The Janus State: A Universal Lower Bound for Second-Order Coherence

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Azizi, Arash
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866911529745514496
author Azizi, Arash
author_facet Azizi, Arash
contents A single-mode squeezed vacuum is a foundational quantum state that, despite its nonclassical nature, exhibits classical-like, super-Poissonian photon statistics. This feature motivates a ``quantum-of-quantum'' inquiry: can the superposition of two such states generate the opposite behavior -- strongly sub-Poissonian light? We demonstrate that the ``Janus state,'' a coherent superposition of two squeezed vacua with opposing orientations, achieves precisely this. Our exact analytic solution reveals a universal lower bound on second-order coherence, showing that $g^{(2)}$ cannot be driven below 1/2. The mechanism is tuned interference that suppresses two-photon events. Beyond this asymptotic bound, we identify a practical minimum of $g^{(2)} \approx 0.567$ at moderate squeezing, defining an accessible ``sweet spot.'' While requiring a minimal non-Gaussian element for its creation, the Janus state establishes a definitive performance limit for engineering sub-Poissonian photon statistics from Gaussian resources, with a clear path toward quantum applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_06397
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Janus State: A Universal Lower Bound for Second-Order Coherence
Azizi, Arash
Quantum Physics
A single-mode squeezed vacuum is a foundational quantum state that, despite its nonclassical nature, exhibits classical-like, super-Poissonian photon statistics. This feature motivates a ``quantum-of-quantum'' inquiry: can the superposition of two such states generate the opposite behavior -- strongly sub-Poissonian light? We demonstrate that the ``Janus state,'' a coherent superposition of two squeezed vacua with opposing orientations, achieves precisely this. Our exact analytic solution reveals a universal lower bound on second-order coherence, showing that $g^{(2)}$ cannot be driven below 1/2. The mechanism is tuned interference that suppresses two-photon events. Beyond this asymptotic bound, we identify a practical minimum of $g^{(2)} \approx 0.567$ at moderate squeezing, defining an accessible ``sweet spot.'' While requiring a minimal non-Gaussian element for its creation, the Janus state establishes a definitive performance limit for engineering sub-Poissonian photon statistics from Gaussian resources, with a clear path toward quantum applications.
title The Janus State: A Universal Lower Bound for Second-Order Coherence
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.06397