Experimental quantification of quantum coherence for a set of quantum states

Abstract

We present a direct experimental verification of quantum coherence for a set of quantum states in a basis-independent manner. We find that the theory of quantum coherence for a set of quantum states matches our experimental results perfectly and can be applied to protocols like BB84 and quantum secure direct communication. Using a Sagnac interferometer, we experimentally quantify the quantum coherence for two sets of experimental states. Moreover, we introduce a novel application of set coherence, illustrating that the states employed in the BB84 protocol exhibit maximal set coherence. Our results pave the way for wider applications of quantum coherence for a set of quantum states, including quantum key distribution protocols and probabilistic quantum cloning.