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We report the implementation of a high-rate source of single- and two-photon states. By combining the advantages of short pulses and cavities, heralding rates as high as 200 kHz have been obtained for the single photons, as well as 250 Hz for the two-photon states. In this setup, homodyne measurements are conditioned by the heralding of the quantum states thanks to the introduction of a low-loss optical delay line in the heralded states path. This enables the detection of most of the heralded events, and fidelities reaching 68.5% (91% with correction for detection efficiency) and 50.4% (85% with correction) were obtained for the single- and two-photon states, respectively. Such high rates and fidelities in the generation of elementary Fock states may open the path for the production of complex quantum states.

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Engineering quantum operations is a crucial capability needed for developing quantum technologies and designing new fundamental physics tests. Here we propose a scheme for realising a controlled operation acting on a travelling continuous-variable quantum field, whose functioning is determined by a discrete input qubit. This opens a new avenue for exploiting advantages of both information encoding approaches. Furthermore, this approach allows for the program itself to be in a superposition of operations, and as a result it can be used within a quantum processor, where coherences must be maintained. Our study can find interest not only in general quantum state engineering and information protocols, but also details an interface between different physical platforms. Potential applications can be found in linking optical qubits to optical systems for which coupling is best described in terms of their continuous variables, such as optomechanical devices.

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We present what is, to our knowledge, the first implementation of a "cat breeding" operation, which allows an iterative growth of cat states. We thus report the experimental generation of a squeezed cat state from two single photon Fock states, which can be seen as cat states with zero amplitude. These Fock states are mixed on a symmetrical beam splitter, and the generation is heralded by a homodyne measurement in one of the two output arms. The output state has a fidelity of 61% with an even squeezed cat state of amplitude α=1.63. This hybrid operation opens up new prospects in quantum optics, as the protocol depicted here can be iterated in order to produce new kinds of mesoscopic states.

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As they can travel long distances, free space optical quantum states are good candidates for carrying information in quantum information technology protocols. These states, however, are often complex to produce and require protocols whose success probability drops quickly with an increase of the mean photon number. Here we propose a new protocol for the generation and growth of arbitrary states, based on one by one coherent adjunctions of the simple state superposition α|0〉 + ß|1〉. Due to the nature of the protocol, which allows for the use of quantum memories, it can lead to high performances.

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We address the experimental estimation of Gaussian quantum discord for a two-mode squeezed thermal state, and demonstrate a measurement scheme based on a pair of homodyne detectors assisted by Bayesian analysis, which provides nearly optimal estimation for small value of discord. In addition, though homodyne detection is not optimal for Gaussian discord, the noise ratio to the ultimate quantum limit, as dictated by the quantum Cramer-Rao bound, is limited to about 10 dB.

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We report on the design and performance of a point-to-point classical symmetric encryption link with fast key renewal provided by a Continuous Variable Quantum Key Distribution (CVQKD) system. Our system was operational and able to encrypt point-to-point communications during more than six months, from the end of July 2010 until the beginning of February 2011. This field test was the first demonstration of the reliability of a CVQKD system over a long period of time in a server room environment. This strengthens the potential of CVQKD for information technology security infrastructure deployments.

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We observe and measure dispersive optical nonlinearities in an ensemble of cold Rydberg atoms placed inside an optical cavity. The experimental results are in agreement with a simple model where the optical nonlinearities are due to the progressive appearance of a Rydberg blockaded volume within the medium. The measurements allow a direct estimation of the "blockaded fraction" of atoms within the atomic ensemble.

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Quantum mechanics imposes that any amplifier that works independently on the phase of the input signal has to introduce some excess noise. The impossibility of such a noiseless amplifier is rooted in the unitarity and linearity of quantum evolution. A possible way to circumvent this limitation is to interrupt such evolution via a measurement, providing a random outcome able to herald a successful-and noiseless-amplification event. Here we show a successful realization of such an approach; we perform a full characterization of an amplified coherent state using quantum homodyne tomography, and observe a strong heralded amplification, with about a 6 dB gain and a noise level significantly smaller than the minimal allowed for any ordinary phase-independent device.

