arXiv subjects

Stefano Olivares

Publications and source records attributed to Stefano Olivares.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Pulsed homodyne Gaussian quantum tomography with low detection efficiency

Pulsed homodyne quantum tomography usually requires a high detection efficiency limiting its applicability in quantum optics. Here, it is shown that the presence of low detection efficiency ($<50\%$) does not prevent the tomographic reconstruction of quantum states of light, specifically, of Gaussian type. This result is obtained by applying the so-called "minimax" adaptive reconstruction of the Wigner function to pulsed homodyne detection. In particular, we prove, by both numerical and real experiments, that an effective discrimination of different Gaussian quantum states can be achieved. Our finding paves the way to a more extensive use of quantum tomographic methods, even in physical situations in which high detection efficiency is unattainable.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2014

Drawbacks of the use of fidelity to assess quantum resources

Fidelity is a figure of merit widely employed in quantum technology in order to quantify similarity between quantum states and, in turn, to assess quantum resources or reconstruction techniques. Fidelities higher than, say, 0.9 or 0.99, are usually considered as a piece of evidence to say that two states are very close in the Hilbert space. On the other hand, on the basis of several examples for qubits and continuous variable systems, we show that such high fidelities may be achieved by pairs of states with considerably different physical properties, including separable and entangled states or classical and nonclassical ones. We conclude that fidelity as a tool to assess quantum resources should be employed with caution, possibly combined with additional constraints restricting the pool of achievable states, or only as a mere summary of a full tomographic reconstruction.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Gaussian and Non-Gaussian operations on non-Gaussian state: engineering non-Gaussianity

Multiple photon subtraction applied to a displaced phase-averaged coherent state, which is a non-Gaussian classical state, produces conditional states with a non trivial (positive) Glauber-Sudarshan $P$-representation. We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that, despite its simplicity, this class of conditional states cannot be fully characterized by direct detection of photon numbers. In particular, the non-Gaussianity of the state is a characteristics that must be assessed by phase-sensitive measurements. We also show that the non-Gaussianity of conditional states can be manipulated by choosing suitable conditioning values and composition of phase-averaged states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Dynamical paths and universality in continuous variables open systems

We address the dynamics of quantum correlations in continuous variable open systems and analyze the evolution of bipartite Gaussian states in independent noisy channels. In particular, upon introducing the notion of dynamical path through a suitable parametrization for symmetric states, we focus attention on phenomena that are common to Markovian and non-Markovian Gaussian maps under the assumptions of weak coupling and secular approximation. We found that the dynamical paths in the parameter space are universal, that is they do depend only on the initial state and on the effective temperature of the environment, with non Markovianity that manifests itself in the velocity of running over a given path. This phenomenon allows one to map non-Markovian processes onto Markovian ones and it may reduce the number of parameters needed to study a dynamical process, e.g. it may be exploited to build constants of motions valid for both Markovian and non-Markovian maps. Universality is also observed in the value of Gaussian discord at the separability threshold, which itself is a function of the sole initial conditions in the limit of high temperature. We also prove the existence of excluded regions in the parameter space, i.e. of sets of states which cannot be linked by any Gaussian dynamical map.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Detecting quantum non-Gaussianity via the Wigner function

We introduce a family of criteria to detect quantum non-Gaussian states of a harmonic oscillator, that is, quantum states that can not be expressed as a convex mixture of Gaussian states. In particular we prove that, for convex mixtures of Gaussian states, the value of the Wigner function at the origin of phase space is bounded from below by a non-zero positive quantity, which is a function only of the average number of excitations (photons) of the state. As a consequence, if this bound is violated then the quantum state must be quantum non-Gaussian. We show that this criterion can be further generalized by considering additional Gaussian operations on the state under examination. We then apply these criteria to various non-Gaussian states evolving in a noisy Gaussian channel, proving that the bounds are violated for high values of losses, and thus also for states characterized by a positive Wigner function.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Homodyne detection as a near-optimum receiver for phase-shift keyed binary communication in the presence of phase diffusion

We address binary optical communication channels based on phase-shift keyed coherent signals in the presence of phase diffusion. We prove theoretically and demonstrate experimentally that a discrimination strategy based on homodyne detection is robust against this kind of noise for any value of the channel energy. Moreover, we find that homodyne receiver beats the performance of Kennedy receiver as the signal energy increases, and achieves the Helstrom bound in the limit of large noise.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Characterization of phase-averaged coherent states

We present the full characterization of phase-randomized or phase-averaged coherent states, a class of states exploited in communication channels and in decoy state-based quantum key distribution protocols. In particular, we report on the suitable formalism to analytically describe the main features of this class of states and on their experimental investigation, that results in agreement with theory. We also show the results we obtained by manipulating the phase-averaged coherent states with linear optical elements and testify their good quality by employing some non-Gaussianity measures and the concept of mutual information.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

The balance of quantum correlations for a class of feasible tripartite continuous variable states

We address the balance of quantum correlations for continuous variable (CV) states. In particular, we consider a class of feasible tripartite CV pure states and explicitly prove two Koashi-Winter-like conservation laws involving Gaussian entanglement of formation, Gaussian quantum discord and sub-system Von Neumann entropies. We also address the class of tripartite CV mixed states resulting from the propagation in a noisy environment, and discuss how the previous equalities evolve into inequalities.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Experimental quantification of non-Gaussianity of phase-randomized coherent states

We present the experimental investigation of the non-Gaussian nature of some mixtures of Fock states by reconstructing their Wigner function and exploiting two recently introduced measures of non-Gaussianity. In particular, we demonstrate the consistency between the different approaches and the monotonicity of the two measures for states belonging to the class of phase randomized coherent states. Moreover, we prove that the exact behavior of one measure with respect to the other depends on the states under investigation and devise possible criteria to discriminate which measure is more useful for the characterization of the states in realistic applications.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Manipulating the non-Gaussianity of phase-randomized coherent states

