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A cat-state is a superposition of two coherent states with amplitudes $\alpha_{0}$ and $-\alpha_{0}$. Recent experiments create cat states in a microwave cavity field using superconducting circuits. As with degenerate parametric oscillation (DPO) in an adiabatic and highly nonlinear limit, the states are formed in a signal cavity mode via a two-photon dissipative process induced by the down conversion of a pump field to generate pairs of signal photons. The damping of the signal and the presence of thermal fluctuations rapidly decoheres the state, and the effect on the dynamics is to either destroy the possibility of a cat state, or else to sharply reduce the lifetime and size of the cat-states that can be formed. In this paper, we study the effect on both the DPO and microwave systems of a squeezed reservoir coupled to the cavity. While the threshold nonlinearity is not altered, we show that the use of squeezed states significantly lengthens the lifetime of the cat states. This improves the feasibility of generating cat states of large amplitude and with a greater degree of quantum macroscopic coherence, which is necessary for many quantum technology applications. Using current experimental parameters for the microwave set-up, which requires a modified Hamiltonian, we further demonstrate how squeezed states enhance the quality of the cat states that could be formed in this regime. Squeezing also combats the significant decoherence due to thermal noise, which is relevant for microwave fields at finite temperature. By modeling a thermal squeezed reservoir, we show that the thermal decoherence of the dynamical cat states can be inhibited by a careful control of the squeezing of the reservoir. To signify the quality of the cat state, we consider different signatures including fringes and negativity, and the $C_{l_{1}}$ measure of quantum coherence.

A cat-state is formed as the steady-state solution for the signal mode of an ideal, degenerate parametric oscillator, in the limit of negligible single-photon signal loss. In the presence of the signal loss, this is no longer true over timescales much longer than the damping time. However, for sufficient parametric nonlinearity, a cat-state can exist as a transient state. In this paper, we study the dynamics of the creation and decoherence of cat-states in degenerate parametric oscillation, both with and without the effect of a Kerr nonlinearity that applies to recent superconducting-circuit experiments generating cat-states in microwave cavities. We determine the time of formation and the lifetime of a cat-state in terms of three dimensionless parameters $\lambda$, $g$ and $\chi$. These relate to the driving strength, the parametric nonlinearity, and the Kerr nonlinearity, respectively. We find that the Kerr nonlinearity has little effect on the threshold parametric nonlinearity ($g>1$) required for the formation of cat-states, and does not significantly alter the decoherence time of the cat-state, but can reduce the time of formation. The quality of the cat-state increases with the value $g$, and can also improved by the Kerr nonlinearity. To verify the existence and quality of the cat-state, we consider several signatures, including interference fringes and negativity, and show how they can be computed. We simulate a superconducting-circuit experiment using published experimental parameters and found good agreement with experimental results, indicating that a nonclassical cat-like state with a small Wigner negativity is generated in the experiment. A stronger nonlinearity would lead to a cat-state with convincing cat-state signatures. Finally, we explore the feasibility of creating large cat-states with a coherent amplitude of 20, corresponding to 400 photons.

We derive conditions in the form of inequalities to detect the genuine $N$-partite entanglement of $N$ systems. The inequalities are expressed in terms of variances of spin operators, and can be tested by local spin measurements performed on the individual systems. Violation of the inequalities is sufficient (but not necessary) to certify the multipartite entanglement, and occurs when a type of spin squeezing is created. The inequalities are similar to those derived for continuous-variable systems, but instead are based on the Heisenberg spin-uncertainty relation $\Delta J_{x}\Delta J_{y}\geq|\langle J_{z}\rangle|/2$. We also extend previous work to derive spin-variance inequalities that certify the full tripartite inseparability or genuine multi-partite entanglement among systems with fixed spin $J$, as in Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states and W states where $J=1/2$. These inequalities are derived from the planar spin-uncertainty relation $(\Delta J_{x})^{2}+(\Delta J_{y})^{2}\geq C_{J}$ where $C_{J}$ is a constant for each $J$. Finally, it is shown how the inequalities detect multipartite entanglement based on Stokes operators. We illustrate with experiments that create entanglement shared among separated atomic ensembles, polarization-entangled optical modes, and the clouds of atoms of an expanding spin-squeezed Bose-Einstein condensate. For each example, we give a criterion to certify the mutual entanglement., Comment: This version makes some changes to some of the proofs according to the erratum, in response to the erratum referee report

Using criteria based on superselection rules, we analyze the quantum correlations between the two condensate modes of the Bose-Einstein condensate interferometer of Egorov et al. [Phys. Rev. A 84, 021605 (2011)]. In order to determine the two-mode correlations, we develop a multi-mode theory that describes the dynamics of the condensate atoms and the thermal fraction through the interferometer sequence, in agreement with the experimentally measured fringe visibility. We thus present experimental evidence for two-mode entangled states genuinely involving 40,000 ^{87}Rb atoms, and for two-way steerability between two groups of 20,000 indistinguishable atoms., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

