can be generated even after discarding one entangled optical mode. This protocol can be realized with existing technologies based on photonic resonators integrated with a rare-earth-ion doped quantum memory. The proposed scheme shows significant advantages in entanglement generation rates compared with prevailing quantum memory protocols and experiments, with theoretical ebit rates of tens of MHz without fine-tuned operating conditions. Such a photon-memory entanglement source offers a versatile resource for quantum networking and interconnect applications.

Improving the Stationary Entanglement of a Laguerre-Gaussian Cavity Mode with a Rotating Mirror via Nonlinear Cross-Kerr Interactions and Parametric Interactions

Quantum entanglement is essential in performing many quantum information tasks. Here, we theoretically investigate the stationary entanglement between a Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) cavity field and a rotating end mirror in an LG-cavity optorotational system with a nonlinear cross-Kerr (CK) interaction and a degenerate optical parametric amplifier (OPA). We calculate the logarithmic negativity of the system to quantify the stationary entanglement. We examine the influence of various system parameters such as the cavity detuning, the strength of the nonlinear CK interaction, the parametric gain and phase of the OPA, the power of the input Gaussian laser, the topological charge of the LG-cavity field, the mass of the rotating end mirror, and the ambient temperature on the stationary entanglement. Under the combined effect of the nonlinear CK interaction and the OPA, we find that the stationary entanglement can be substantially enhanced at lower Gaussian laser powers, smaller topological charges of the LG-cavity field, and larger masses of the rotating end mirror. We show that the combination of the nonlinear CK interaction and the OPA can make the stationary entanglement more robust against the ambient temperature.

Certifiable Lower Bounds of Wigner Negativity Volume and Non-Gaussian Entanglement with Conditional Displacement Gates

In circuit and cavity quantum electrodynamics devices where control qubits are dispersively coupled to high-quality-factor cavities, characteristic functions of cavity states can be directly probed with conditional displacement (CD) gates. In this Letter, I propose a method to certify non-Gaussian entanglement between cavities using only CD gates and qubit readouts. The CD witness arises from an application of Bochner's theorem to a surprising connection between two negativities: that of the reduced Wigner function, and that of the partial transpose. Non-Gaussian entanglement of some common states, like entangled cats and photon-subtracted two-mode squeezed vacua, can be detected by measuring as few as four points of the characteristic function. Furthermore, the expectation value of the witness is a simultaneous lower bound to the Wigner negativity volume and a geometric measure of entanglement conjectured to be the partial transpose negativity. Both negativities are strong monotones of non-Gaussianity and entanglement, respectively, so the CD witness provides experimentally accessible lower bounds to quantities related to these monotones without the need for tomography on the cavity states.

Quantum state tomography in a third-order integrated optical parametric oscillator

We measured the covariance matrix of the fields generated in an integrated third-order optical parametric oscillator operating above threshold. We observed up to (2.3 ± 0.3) dB of squeezing in amplitude difference and inferred (4.9 ± 0.7) dB of on-chip squeezing, while an excess of noise for the sum of conjugated quadratures hinders the entanglement. The degradation of amplitude correlations and state purity for increasing the pump power is consistent with the observed growth of the phase noise of the fields, showing the necessity of strategies for phase noise control aiming at entanglement generation in these systems.

Entanglement and Squeezing of the Optical Field Modes in High Harmonic Generation

Squeezed optical fields are a powerful resource for a variety of investigations in basic research and technology. However, the generation of intense squeezed light is challenging. Here, we show that intense squeezed light can be produced using strongly laser driven atoms and the so far unrelated process of high harmonic generation. We demonstrate that when the intensity of the driving field significantly depletes the ground state of the atoms, leading to dipole moment correlations, the quantum state of the driving field and the generated high harmonics are entangled and squeezed. Furthermore, we analyze how the resulting quadrature squeezing of the fundamental laser mode after the interaction can be controlled. The findings open the way for the generation of high intensity squeezed light states for a wide range of applications.

Deterministic All-Optical Quantum Teleportation of Four Degrees of Freedom

Quantum teleportation, disembodied transfer of the unknown quantum state between two locations, has been experimentally demonstrated for both discrete and continuous variable states in one degree of freedom (DOF). Generally, multiple DOFs are needed to fully characterize a quantum state. Therefore, to implement intact quantum teleportation, multiple DOFs of quantum state should be teleported simultaneously. Recently, teleporting a single photon encoded in two DOFs has been experimentally demonstrated in discrete variable regime. However, the teleportation of more than two DOFs remains unexplored. Here, by utilizing continuous variable hyperentanglement in four DOFs (azimuthal and radial indexes of Laguerre-Gaussian mode, frequency, and polarization), we experimentally demonstrate deterministic all-optical quantum teleportation of four DOFs. Moreover, we experimentally construct 24 parallel teleportation channels. Our results pave the way for deterministically implementing multiple-DOF quantum communication protocols.

