arXiv subjects

Nicolás Quesada

Publications and source records attributed to Nicolás Quesada.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Optimal local oscillators for the homodyne detection of multiphoton states

We propose a framework for optimizing pulsed local oscillators (LO) for homodyne detection of multiphoton-number states by exploiting the tensor structure of their joint-spectral amplitude (JSA). We show that finding the optimal LO is equivalent to computing the JSA tensor's leading unitary eigenpair and that the factor matrices of the JSA's Tucker higher-order singular value decomposition (HOSVD) coincide with the Schmidt modes of the photon number state's single-particle reduced density matrix. We use the HOSVD to bound the optimal homodyne visibility and to initialize gradient based optimization. In simulated JSAs, weakly correlated, few-mode states reach near-unity visibility, with the leading HOSVD mode being the optimal LO, while strongly correlated, multimode states require full optimization and saturate below unit visibility even at the true optimum. These results offer a practical route to design LOs for homodyne detection experiments with realistic sources of photon-number states, which contributes to the practical implementation of sources of non-Gaussian quantum states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Parameter-Shift Rules for Gradients in Boson Sampling Experiments

Using a robust photon loss model for photonic quantum experiments, we derive $n-$th order parameter-shift rules for computing gradients of Fock boson sampling transition probabilities where $n$ photons are sent into a lossy interferometer. We also show that in general it is not possible to generalize this gradient recipe to the case of Gaussian boson sampling. Only in the specific case where the transmission matrix of the interferometer can be factorized as a diagonal loss matrix premultiplied by a pure unitary it is possible to obtain parameter-shift rules with a finite order given by twice the total number of photons detected. We demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method by comparing its performance against finite differences on real hardware.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Exponentially-improved effective descriptions of physical bosonic systems

The effective description of a bosonic quantum system identifies the minimum finite dimension required to capture its essential dynamics. This effective dimension plays an important role in the complexity of classical and quantum algorithms for learning and simulating bosonic systems. While generic bosonic states require a dimension scaling as $1/ε^2$ for a precision of approximation $ε$, here we identify a natural energy condition which allows us to improve this scaling exponentially to $\log(1/ε)$. We then prove that most bosonic quantum states satisfy this condition, and in particular those produced by combining Gaussian dynamics with generic energy-preserving dynamics, which include the output states of universal bosonic quantum circuits. We apply this finding to enhance learning algorithms for bosonic quantum states and we further obtain new classical simulation algorithms for a large class of bosonic systems. Finally, using efficient decompositions of Kerr gates as sums of Gaussian gates, we significantly refine these classical simulation algorithms for universal bosonic quantum circuits. Our results demonstrate that physical bosonic systems are significantly more well-behaved than previously assumed, allowing for efficient descriptions even at high precision.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Parametric processes in nonlinear structures with reflections: an asymptotic-field approach

The generation of engineered quantum states of light via nonlinear processes is fundamental for quantum technologies based on photons. Although embedding nonlinear materials within resonant structures allows for the enhancement and tailoring of photon properties, accurately modeling these quantum interactions remains a challenge. In this work, we apply the asymptotic-fields formalism, an approach based on scattering theory, to describe nonlinear optical processes within a Fabry-Pérot cavity. Unlike previous applications of this formalism, we explicitly account for reflections in the system. We derive the interaction Hamiltonian and calculate photon-pair generation rates using perturbation theory. The versatility of this model is illustrated through three examples: (i) spontaneous parametric down-conversion in an idealized cavity with flat-response mirrors; (ii) the generation of counter-propagating photon pairs in a periodically-poled material; and (iii) spontaneous four-wave mixing in a cavity built with Bragg reflectors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Generalised All-Optical Cat Correction