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Schrödinger's cat is a Gedankenexperiment in quantum physics, in which an atomic decay triggers the death of the cat. Because quantum physics allow atoms to remain in superpositions of states, the classical cat would then be simultaneously dead and alive. By analogy, a 'cat' state of freely propagating light can be defined as a quantum superposition of well separated quasi-classical states-it is a classical light wave that simultaneously possesses two opposite phases. Such states play an important role in fundamental tests of quantum theory and in many quantum information processing tasks, including quantum computation, quantum teleportation and precision measurements. Recently, optical Schrödinger 'kittens' were prepared; however, they are too small for most of the aforementioned applications and increasing their size is experimentally challenging. Here we demonstrate, theoretically and experimentally, a protocol that allows the generation of arbitrarily large squeezed Schrödinger cat states, using homodyne detection and photon number states as resources. We implemented this protocol with light pulses containing two photons, producing a squeezed Schrödinger cat state with a negative Wigner function. This state clearly exhibits several quantum phase-space interference fringes between the 'dead' and 'alive' components, and is large enough to become useful for quantum information processing and experimental tests of quantum theory.

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We experimentally demonstrate that the entanglement between Gaussian entangled states can be increased by non-Gaussian operations. Coherent subtraction of single photons from Gaussian quadrature-entangled light pulses, created by a nondegenerate parametric amplifier, produces delocalized states with negative Wigner functions and complex structures more entangled than the initial states in terms of negativity. The experimental results are in very good agreement with the theoretical predictions.

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An intercept-resend attack on a continuous-variable quantum-key-distribution protocol is investigated experimentally. By varying the interception fraction, one can implement a family of attacks where the eavesdropper totally controls the channel parameters. In general, such attacks add excess noise in the channel, and may also result in non-Gaussian output distributions. We implement and characterize the measurements needed to detect these attacks, and evaluate experimentally the information rates available to the legitimate users and the eavesdropper. The results are consistent with the optimality of Gaussian attacks resulting from the security proofs.

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We demonstrate high gain amplification of 160-femtosecond pulses in a compact double-pass cryogenic Ti:sapphire amplifier. The setup involves a negative GVD mirrors recompression stage, and operates with a repetition rate between 0.2 and 4 MHz with a continuous pump laser. Amplification factors as high as 17 and 320 nJ Fourier-limited pulses are obtained at a 800 kHz repetition rate.

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We present a continuous-variable experimental analysis of a two-photon Fock state of free-propagating light. This state is obtained from a pulsed nondegenerate parametric amplifier, which produces two intensity-correlated twin beams. Counting two photons in one beam projects the other beam in the desired two-photon Fock state, which is analyzed by using a pulsed homodyne detection. The Wigner function of the measured state is clearly negative. We developed a detailed analytic model which allows a fast and efficient analysis of the experimental results.

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We present a detailed experimental analysis of a free-propagating light pulse prepared in a "Schrödinger kitten" state, which is defined as a quantum superposition of "classical" coherent states with small amplitudes. This kitten state is generated by subtracting one photon from a squeezed vacuum beam, and it clearly presents a negative Wigner function. The predicted influence of the experimental parameters is in excellent agreement with the experimental results. The amplitude of the coherent states can be amplified to transform our "Schrödinger kittens" into bigger Schrödinger cats, providing an essential tool for quantum information processing.

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We describe the observation of a "degaussification" protocol that maps individual pulses of squeezed light onto non-Gaussian states. This effect is obtained by sending a small fraction of the squeezed vacuum beam onto an avalanche photodiode, and by conditioning the single-shot homodyne detection of the remaining state upon the photon-counting events. The experimental data provide clear evidence of phase-dependent non-Gaussian statistics. This protocol is closely related to the first step of an entanglement distillation procedure for continuous variables.

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A new scheme is described for the generation of pulsed squeezed light by use of femtosecond pulses that have been parametrically deamplified through a single pass in a thin (100-microm) potassium niobate crystal with a significant deamplification of approximately -3 dB. The quantum noise of each pulse is registered in the time domain by single-shot homodyne detection operated with femtosecond pulses; the best squeezed quadrature variance was 1.87 dB below the shot-noise level. Such a scheme provides a basic resource for time-resolved quantum communication protocols.