Entanglement Detection with Trace Polynomials

We provide a systematic method for nonlinear entanglement detection based on trace polynomial inequalities. In particular, this allows us to employ multipartite witnesses for the detection of bipartite states, and vice versa. We identify pairs of entangled states and witnesses for which linear detection fails, but for which nonlinear detection succeeds. With the trace polynomial formulation a great variety of witnesses arise from immanant inequalities, which can be implemented in the laboratory through the randomized measurements toolbox.

Enhancement of Entanglement via Incoherent Collisions

In contrast to the general thought that the collisions are intrinsically dephasing in nature and detrimental to quantum entanglement at room or higher temperatures, here, we show that in the conventional ladder-type electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) configuration, when the probe field intensity is not very weak as compared to the pump field, the entanglement between the bright pump and probe fields can be remarkably enhanced with the increase of the collisional decay rates in a moderate range in an inhomogeneously broadened atomic system. The strengthened entanglement results from the enhancement of constructive interference and suppression of destructive interference between one-photon and multiphoton transition pathways. Our results clearly indicate that the collisions offer a promising alternative to enhance entanglement at room or higher temperatures despite of the dephasing nature, which provides great convenience for experimental implementation, and opens new prospects and applications in realistic quantum computation and quantum information processing.

Orbital Angular Momentum Multiplexed Deterministic All-Optical Quantum Erasure-Correcting Code

Quantum erasure-correcting code, which corrects the erasure in the transmission of quantum information, is an important protocol in quantum information. In the continuous variable regime, the feed-forward technique is needed for realizing quantum erasure-correcting code. This feed-forward technique involves optic-electro and electro-optic conversions, limiting the bandwidth of quantum erasure-correcting code. Moreover, in the previous continuous variable quantum erasure-correcting code, only two modes are protected against erasure, limiting the applications of quantum erasure-correcting code in high-capacity quantum information processing. In this Letter, by utilizing the orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexed entanglement in the encoding part and replacing the feed-forward technique with OAM mode-matched phase-sensitive amplifier in the decoding part, we experimentally demonstrate a scheme of OAM multiplexed deterministic all-optical quantum erasure-correcting code. We experimentally demonstrate that four orthogonal modes can be simultaneously protected against one arbitrary erasure. Our results provide an all-optical platform to implement quantum erasure-correcting code and may have potential applications in implementing all-optical fault-tolerant quantum information processing.

Simultaneously enhanced magnomechanical cooling and entanglement assisted by an auxiliary microwave cavity

We propose a mechanism to simultaneously enhance quantum cooling and entanglement via coupling an auxiliary microwave cavity to a magnomechanical cavity. The auxiliary cavity acts as a dissipative cold reservoir that can efficiently cool multiple localized modes in the primary system via beam-splitter interactions, which enables us to obtain strong quantum cooling and entanglement. We analyze the stability of the system and determine the optimal parameter regime for cooling and entanglement under the auxiliary-microwave-cavity-assisted (AMCA) scheme. The maximum cooling enhancement rate of the magnon mode can reach 98.53%, which clearly reveals that the magnomechanical cooling is significantly improved in the presence of the AMCA. More importantly, the dual-mode entanglement of the system can also be significantly enhanced by AMCA in the full parameter region, where the initial magnon-phonon entanglement can be maximally enhanced by a factor of about 11. Another important result of the AMCA is that it also increases the robustness of the entanglement against temperature. Our approach provides a promising platform for the experimental realization of entanglement and quantum information processing based on cavity magnomechanics.

Quantum squeezing-induced quantum entanglement and EPR steering in a coupled optomechanical system

We propose a theoretical project in which quantum squeezing induces quantum entanglement and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering in a coupled whispering-gallery-mode optomechanical system. Through pumping the χ(2)-nonlinear resonator with the phase matching condition, the generated squeezed resonator mode and the mechanical mode of the optomechanical resonator can generate strong quantum entanglement and EPR steering, where the squeezing of the nonlinear resonator plays the vital role. The transitions from zero entanglement to strong entanglement and one-way steering to two-way steering can be realized by adjusting the system parameters appropriately. The photon-photon entanglement and steering between the two resonators can also be obtained by deducing the amplitude of the driving laser. Our project does not need an extraordinarily squeezed field, and it is convenient to manipulate and provides a novel and flexible avenue for diverse applications in quantum technology dependent on both optomechanical and photon-photon entanglement and steering.

Creation of Two-Mode Squeezed States in Atomic Mechanical Oscillators

Two-mode squeezed states, which are entangled states with bipartite quantum correlations in continuous-variable systems, are crucial in quantum information processing and metrology. Recently, continuous-variable quantum computing with the vibrational modes of trapped atoms has emerged with significant progress, featuring a high degree of control in hybridizing with spin qubits. Creating two-mode squeezed states in such a platform could enable applications that are only viable with photons. Here, we experimentally demonstrate two-mode squeezed states by employing atoms in a two-dimensional optical lattice as quantum registers. The states are generated by a controlled projection conditioned on the relative phase of two independent squeezed states. The individual squeezing is created by sudden jumps of the oscillators' frequencies, allowing generating of the two-mode squeezed states at a rate within a fraction of the oscillation frequency. We validate the states by entanglement steering criteria and Fock state analysis. Our results can be applied in other mechanical oscillators for quantum sensing and continuous-variable quantum information.

