New schemes for creating large optical Schrodinger cat states using strong laser fields

Abstract

Recently, using conditioning approaches on the high-harmonic generation process induced by intense laser-atom interactions, we have developed a new method for the generation of optical Schr\"odinger cat states (M. Lewenstein et al., arXiv:2008.10221 (2020)). These quantum optical states have been proven to be very manageable as, by modifying the conditions under which harmonics are generated, one can interplay between $\textit{kitten}$ and $\textit{genuine cat}$ states. Here, we demonstrate that this method can also be used for the development of new schemes towards the creation of optical Schr\"odinger cat states, consisting of the superposition of three distinct coherent states. Apart from the interest these kind of states have on their own, we additionally propose a scheme for using them towards the generation of large cat states involving the sum of two different coherent states. The quantum properties of the obtained superpositions aim to significantly increase the applicability of optical Schr\"odinger cat states for quantum technology and quantum information processing.