We have generalised an all-optical telecorrection protocol for the higher orders of the cat code, and show that with these higher orders we can achieve target performance at substantially reduced iteration counts at the cost of a higher mean photon-number. We also introduce a probabilistic scheme for correcting deformation of the state, which highlights two interesting abilities of telecorrection: to encode new sets of transformations, and to change the basis of the code. We find that for a target channel fidelity of $99.9\%$ over a channel with $1\text{ dB}$ of loss, a third-order cat code requires $70$ times fewer telecorrection iterations than a first-order one, at a cost of a $3.6$-fold increase in mean photon-number.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Calculating trace distances of bosonic states in Krylov subspace

Continuous-variable quantum systems are central to quantum technologies, with Gaussian states playing a key role due to their broad applicability and simple description via first and second moments. Distinguishing Gaussian states requires computing their trace distance, but no analytical formula exists for general states, and numerical evaluation is difficult due to the exponential cost of representing infinite-dimensional operators. We introduce an efficient numerical method to compute the trace distance between a pure and a mixed Gaussian state, based on a generalized Lanczos algorithm that avoids explicit matrix representations and uses only moment information. The technique extends to non-Gaussian states expressible as linear combinations of Gaussian states. We also show how it can yield lower bounds on the trace distance between mixed Gaussian states, offering a practical tool for state certification and learning in continuous-variable quantum systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Quantum Fisher information analysis for absorption measurements with undetected photons

We theoretically compare the quantum Fisher information (QFI) for three configurations of absorption spectroscopy with undetected idler photons: an SU(1,1) interferometer with inter-source idler loss, an induced-coherence (IC) setup in which the idler partially seeds a second squeezer together with a vacuum ancilla, and a distributed-loss (DL) scheme with in-medium attenuation. We calculate the QFI as a function of parametric gain for both full and signal-only detection access. For losses below 99% and low to moderate gain, the SU(1,1) configuration provides the largest QFI. At high gain and intermediate loss, the IC scheme performs best, while under extreme attenuation (transmission $<$ 1%) the DL model becomes optimal. These results delineate the measurement regimes in which each architecture is optimal in terms of information theory.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

High-gain effects in broadband continuous-wave parametric down conversion sources and measurements with undetected photons

We study theoretically how high-gain effects affect the measurement outcome of visible signal spectra in undetected photon measurement schemes. We consider two interferometric configurations: firstly, the SU(1,1) interferometer where the idler incurs loss and additional dispersion in between two identical, lossless, squeezers; secondly, the induced coherence interferometer where the idler incurs loss and additional dispersion in between two identical, lossless, squeezers and where the second squeezer is seeded by the idler and a vacuum ancilla mode. Furthermore, we consider a distributed loss configuration where the idler incurs loss as it propagates in the nonlinear medium. Motivated by experimental evidence and due to the fact that broadband sources are ideal for these measurement schemes, we use the dispersive data of a third-order dispersion engineered integrated waveguide parametric down conversion (PDC) source presented in New Journal of Physics 26, 123025 (2024) to model the PDC spectra in the three configurations. For each configuration we consider the case of idler-only (i) absorption, (ii) additional dispersion, and (iii) the combined effects. We obtain results which outline the strength and weaknesses of the different configurations at different operation points.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Near-optimal decomposition of unitary matrices using phase masks and the discrete Fourier transform

Universal multiport interferometers (UMIs) have emerged as a key tool for performing arbitrary linear transformations on optical modes, enabling precise control over the state of light in essential applications of classical and quantum information processing such as neural networks and boson sampling. While UMI architectures based on Mach-Zehnder interferometer networks are well established, alternative approaches that involve interleaving fixed multichannel mixing layers and phase masks have recently gained interest due to their high robustness to losses and fabrication errors. However, these approaches currently lack optimal analytical methods to compute design parameters with low optical depth. In this work, we introduce a constructive decomposition of unitary matrices using a sequence of $2N+5$ phase masks interleaved with $2N+4$ discrete Fourier transform matrices. This decomposition can be leveraged to design universal interferometers based on phase masks and multimode interference couplers, implementing a discrete Fourier transform, offering an analytical alternative to conventional numerical optimization-based designs and reducing by a factor of 3 the previous best known analytical methods.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