General Class of Continuous Variable Entanglement Criteria

We present a general class of entanglement criteria for continuous variable systems. Our criteria are based on the Husimi Q distribution and allow for optimization over the set of all concave functions rendering them extremely general and versatile. We show that several entropic criteria and second moment criteria are obtained as special cases. Our criteria reveal entanglement of families of states undetected by any commonly used criteria and provide clear advantages under typical experimental constraints such as finite detector resolution and measurement statistics.

Entangling microwaves with light

Quantum entanglement is a key resource in currently developed quantum technologies. Sharing this fragile property between superconducting microwave circuits and optical or atomic systems would enable new functionalities, but this has been hindered by an energy scale mismatch of >10⁴ and the resulting mutually imposed loss and noise. In this work, we created and verified entanglement between microwave and optical fields in a millikelvin environment. Using an optically pulsed superconducting electro-optical device, we show entanglement between propagating microwave and optical fields in the continuous variable domain. This achievement not only paves the way for entanglement between superconducting circuits and telecom wavelength light, but also has wide-ranging implications for hybrid quantum networks in the context of modularization, scaling, sensing, and cross-platform verification.

Optical-density enhanced quantum entanglement via four-wave mixing process

We theoretically propose a scheme to generate a strong continuous-variable quantum entangled light source in four-wave mixing (FWM) process by increasing the optical density of atomic medium. By properly choosing the input coupling field Rabi frequency and detuning, the optimized entanglement can be achieved to be better than -17 dB at an optical density of approximately 1, 000, which has been realized in atomic media. Besides, with the optimized one-photon detuning and coupling Rabi frequency, the optimum entanglement degree can be greatly enhanced with the increment of optical density. We also examine the effects of atomic decoherence rate and two-photon detuning on entanglement in a realistic setting, and evaluate the experimental feasibility. We find that the entanglement can be further improved by considering two-photon detuning. In addition, with optimum parameters the entanglement is robust against the decoherence. The strong entanglement provides a promising applications in continuous-variable quantum communications.

Dynamics-Based Entanglement Witnesses for Non-Gaussian States of Harmonic Oscillators

We introduce a family of entanglement witnesses for continuous variable systems, which rely on the sole assumption that their dynamics is that of coupled harmonic oscillators at the time of the test. Entanglement is inferred from the Tsirelson nonclassicality test on one of the normal modes, without any knowledge about the state of the other mode. In each round, the protocol requires measuring only the sign of one coordinate (e.g., position) at one among several times. This dynamic-based entanglement witness is more akin to a Bell inequality than to an uncertainty relation: in particular, it does not admit false positives from classical theory. Our criterion detects non-Gaussian states, some of which are missed by other criteria.

Continuous variable spin-orbit total angular momentum entanglement on the higher-order Poincaré sphere

Optical spin-orbit coupling is an important phenomenon and has fruitful applications. Here, we investigate the spin-orbit total angular momentum entanglement in the optical parametric downconversion process. Four pairs of entangled vector vortex modes are experimentally generated directly using a dispersion- and astigmatism-compensated single optical parametric oscillator, and for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, the spin-orbit quantum states are characterized on the quantum higher-order Poincaré sphere, and the relationship of spin-orbit total angular momentum Stokes entanglement is demonstrated. These states have potential applications in high-dimensional quantum communication and multiparameter measurement.

Constraints on Gaussian Error Channels and Measurements for Quantum Communication

Joint Gaussian measurements of two quantum systems are important for quantum communication between remote parties and are often used in continuous-variable teleportation or entanglement-swapping protocols. Many of the errors in real-world implementations can be modeled by independent Gaussian error channels acting prior to measurement. In this work we study independent single-mode Gaussian error channels on two modes A and B that take place prior to a joint Gaussian measurement. We determine the set of pairs of such channels that render all Gaussian measurements separable, and therefore unsuitable for entanglement swapping or teleportation of arbitrary input states. For example, if the error channels are loss with parameters l A , l B followed by added noise with parameters n A , n B then all Gaussian measurements are separable if and only if l A + l B + n A + n B ≥ 1 .

Multipartite Entanglement in a Microwave Frequency Comb

Significant progress has been made with multipartite entanglement of discrete qubits, but continuous variable systems may provide a more scalable path toward entanglement of large ensembles. We demonstrate multipartite entanglement in a microwave frequency comb generated by a Josephson parametric amplifier subject to a bichromatic pump. We find 64 correlated modes in the transmission line using a multifrequency digital signal processing platform. Full inseparability is verified in a subset of seven modes. Our method can be expanded to generate even more entangled modes in the near future.

