Generating nonclassical states from classical radiation by subtraction measurements

Abstract

We describe the creation of nonclassical states of microwave radiation via ideal dichotomic single photon detection, i.e., a detector that only indicates presence or absence of photons. Ideally, such a detector has a back action in the form of the subtraction operator (bare lowering operator). Using the non-linearity of this back action, it is possible to create a large family of nonclassical states of microwave radiation, including squeezed and multi-component cat states, starting from a coherent state. We discuss the applicability of this protocol to current experimental designs of Josephson photomultipliers. © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.