Abstract
We present the generation of approximated coherent state superpositions—referred to as Schrödinger cat states—by the process of subtracting single photons from picosecond pulsed squeezed states of light. The squeezed vacuum states are produced by spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in a periodically poled crystal while the single photons are probabilistically subtracted using a beamsplitter and a single photon detector. The resulting states are fully characterized with time-resolved homodyne quantum state tomography. Varying the pump power of the SPDC, we generated different states which exhibit non-Gaussian behavior.
© 2014 Optical Society of America
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