Genuine Tripartite Non-Gaussian Entanglement

Triple-photon states generated by three-mode spontaneous parametric down-conversion are the paradigm of unconditional non-Gaussian states, essential assets for quantum advantage. How to fully characterize their non-Gaussian entanglement remains however elusive. We propose here a set of sufficient and necessary conditions for separability of the broad family of spontaneously generated three-mode non-Gaussian states. We further derive state-of-the-art conditions for genuine tripartite non-Gaussian entanglement, the strongest class of entanglement. We apply our criteria to triple-photon states revealing that they are fully inseparable and genuinely entangled in moments of order 3n. Our results establish a systematic framework for characterizing the entanglement of triple-photon states and thus fostering their application in quantum information protocols.

Manipulation of continuous variable orbital angular momentum squeezing and entanglement by pump shaping

Spatially structured quantum states, such as orbital angular momentum (OAM) squeezing and entanglement, is currently a popular topic in quantum optics. The method of generating and manipulating spatial quantum states on demand needs to be explored. In this paper, we generated OAM mode squeezed states of -5.4 dB for the L G0+1 mode and -5.3 dB for the L G0-1 mode directly by an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) for the first time. Additionally, we demonstrated that the OAM mode squeezed and entangled states were respectively generated by manipulating the nonlinear process of the OPO by controlling the relative phase of two beams of different modes, thus making two different spatial multimode pump beams. We characterized the Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) entangled states by indirectly measuring the squeezing for the H G _10(45^∘) mode and H G _10(135^∘) mode, and directly measuring the entanglement between the L G0+1 and L G0-1 modes. The effective manipulation of the OAM quantum state provides a novel insight into the continuous variable quantum state generation and construction on demand for high-dimensional quantum information and quantum metrology.

Programmable time-multiplexed squeezed light source

One of the leading approaches to large-scale quantum information processing (QIP) is the continuous-variable (CV) scheme based on time multiplexing (TM). As a fundamental building block for this approach, quantum light sources to sequentially produce time-multiplexed squeezed-light pulses are required; however, conventional CV TM experiments have used fixed light sources that can only output the squeezed pulses with the same squeezing levels and phases. We here demonstrate a programmable time-multiplexed squeezed light source that can generate sequential squeezed pulses with various squeezing levels and phases at a time interval below 100 ns. The generation pattern can be arbitrarily chosen by software without changing its hardware configuration. This is enabled by using a waveguide optical parametric amplifier and modulating its continuous pump light. Our light source will implement various large-scale CV QIP tasks.

Entanglement Dynamics of Coupled Quantum Oscillators in Independent NonMarkovian Baths

This work strives to better understand how the entanglement in an open quantum system, here represented by two coupled Brownian oscillators, is affected by a nonMarkovian environment (with memories), here represented by two independent baths each oscillator separately interacts with. We consider two settings, a 'symmetric' configuration wherein the parameters of both oscillators and their baths are identical, and an 'asymmetric' configuration wherein they are different, in particular, a 'hybrid' configuration, where one of the two coupled oscillators interacts with a nonMarkovian bath and the other with a Markovian bath. Upon finding the solutions to the Langevin equations governing the system dynamics and the evolution of the covariance matrix elements entering into its entanglement dynamics, we ask two groups of questions: (Q1) Which time regime does the bath's nonMarkovianity benefit the system's entanglement most? The answers we get from detailed numerical studies suggest that (A1) For an initially entangled pair of oscillators, we see that in the intermediate time range, the duration of entanglement is proportional to the memory time, and it lasts a fraction of the relaxation time, but at late times when the dynamics reaches a steady state, the value of the symplectic eigenvalue of the partially transposed covariance matrix barely benefit from the bath nonMarkovianity. For the second group of questions: (Q2) Can the memory of one nonMarkovian bath be passed on to another Markovian bath? And if so, does this memory transfer help to sustain the system's entanglement dynamics? Our results from numerical studies of the asymmetric hybrid configuration indicate that (A2) A system with a short memory time can acquire improvement when it is coupled to another system with a long memory time, but, at a cost of the latter. The sustainability of the bipartite entanglement is determined by the party which breaks off entanglement most easily.

Fundamental Limitation on the Detectability of Entanglement

Entanglement detection is essential in quantum information science and quantum many-body physics. It has been proved that entanglement exists almost surely for a random quantum state, while the realizations of effective entanglement criteria usually consume exponentially many resources with regard to system size or qubit number, and efficient criteria often perform poorly without prior knowledge. This fact implies a fundamental limitation might exist in the detectability of entanglement. In this work, we formalize this limitation as a fundamental trade-off between the efficiency and effectiveness of entanglement criteria via a systematic method to evaluate the detection capability of entanglement criteria theoretically. For a system coupled to an environment, we prove that any entanglement criterion needs exponentially many observables to detect the entanglement effectively when restricted to single-copy operations. Otherwise, the detection capability of the criterion will decay double exponentially. Furthermore, if multicopy joint measurements are allowed, the effectiveness of entanglement detection can be exponentially improved, which implies a quantum advantage in entanglement detection problems. Our results may shed light on why quantum phenomena are difficult to observe in large noisy systems.