What's my phase again? Computing the vacuum-to-vacuum amplitude of quadratic bosonic evolution

Quadratic bosonic Hamiltonians and their associated unitary transformations form a fundamental class of operations in quantum optics, modelling key processes such as squeezing, displacement, and beam-splitting. Their Heisenberg-picture dynamics simplifies to linear (or possibly affine) transformations on quadrature operators, enabling efficient analysis and decomposition into optical gate sets using matrix operations. However, this formalism discards a phase, which, while often neglected, is essential for a complete unitary characterization. We present efficient methods to recover this phase directly from the vacuum-to-vacuum amplitude of the unitary, using calculations that scale polynomially with the number of modes and avoid Fock space manipulations. We reduce the general problem for time-dependent Hamiltonians to integration, and provide analytical results for key cases including time-independent Hamiltonians which are positive definite, passive, active, or single-mode. Finally, we show that our results can be easily used to obtain the phase associated with any Gaussian state, be it mixed or pure.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Ultrashort-pulse-pumped, single-mode type-0 squeezers in lithium niobate nanophotonics

We present design principles for ultrashort-pulse, type-0 phase-matched optical parametric amplifiers to generate and measure spectrally pure degenerate squeezed light. We consider a fundamental signal (second-harmonic) mode at 2090 (1045) nm and show that our proposed design achieves a Schmidt number of $K \approx 1.02$ with squeezing levels greater than 15 dB on a single temporal mode spanning over $5$ THz in bandwidth with cm-scale devices on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) on insulator platform. Our work opens up promising avenues for large-scale circuits for ultrafast quantum information processing and quantum sensing applications on the rapidly advancing TFLN platform with already demonstrated linear components and photodetection capabilities.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Parametric processes in nonlinear structures with reflections: a transfer matrix method approach

The Transfer Matrix Method is a powerful numerical tool for simulating wave propagation in layered media. It has been widely applied in many fields, although its use is typically restricted to passive media. In this paper, we develop the transfer method to simulate optical nonlinear generation and give examples for processes such as difference frequency generation, spontaneous parametric down conversion, and four-wave mixing including generation of counter propagating waves. This framework enables accurate simulation of complex multilayer structures and resonant cavities, providing a versatile tool for designing nonlinear photonic devices.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

A fast and frugal Gaussian Boson Sampling emulator

If classical algorithms have been successful in reproducing the estimation of expectation values of observables of some quantum circuits using off-the-shelf computing resources, matching the performance of the most advanced quantum devices on sampling problems usually requires extreme cost in terms of memory and computing operations, making them accessible to only a handful of supercomputers around the world. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time a classical simulation outperforming Gaussian boson sampling experiments of one hundred modes on established benchmark tests using a single CPU or GPU. Being embarrassingly parallelizable, a small number of CPUs or GPUs allows us to match previous sampling rates that required more than one hundred GPUs. We believe algorithmic and implementation improvements will generalize our tools to photo-counting, single-photon inputs, and pseudo-photon-number-resolving scenarios beyond one thousand modes. Finally, most of the innovations in our tools remain valid for generic probability distributions over binary variables, rendering it potentially applicable to the simulation of qubit-based sampling problems and creating classical surrogates for classical-quantum algorithms.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Strategies for generating separable photon triplets in waveguides and ring resonators

Photon triplet sources exhibit non-Gaussian features, a key property for applications in quantum computing and quantum information. However, spectral correlations can limit the performance and detection efficiency of these systems. Motivated by this observation, we present a theoretical analysis of the spectral properties of photon triplets generated through spontaneous third-order parametric down-conversion in photonic devices, and discuss strategies to quantify and minimize such correlations. We propose two approaches: dispersion engineering in waveguides and pump engineering in resonators. We apply these strategies in two realistic source designs, namely a high-index-contrast optical fiber and a silicon nitride microring resonator. Finally, we discuss detection strategies for probing non-Gaussian features of the triplet state. We find that it is feasible to achieve few-mode generation of photon triplets using state-of-the-art experimental systems, a crucial step toward practical applications of photon triplet sources in quantum technologies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Optimal Waveforms for Dipole Moment Estimation with Coherent States

