Nearly a century after Einstein first predicted the existence of gravitational waves, a global network of Earth-based gravitational wave observatories1, 2, 3, 4 is seeking to directly detect this faint radiation using precision laser interferometry. Photon shot noise, due to the quantum nature of light, imposes a fundamental limit on the attometre-level sensitivity of the kilometre-scale Michelson interferometers deployed for this task. Here, we inject squeezed states to improve the performance of one of the detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) beyond the quantum noise limit, most notably in the frequency region down to 150 Hz, critically important for several astrophysical sources, with no deterioration of performance observed at any frequency. With the injection of squeezed states, this LIGO detector demonstrated the best broadband sensitivity to gravitational waves ever achieved, with important implications for observing the gravitational-wave Universe with unprecedented sensitivity.

Enhanced sensitivity of the LIGO gravitational wave detector by using squeezed states of light

https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/1.1510285

Quantum Optics in Phase Space

The Wigner function was formulated in 1932 by Eugene Paul Wigner, at a time when quantum mechanics was in its infancy. In doing so, he brought phase space representations into quantum mechanics. However, its unique nature also made it very interesting for classical approaches and for identifying the deviations from classical behavior and the entanglement that can occur in quantum systems. What stands out, though, is the feature to experimentally reconstruct the Wigner function, which provides far more information on the system than can be obtained by any other quantum approach. This feature is particularly important for the field of quantum information processing and quantum physics. However, the Wigner function finds wide-ranging use cases in other dominant and highly active fields as well, such as in quantum electronics—to model the electron transport, in quantum chemistry—to calculate the static and dynamical properties of many-body quantum systems, and in signal processing—to investigate waves passing through certain media. What is peculiar in recent years is a strong increase in applying it: Although originally formulated 86 years ago, only today the full potential of the Wigner function—both in ability and diversity—begins to surface. This review, as well as a growing, dedicated Wigner community, is a testament to this development and gives a broad and concise overview of recent advancements in different fields.

Recent advances in Wigner function approaches

We discuss nonclassical properties of single-photon subtracted squeezed vacuum states and study its decoherence under different models, We find that the state is especially robust under phase diffusion model though its phase properties are lost.

Nonclassicality and decoherence of photon-subtracted squeezed states

The interplay between the nonclassical features and the parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetry (or its breaking) is studied here by considering a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric system consisting of two cavities with gain and loss. The conditions for $\mathcal{PT}$ invariance are obtained for this system. The behavior of the average photon number corresponding to the gain and loss modes for different initial states (e.g., vacuum, NOON, coherent, and thermal states) has also been obtained. With the help of the number operators, quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects are studied, and the observed behavior is compared in $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric (PTS) and $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry-broken (PTSB) regimes. It has been observed that the relative phase of the input coherent fields plays a key role in the occurrence of these effects. Further, some nonclassicality features are witnessed using criteria based on the number operator(s). Specifically, intermodal antibunching, sum, and difference squeezing are investigated for specific input states. It is found that the various nonclassical features, including the observed quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects, are suppressed when one goes from the PTS to PTSB regime. In other words, the dominance of the loss or gain rate in the field modes over the coupling strength between them diminishes the nonclassical features of the system.

Nigam Lahiri Samantray

Papers

Comparison of lower- and higher-order nonclassicality in photon added and subtracted squeezed coherent states