Non-Separability of Physical Systems as a Foundation of Consciousness

A hypothesis is presented that non-separability of degrees of freedom is the fundamental property underlying consciousness in physical systems. The amount of consciousness in a system is determined by the extent of non-separability and the number of degrees of freedom involved. Non-interacting and feedforward systems have zero consciousness, whereas most systems of interacting particles appear to have low non-separability and consciousness. By contrast, brain circuits exhibit high complexity and weak but tightly coordinated interactions, which appear to support high non-separability and therefore high amount of consciousness. The hypothesis applies to both classical and quantum cases, and we highlight the formalism employing the Wigner function (which in the classical limit becomes the Liouville density function) as a potentially fruitful framework for characterizing non-separability and, thus, the amount of consciousness in a system. The hypothesis appears to be consistent with both the Integrated Information Theory and the Orchestrated Objective Reduction Theory and may help reconcile the two. It offers a natural explanation for the physical properties underlying the amount of consciousness and points to methods of estimating the amount of non-separability as promising ways of characterizing the amount of consciousness.

Continuous Variable Entanglement in an Optical Parametric Oscillator Based on a Nondegenerate Four Wave Mixing Process in Hot Alkali Atoms

We present the measurement of entanglement between twin beams generated with a doubly resonant optical parameter oscillator (OPO) based on four-wave mixing in hot ^{85}Rb vapor above threshold. This is the first measurement of entanglement in an OPO with a χ^{(3)} media above threshold. We reconstruct the covariance matrix for several configurations and based on a full picture of the four side band mode state, we study entanglement between all possible bipartitions. We show a robust generation of entanglement with stronger generation for a specific pair of modes. For this system, we show that atomic density is a determinant factor for the generation and loss of quantum correlations. The generation of entangled fields with an atomic OPO operating close to atomic resonance of alkali atoms enables a natural integration into quantum networks.

Reconstructing Gaussian bipartite states with a single polarization-sensitive homodyne detector

We present a novel method to fully estimate Gaussian bipartite polarization states using only a single homodyne detector. Our approach is based on [Phys. Rev. Lett.102, 020502 (2009)10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.020502], but circumvents additional optics, and thereby losses, in the signal path. We provide an intuitive explanation of our scheme without needing to define auxiliary modes. With six independent measurements, we fully reconstruct the state's covariance matrix. We validate our method by comparing it to a conventional dual-homodyne measurement scheme.

Implementation of Two-Mode Gaussian States Whose Covariance Matrix Has the Standard Form

This paper deals with the covariance matrix (CM) of two-mode Gaussian states, which, together with the mean vector, fully describes these states. In the two-mode states, the (ordinary) CM is a real symmetric matrix of order 4; therefore, it depends on 10 real variables. However, there is a very efficient representation of the CM called the standard form (SF) that reduces the degrees of freedom to four real variables, while preserving all the relevant information on the state. The SF can be easily evaluated using a set of symplectic invariants. The paper starts from the SF, introducing an architecture that implements with primitive components the given two-mode Gaussian state having the CM with the SF. The architecture consists of a beam splitter, followed by the parallel set of two single–mode real squeezers, followed by another beam splitter. The advantage of this architecture is that it gives a precise non-redundant physical meaning of the generation of the Gaussian state. Essentially, all the relevant information is contained in this simple architecture.

Multi-Mode Correlation in a Concurrent Parametric Amplifier

A concurrent parametric amplifier consisting of two pump beams is used to investigate the possibility of generating multi-mode correlation and entanglement. The existence of three-mode entanglement is demonstrated by analyzing the violation degree of three-mode entanglement criteria, including the sufficient criterion, i.e., two-condition and optimal single-condition criterion, and necessary and sufficient criterion, i.e., positivity under partial transposition (PPT) criterion. Besides, two-mode entanglement generated from any pair is also studied by using the Duan criterion and PPT criterion. We find that three-mode entanglement and two-mode entanglement of the two pairs are present in the whole parameter region. Our results pave the way for the realization and application of multi-mode correlation and entanglement based on the concurrent parametric amplifiers.

Gaussian States: Evaluation of the Covariance Matrix from the Implementation with Primitive Component

Quantum Gaussian states play a fundamental role in quantum communications and in quantum information. This paper deals with the implementation of multimode, and particularly of two-mode Gaussian unitaries and Gaussian states with primitive components (phase shifters, single-mode real squeezers, displacements, and beam splitters). The architecture thus obtained allows one to obtain an insight into the physical meaning of each variable involved. Moreover, following the implementation architecture, it is possible to formulate an easy algebra (radical free) for the main operations and transformations of Gaussian states.