We investigate quantum sensing for spectroscopy in a system consisting of a two-level atom coupled to a continuum of modes. We focus on optimizing the pulse shape of a coherent state to maximize the quantum Fisher information (QFI) of the emitted light with the aim of estimating the atom's dipole moment, which is proportional to its spontaneous emission rate. To achieve this, we derive a set of coupled differential equations, which include the standard optical Bloch equations as a subset and whose solution directly yields the QFI of the emitted light without resorting to finite-difference methods. Furthermore, we analyze the factors that govern its optimization, provide analytic solutions in both the long and the short pulse width limits, and examine the role of the average photon number of the pulses. We then show that under the closed (periodic) boundary conditions, the harmonic (plane-wave) with frequency equal to half the spontaneous emission rate and a phase determined by detuning are optimal in the long pulse width limit.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Accurate Unsupervised Photon Counting from Transition Edge Sensor Signals

We compare methods for signal classification applied to voltage traces from transition-edge sensors (TES) which are photon-number resolving detectors fundamental for accessing quantum advantages in information processing, communication and metrology. We quantify the impact of numerical analysis on the distinction of such signals. Furthermore, we explore dimensionality reduction techniques to create interpretable and precise photon-number embeddings. We demonstrate that the preservation of local data structures of some nonlinear methods is an accurate way to achieve unsupervised classification of TES traces. We do so by considering a confidence metric that quantifies the overlap of the photon-number clusters inside a latent space. Furthermore, we demonstrate that for our dataset previous methods such as the signal's area and principal component analysis can resolve up to 16 photons with confidence above $90\%$ while nonlinear techniques can resolve up to 21 with the same confidence threshold. Also, we showcase implementations of neural networks to leverage information within local structures, aiming to increase confidence in assigning photon numbers. Finally, we demonstrate the advantage of some nonlinear methods to detect and remove outlier signals.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Simulating lossy and partially distinguishable quantum optical circuits: theory, algorithms and applications to experiment validation and state preparation

To understand quantum optics experiments, we must perform calculations that consider the principal sources of noise, such as losses, spectral impurity and partial distinguishability. In both discrete and continuous variable systems, these can be modeled as mixed Gaussian states over multiple modes. The modes are not all resolved by photon-number measurements and so require calculations on coarse-grained photon-number distribution. Existing methods can lead to a combinatorial explosion in the time complexity, making this task unfeasible for even moderate sized experiments of interest. In this work, we prove that the computation of this type of distributions can be done in exponential time, providing a combinatorial speedup. We develop numerical techniques that allow us to determine coarse-grained photon number distributions of Gaussian states, as well as density matrix elements of heralded non-Gaussian states prepared in the presence of spectral impurity and partial distinguishability. These results offer significant speed-up and accuracy improvements to validation tests of both Fock and Gaussian boson samplers that rely on binned probability distributions. Moreover, they pave the way to a more efficient simulation of realistic photonic circuits, unlocking the ability to perform exact calculations at scales which were previously out of reach. In addition to this, our results, including loop Hafnian master theorems, may be of interest to the fields of combinatorics and graph theory.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Gain-induced group delay in spontaneous parametric down-conversion

Strongly-driven nonlinear optical processes such as spontaneous parametric down-conversion and spontaneous four-wave mixing can produce multiphoton nonclassical beams of light which have applications in quantum information processing and sensing. In contrast to the low-gain regime, new physical effects arise in a high-gain regime due to the interactions between the nonclassical light and the strong pump driving the nonlinear process. Here, we describe and experimentally observe a gain-induced group delay between the multiphoton pulses generated in a high-gain type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion source. Since the group delay introduces distinguishability between the generated photons, it will be important to compensate for it when designing quantum interference devices in which strong optical nonlinearities are required.

quant-ph↗