We experimentally investigate the non-Gaussian features of the phase-randomized coherent states, a class of states exploited in communication channels and in decoy state-based quantum key distribution protocols. In particular, we reconstruct their phase-insensitive Wigner functions and quantify their non-Gaussianity. The measurements are performed in the mesoscopic photon-number domain by means of a direct detection scheme involving linear detectors.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Non-divisiblity and non-Markovianity in a Gaussian dissipative dynamics

We study a stochastic Schroedinger equation that generates a family of Gaussian dynamical maps in one dimension permitting a detailed exam of two different definitions of non-Markovianity: one related to the explicit dependence of the generator on the starting time, the other to the non-divisibility of the time-evolution maps. The model shows instances where one has non-Markovianity in both senses and cases when one has Markovianity in the second sense but not in the first one.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Qubit-assisted thermometry of a quantum harmonic oscillator

We use the theory of quantum estimation in two different qubit-boson coupling models to demonstrate that the temperature of a quantum harmonic oscillator can be estimated with high precision by quantum-limited measurements on the qubit. The two models that we address embody situations of current physical interest due to their connection with ongoing experimental efforts on the control of mesoscopic dynamics. We show that population measurements performed over the qubit probe are near optimal for a broad range of temperatures of the harmonic oscillator

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

About the probability distribution of a quantity with given mean and variance

Supplement 1 to GUM (GUM-S1) recommends the use of maximum entropy principle (MaxEnt) in determining the probability distribution of a quantity having specified properties, e.g., specified central moments. When we only know the mean value and the variance of a variable, GUM-S1 prescribes a Gaussian probability distribution for that variable. When further information is available, in the form of a finite interval in which the variable is known to lie, we indicate how the distribution for the variable in this case can be obtained. A Gaussian distribution should only be used in this case when the standard deviation is small compared to the range of variation (the length of the interval). In general, when the interval is finite, the parameters of the distribution should be evaluated numerically, as suggested by I. Lira, Metrologia, 46 L27 (2009). Here we note that the knowledge of the range of variation is equivalent to a bias of the distribution toward a flat distribution in that range, and the principle of minimum Kullback entropy (mKE) should be used in the derivation of the probability distribution rather than the MaxEnt, thus leading to an exponential distribution with non Gaussian features. Furthermore, up to evaluating the distribution negentropy, we quantify the deviation of mKE distributions from MaxEnt ones and, thus, we rigorously justify the use of GUM-S1 recommendation also if we have further information on the range of variation of a quantity, namely, provided that its standard uncertainty is sufficiently small compared to the range.

physics.data-an↗

arXiv2012

Optical interferometry in the presence of large phase diffusion

Phase diffusion represents a crucial obstacle towards the implementation of high precision interferometric measurements and phase shift based communication channels. Here we present a nearly optimal interferometric scheme based on homodyne detection and coherent signals for the detection of a phase shift in the presence of large phase diffusion. In our scheme the ultimate bound to interferometric sensitivity is achieved already for a small number of measurements, of the order of hundreds, without using nonclassical light.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Quantum optics in the phase space - A tutorial on Gaussian states

In this tutorial, we introduce the basic concepts and mathematical tools needed for phase-space description of a very common class of states, whose phase properties are described by Gaussian Wigner functions: the Gaussian states. In particular, we address their manipulation, evolution and characterization in view of their application to quantum information.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Fidelity matters: the birth of entanglement in the interference of Gaussian states

We address the interaction of two Gaussian states interferring at a beam splitter and analyze the correlations exhibited by the resulting bipartite system. We demonstrate that nonlocal correlations (entanglement) arise if and only if the fidelity between the two input Gaussian states falls under a threshold value depending only on their purities and on the transmissivity of the beam splitter. Our result clarifies the role of squeezing as a prerequisite for entanglement and provide a tool to optimize the generation of entanglement by passive devices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Measuring high-order photon-number correlations in multimode pulsed quantum states

We implement a direct detection scheme based on hybrid photodetectors to experimentally investigate high-order correlations for detected photons by means of quantities that can be experimentally accessed. We show their usefulness in fully characterizing a multimode twin-beam state in comparison with classical states and, in particular, we introduce a nonclassicality criterion based on a simple linear combination of high-order correlation functions. Our scheme is self-consistent, allowing the estimation of all the involved parameters (quantum efficiency, number of modes and average energy) directly from the same experimental data. Results are in very good agreement with theory, thus suggesting the exploitation of our scheme for reliable state characterization in quantum technology.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Qubit thermometry for micromechanical resonators

We address estimation of temperature for a micromechanical oscillator lying arbitrarily close to its quantum ground state. Motivated by recent experiments, we assume that the oscillator is coupled to a probe qubit via Jaynes-Cummings interaction and that the estimation of its effective temperature is achieved via quantum limited measurements on the qubit. We first consider the ideal unitary evolution in a noiseless environment and then take into account the noise due to non dissipative decoherence. We exploit local quantum estimation theory to assess and optimize the precision of estimation procedures based on the measurement of qubit population, and to compare their performances with the ultimate limit posed by quantum mechanics. In particular, we evaluate the Fisher information (FI) for population measurement, maximize its value over the possible qubit preparations and interaction times, and compare its behavior with that of the quantum Fisher information (QFI). We found that the FI for population measurement is equal to the QFI, i.e., population measurement is optimal, for a suitable initial preparation of the qubit and a predictable interaction time. The same configuration also corresponds to the maximum of the QFI itself. Our results indicate that the achievement of the ultimate bound to precision allowed by quantum mechanics is in the capabilities of the current technology.

quant-ph↗