Quantum features of nonlinear coupler with competing nonlinearity

In this work, we examine the quantum features of a multi-waveguide nonlinear coupler exploiting the second-and third-order nonlinearities. The considered system contains four identical channels, each with a single fundamental transverse mode. The essence of this type of nonlinear coupler is to examine the effect of two or more competing nonlinearities on the generated nonclassical features in this class of devices. Here, we consider the case of second harmonic generation, wherein the fundamental harmonic (FH) fields are up-converted in pairs to double-frequency second harmonic (SH) fields, which are then evanescently coupled with the fields from other Kerr nonlinear waveguides. Using the positive P representation of the phase space, the time-evolution of the density matrix could be mapped to the corresponding Fokker–Planck equation of a classical quasiprobability distribution. Using Langevin stochastic equation, an exact representation of the system in phase space led to the demonstration of sub-Poissonian property, squeezing, and entanglement. With more effective squeezing achieved in all channel waveguides, the present system with χ⁽²⁾–χ⁽³⁾ interaction can be a more efficient alternative to other versions of nonlinear couplers such as the quantum optical dimer (QOD) and Kerr nonlinear coupler (KNC). Furthermore, such a structure offers more flexibility in coupled-mode interactions in the form of correlation between the modes in different waveguides. This provides a better mechanism for the generation of enhanced nonclassical effects.

Stable entanglement and one-way steering via engineering of a single-atom reservoir

In this paper, we reexamine the quantum correlations in a four-state single-atom system in the weak coupling regime, aiming at the realization of stable entanglement and one-way steering via dissipation rather than coherent evolution process. Under the near-resonant conditions, we find out that a single atom can act as a reservoir and behave like a two-level system with a single dissipation channel, through which the composite Bogoliubov mode will evolve into a vacuum state, resulting in the appearance of stationary entanglement between two original modes. In addition, the one-way steering is generated when the symmetry is broken by choosing asymmetrical coupling constants. The present scheme may provide convenience for experimental implement and find applications in quantum information processing.

Topological optical parametric oscillation

Topological insulators possess protected boundary states which are robust against disorders and have immense implications in both fermionic and bosonic systems. Harnessing these topological effects in nonequilibrium scenarios is highly desirable and has led to the development of topological lasers. The topologically protected boundary states usually lie within the bulk bandgap, and selectively exciting them without inducing instability in the bulk modes of bosonic systems is challenging. Here, we consider topological parametrically driven nonlinear resonator arrays that possess complex eigenvalues only in the edge modes in spite of the uniform pumping. We show parametric oscillation occurs in the topological boundary modes of one and two dimensional systems as well as in the corner modes of a higher order topological insulator system. Furthermore, we demonstrate squeezing dynamics below the oscillation threshold, where the quantum properties of the topological edge modes are robust against certain disorders. Our work sheds light on the dynamics of weakly nonlinear topological systems driven out-of-equilibrium and reveals their intriguing behavior in the quantum regime.

Deterministic distribution of multipartite entanglement in a quantum network by continuous-variable polarization states

Quantum network plays a vitally important role in the practical application of quantum information, which requires the deterministic entanglement distribution among multiple remote users. Here, we propose a feasible scheme to deterministically distribute quadripartite entanglement by continuous-variable (CV) polarization states. The quantum server prepares the quadripartite CV polarization entanglement and distributes them to four remote users via optical fiber. In this way, the measurement of CV polarization entanglement is local oscillation free, which makes the long distance entanglement distribution in commercial optical fiber communication networks possible. Furthermore, both the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-like (GHZ-like) and cluster-like polarization entangled states can be distributed among four users by controlling the beam splitter network in quantum server, which are confirmed by the extended criteria for polarization entanglement of multipartite optical modes. The protocol provides the direct reference for experimental implementation and can be directly extended to quantum network with more users, which is essential for a metropolitan quantum network.

All-Optical Entanglement Swapping

Entanglement swapping, which is a core component of quantum network and an important platform for testing the foundation of quantum mechanics, can enable the entangling of two independent particles without direct interaction both in discrete variable and continuous variable systems. Conventionally, the realization of entanglement swapping relies on the Bell-state measurement. In particular, for entanglement swapping in continuous variable regime, such Bell-state measurement involves the optic-electro and electro-optic conversion, which limits the applications of the entanglement swapping for constructing broadband quantum network. In this Letter, we propose and demonstrate a measurement-free all-optical entanglement swapping. In our scheme, a high-gain parametric amplifier based on the four-wave mixing process is exploited to realize the function of Bell-state measurement without detection, which avoids the introduction of the optic-electro and electro-optic conversion. Our results provide an all-optical paradigm for implementing entanglement swapping and pave the way to construct a measurement-free all-optical broadband quantum network.

