Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 250401 (2002) [4 pages]Quantum-Optical Catalysis: Generating Nonclassical States of Light by Means of Linear OpticsReceived 27 February 2002; published 5 June 2002 We report preparation and characterization of coherent superposition states t|0〉+α|1〉 of the electromagnetic field by conditional measurements on a beam splitter. This state is generated in one of the beam splitter output channels if a coherent state |α〉 and a single-photon Fock state |1〉 are present in the two input ports and a single photon is registered in the other beam splitter output. The single photon thus plays a role of a “catalyst:” it is explicitly present in both the input and the output channels of the interaction yet facilitates generation of a nonclassical state of light. © 2002 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.250401
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.250401
PACS:
03.65.Wj, 03.67.Lx, 42.50.Dv
|
|
About | Terms and Conditions | Subscriptions | Search | Help
Use of the American Physical Society websites and journals implies that the user has read and agrees to our Terms and Conditions and any applicable Subscription Agreement. Physical Review®, Physical Review Letters®, Reviews of Modern Physics®, and Physical Review Special Topics® are trademarks of the American Physical Society.