Generation of Large Coherent-State Superpositions in Free-Space Optical Pulses

Abstract

The generation of non-Gaussian quantum states is a key requirement for universal continuous-variable quantum information processing. We report the experimental generation of large-amplitude squeezed coherent-state superpositions (squeezed cat states) on free-space optical pulses, reaching an amplitude of α = 2.47 , which, to our knowledge, exceeds all previously reported values. Our protocol relies on the controlled mixing of the Fock states | 1 ⟩ and | 2 ⟩ through a tunable beam splitter, followed by heralding via homodyne detection. The resulting state displays three well-resolved negative regions in its Wigner function and achieves a fidelity of 0.53 with the target state ∝ S ^ ( z ) ( | α ⟩ − | − α ⟩ ) , with α = 2.47 and squeezing parameter z = 0.56 . These results constitute a significant milestone for temporal breeding protocols and for the iterative generation of optical Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill states, opening perspectives for scalable and fault-tolerant photonic quantum architectures.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{caron2026generation,
  title = {{Generation of Large Coherent-State Superpositions in Free-Space Optical Pulses}},
  author = {Lucas Caron and Hector Simon and Hugo Basset and Romaric Journet and Rosa Tualle-Brouri},
  journal = {Physical Review X},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.1103/q2h3-58pz},
  url = {https://hal.science/hal-05803467v1},
  note = {CC BY},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Generation of Large Coherent-State Superpositions in Free-Space Optical Pulses
AU  - Lucas Caron
AU  - Hector Simon
AU  - Hugo Basset
AU  - Romaric Journet
AU  - Rosa Tualle-Brouri
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
JO  - Physical Review X
DO  - 10.1103/q2h3-58pz
UR  - https://hal.science/hal-05803467v1
AB  - The generation of non-Gaussian quantum states is a key requirement for universal continuous-variable quantum information processing. We report the experimental generation of large-amplitude squeezed coherent-state superpositions (squeezed cat states) on free-space optical pulses, reaching an amplitude of α = 2.47 , which, to our knowledge, exceeds all previously reported values. Our protocol relies on the controlled mixing of the Fock states | 1 ⟩ and | 2 ⟩ through a tunable beam splitter, followed by heralding via homodyne detection. The resulting state displays three well-resolved negative regions in its Wigner function and achieves a fidelity of 0.53 with the target state ∝ S ^ ( z ) ( | α ⟩ − | − α ⟩ ) , with α = 2.47 and squeezing parameter z = 0.56 . These results constitute a significant milestone for temporal breeding protocols and for the iterative generation of optical Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill states, opening perspectives for scalable and fault-tolerant photonic quantum architectures.
SN  - 2160-3308
ER  -

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