Quantum–Classical Entropy Analysis for Nonlinearly-Coupled Continuous-Variable Bipartite Systems

The correspondence principle plays a fundamental role in quantum mechanics, which naturally leads us to inquire whether it is possible to find or determine close classical analogs of quantum states in phase space—a common meeting point to both classical and quantum density statistical descriptors. Here, this issue is tackled by investigating the behavior of classical analogs arising upon the removal of all interference traits displayed by the Wigner distribution functions associated with a given pure quantum state. Accordingly, the dynamical evolution of the linear and von Neumann entropies is numerically computed for a continuous-variable bipartite system, and compared with the corresponding classical counterparts, in the case of two quartic oscillators nonlinearly coupled under regular and chaos conditions. Three quantum states for the full system are considered: a Gaussian state, a cat state, and a Bell-type state. By comparing the quantum and classical entropy values, and particularly their trends, it is shown that, instead of entanglement production, such entropies rather provide us with information on the system (either quantum or classical) delocalization. This gradual loss of information translates into an increase in both the quantum and the classical realms, directly connected to the increase in the correlations between both parties’ degrees of freedom which, in the quantum case, is commonly related to the production of entanglement.

Detecting Entanglement Structure in Continuous Many-Body Quantum Systems

A prerequisite for the comprehensive understanding of many-body quantum systems is a characterization in terms of their entanglement structure. The experimental detection of entanglement in spatially extended many-body systems describable by quantum fields still presents a major challenge. We develop a general scheme for certifying entanglement and demonstrate it by revealing entanglement between distinct subsystems of a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. Our scheme builds on the spatially resolved simultaneous detection of the quantum field in two conjugate observables which allows the experimental confirmation of quantum correlations between local as well as nonlocal partitions of the system. The detection of squeezing in Bogoliubov modes in a multimode setting illustrates its potential to boost the capabilities of quantum simulations to study entanglement in spatially extended many-body systems.

Phase manipulated two-mode entangled state from a phase-sensitive amplifier

The phase manipulation of the two-mode entangled state, which can flexibly control the combination of quadrature components on demand, is important for continuous variable (CV) quantum information and quantum metrology. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the phase manipulation of entangled state by using a phase-sensitive amplifier (PSA) based on four-wave mixing (FWM) process. The entanglement with different phase space squeezing orientations can be generated by directly changing the phase of the PSA. Our scheme is concise and can be expanded to generate multi-parties entangled states on demand. Our results here pave the way to realize a phase-coded quantum key distribution protocol and squeezing-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Measurement of the Temperature Using the Tomographic Representation of Thermal States for Quadratic Hamiltonians

The Wigner and tomographic representations of thermal Gibbs states for one- and two-mode quantum systems described by a quadratic Hamiltonian are obtained. This is done by using the covariance matrix of the mentioned states. The area of the Wigner function and the width of the tomogram of quantum systems are proposed to define a temperature scale for this type of states. This proposal is then confirmed for the general one-dimensional case and for a system of two coupled harmonic oscillators. The use of these properties as measures for the temperature of quantum systems is mentioned.

Lindblad Dynamics and Disentanglement in Multi-Mode Bosonic Systems

In this paper, we consider the thermal bath Lindblad master equation to describe the quantum nonunitary dynamics of quantum states in a multi-mode bosonic system. For the two-mode bosonic system interacting with an environment, we analyse how both the coupling between the modes and the coupling with the environment characterised by the frequency and the relaxation rate vectors affect dynamics of the entanglement. We discuss how the revivals of entanglement can be induced by the dynamic coupling between the different modes. For the system, initially prepared in a two-mode squeezed state, we find the logarithmic negativity as defined by the magnitude and orientation of the frequency and the relaxation rate vectors. We show that, in the regime of finite-time disentanglement, reorientation of the relaxation rate vector may significantly increase the time of disentanglement.

Hierarchy of Nonlinear Entanglement Dynamics for Continuous Variables

The entanglement produced by a bilinear Hamiltonian in continuous variables has been thoroughly studied and widely used. In contrast, the physics of entanglement resulting from nonlinear interaction described by partially degenerate high-order Hamiltonians remains unclear. Here, we derive a hierarchy of sufficient and necessary conditions for the positive-partial-transposition separability of bipartite nonlinear quantum states. The proposed criteria detect the nonpositive-partial-transposition inseparability of higher-order moments of states, which provides a systematic framework for the characterization of this kind of entanglement. Through numerical simulation of cubic and quartic Hamiltonians, we demonstrate the existence and competition of a hierarchy of entanglement witnesses, revealing the mechanism underlying such entanglement. Our results may provide a new direction in continuous variable quantum information processing.

Entangled sideband control scheme via frequency-comb-type seed beam

We report a control scheme of entangled sideband modes without coherent amplitude by employing a frequency-comb-type seed beam. In this scheme, each tooth of the frequency comb serves as a control field for the corresponding downconversion mode. Consequently, all the degrees of freedom can be actively controlled, and the entanglement degrees are higher than 6.7 dB for two pairs of sidebands. We believe that this scheme provides a simple solution for the control of sideband modes, which could be further applied to achieve compact channel multiplexing quantum communications.

Observation of Quasiparticle Pair Production and Quantum Entanglement in Atomic Quantum Gases Quenched to an Attractive Interaction

We report observations of quasiparticle pair production by a modulational instability in an atomic superfluid and present a measurement technique that enables direct characterization of quasiparticle quantum entanglement. By quenching the atomic interaction to attractive and then back to weakly repulsive, we produce correlated quasiparticles and monitor their evolution in a superfluid through evaluating the in situ density noise power spectrum, which essentially measures a "homodyne" interference between ground-state atoms and quasiparticles of opposite momenta. We observe large amplitude growth in the power spectrum and subsequent coherent oscillations in a wide spatial frequency band within our resolution limit, demonstrating coherent quasiparticle generation and evolution. The spectrum is observed to oscillate below a quantum limit set by the Peres-Horodecki separability criterion of continuous-variable states, thereby confirming quantum entanglement between interaction quench-induced quasiparticles.

Performance Improvement of Atmospheric Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution with Untrusted Source

Atmospheric continuous-variable quantum key distribution (ACVQKD) has been proven to be secure theoretically with the assumption that the signal source is well protected by the sender so that it cannot be compromised. However, this assumption is quite unpractical in realistic quantum communication system. In this work, we investigate a practical situation in which the signal source is no longer protected by the legitimate parts, but is exposed to the untrusted atmospheric channel. We show that the performance of ACVQKD is reduced by removing the assumption, especially when putting the untrusted source at the middle of the channel. To improve the performance of the ACVQKD with the untrusted source, a non-Gaussian operation, called photon subtraction, is subsequently introduced. Numerical analysis shows that the performance of ACVQKD with an untrusted source can be improved by properly adopting the photon subtraction operation. Moreover, a special situation where the untrusted source is located in the middle of the atmospheric channel is also considered. Under direct reconciliation, we find that its performance can be significantly improved when the photon subtraction operation is manipulated by the sender.

Experimental Demonstration of a Multifunctional All-Optical Quantum State Transfer Machine

Quantum information protocol with quantum resources shows a great advantage in substantially improving security, fidelity, and capacity of information processing. Various quantum information protocols with diverse functionalities have been proposed and implemented. However, in general, the present quantum information system can only carry out a single information protocol or deal with a single communication task, which limits its practical application in the future. Therefore, it is essential to develop a multifunctional platform compatible with multiple different quantum information protocols. In this Letter, by utilizing an all-optical platform consisting of a gain-tunable parametric amplifier, a beam splitter, and an entanglement source, we experimentally realize the partially disembodied quantum state transfer protocol, which links the all-optical quantum teleportation protocol and the optimal 1→N coherent state cloning protocol. As a result, these three protocols, which have different physical essences and functionalities, are implemented in a single all-optical machine. In particular, we demonstrate that the partially disembodied quantum state transfer protocol can enhance the state transfer fidelity compared with all-optical quantum teleportation under the same strength of entanglement. Our all-optical quantum state transfer machine paves a way to implement the multifunctional quantum information system.

Entanglement and Photon Anti-Bunching in Coupled Non-Degenerate Parametric Oscillators

We analytically and numerically show that the Hillery-Zubairy's entanglement criterion is satisfied both below and above the threshold of coupled non-degenerate optical parametric oscillators (NOPOs) with strong nonlinear gain saturation and dissipative linear coupling. We investigated two cases: for large pump mode dissipation, below-threshold entanglement is possible only when the parametric interaction has an enough detuning among the signal, idler, and pump photon modes. On the other hand, for a large dissipative coupling, below-threshold entanglement is possible even when there is no detuning in the parametric interaction. In both cases, a non-Gaussian state entanglement criterion is satisfied even at the threshold. Recent progress in nano-photonic devices might make it possible to experimentally demonstrate this phase transition in a coherent XY machine with quantum correlations.

Measurement-Device-Independent Entanglement Detection for Continuous-Variable Systems

We study the detection of continuous-variable entanglement, for which most of the existing methods designed so far require a full specification of the devices, and we present protocols for entanglement detection in a scenario where the measurement devices are completely uncharacterized. We first generalize, to the continuous variable regime, the seminal results by Buscemi [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 200401 (2012)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.108.200401] and Branciard et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 060405 (2013)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.110.060405], showing that all entangled states can be detected in this scenario. Most importantly, we then describe a practical protocol that allows for the measurement-device-independent certification of entanglement of all two-mode entangled Gaussian states. This protocol is feasible with current technology as it makes use only of standard optical setups such as coherent states and homodyne measurements.

Quantum mechanics-free subsystem with mechanical oscillators

Quantum mechanics sets a limit for the precision of continuous measurement of the position of an oscillator. We show how it is possible to measure an oscillator without quantum back-action of the measurement by constructing one effective oscillator from two physical oscillators. We realize such a quantum mechanics-free subsystem using two micromechanical oscillators, and show the measurements of two collective quadratures while evading the quantum back-action by 8 decibels on both of them, obtaining a total noise within a factor of 2 of the full quantum limit. This facilitates the detection of weak forces and the generation and measurement of nonclassical motional states of the oscillators. Moreover, we directly verify the quantum entanglement of the two oscillators by measuring the Duan quantity 1.4 decibels below the separability bound.