We analyze a method for the creation, storage and retrieval of optomechanical Schrodinger cat states, in which there is a quantum superposition of two distinct macroscopic states of a mechanical oscillator. In the proposal, an optical cat state is first prepared in an optical cavity, then transferred to the mechanical mode, where it is stored and later retrieved using control fields. We carry out numerical simulations for the quantum memory protocol for optomechanical cat states using the positive-P phase space representation. This has a compact, positive representation for a cat state, thus allowing a probabilistic simulation of this highly non-classical quantum system. To verify the effectiveness of the cat-state quantum memory, we consider several cat-state signatures and show how they can be computed. We also investigate the effects of decoherence on a cat state by solving the standard master equation for a simplified model analytically, allowing us to compare with the numerical results. Focusing on the negativity of the Wigner function as a signature of the cat state, we evaluate analytically an upper bound on the time taken for the negativity to vanish, for a given temperature of the environment of the mechanical oscillator. We show consistency with the numerical methods. These provide exact solutions, allowing a full treatment of decoherence in an experiment that involves creating, storing and retrieving mechanical cat states using temporally mode-matched input and output pulses. Our analysis treats the internal optical and mechanical modes of an optomechanical oscillator, and the complete set of input and output field modes which become entangled with the internal modes. The model includes decoherence due to thermal effects in the mechanical reservoirs, as well as optical and mechanical losses.

We consider three modes $A$, $B$ and $C$ and derive continuous variable monogamy inequalities that constrain the distribution of bipartite entanglement amongst the three modes. The inequalities hold for all such tripartite states, without the assumption of Gaussian states, and are based on measurements of two conjugate quadrature phase amplitudes $X_{i}$ and $P_{i}$ at each mode $i=A,B$. The first monogamy inequality is $D_{BA}+D_{BC}\geq1$ where $D_{BA}<1$ is the widely used symmetric entanglement criterion, for which $D_{BA}$ is the sum of the variances of $(X_{A}-X_{B})/2$ and $(P_{A}+P_{B})/2$. A second monogamy inequality is $Ent_{BA}Ent_{BC}\geq\frac{1}{\left(1+(g_{BA}^{(sym)})^{2}\right)\left(1+(g_{BC}^{(sym)})^{2}\right)}$ where $Ent_{BA}<1$ is the EPR variance product criterion for entanglement. Here $Ent_{BA}$ is a normalised product of variances of $X_{B}-g_{BA}^{(sym)}X_{A}$ and $P_{B}+g_{BA}^{(sym)}P_{A}$, and $g_{BA}^{(sym)}$ is a parameter that gives a measure of the symmetry between the moments of $A$ and $B$. We also show that the monogamy bounds are increased if a standard steering criterion for the steering of $B$ is not satisfied. We illustrate the monogamy for continuous variable tripartite entangled states including the effects of losses and noise, and identify regimes of saturation of the inequalities. The monogamy relations explain the experimentally observed saturation at $D_{AB}=0.5$ for the entanglement between $A$ and $B$ when both modes have 50\% losses, and may be useful to establish rigorous bounds of correlation for the purpose of quantum key distribution protocols., Comment: 12 pages plus 4 pages Appendices, 12 Figures

A strategy for generating entanglement in two separated optomechanical oscillators is analysed, using entangled radiation produced from downconversion and stored in an initiating cavity. We show that the use of pulsed entanglement with optimally shaped temporal modes can efficiently transfer quantum entanglement into a mechanical mode, then remove it after a fixed waiting time for measurement. This protocol could provide new avenues to test for bounds on decoherence in massive systems that are spatially separated, as originally suggested by Wendell Furry [1] not long after the discussion by Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) and Schrodinger of entanglement., Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures

We examine how to signify and quantify the mesoscopic quantum coherence of approximate two-mode NOON states and spin-squeezed two-mode Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC). We identify two criteria that verify a nonzero quantum coherence between states with quantum number different by $n$. These criteria negate certain mixtures of quantum states, thereby signifying a generalised $n$-scopic Schrodinger cat-type paradox. The first criterion is the correlation $\langle\hat{a}^{\dagger n}\hat{b}^{n}\rangle\neq0$ (here $\hat{a}$ and $\hat{b}$ are the boson operators for each mode). The correlation manifests as interference fringes in $n$-particle detection probabilities and is also measurable via quadrature phase amplitude and spin squeezing measurements. Measurement of $\langle\hat{a}^{\dagger n}\hat{b}^{n}\rangle$ enables a quantification of the overall $n$-th order quantum coherence, thus providing an avenue for high efficiency verification of a high-fidelity photonic NOON states. The second criterion is based on a quantification of the measurable spin-squeezing parameter $\xi_{N}$. We apply the criteria to theoretical models of NOON states in lossy interferometers and double-well trapped BECs. By analysing existing BEC experiments, we demonstrate generalised atomic "kitten" states and atomic quantum coherence with $n\gtrapprox10$ atoms.

We construct Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering signatures for the nonlocality of the entangled superposition state described by $\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\{|N\rangle|0\rangle+|0\rangle|N\rangle\}$, called the two-mode NOON state. The signatures are a violation of an EPR steering inequality based on an uncertainty relation. The violation confirms an EPR steering between the two modes and involves certification of an inter-mode correlation for number, as well as quadrature phase amplitude measurements. We also explain how the signatures certify an $N$th order quantum coherence, so the system (for larger $N$) can be signified to be in a superposition of states distinct by a mesoscopic value of the two-mode quantum number difference. Finally, we examine the limitations imposed for lossy scenarios, discussing how experimental realisations may be possible for $N=2,3$., Comment: 16 pages (9 pages text and 7 pages Appendix) with 2 Figures

We consider two systems A and B that share Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering correlations and study how these correlations will decay, when each of the systems are independently coupled to a reservoir. EPR steering is a directional form of entanglement, and the measure of steering can change depending on whether the system A is steered by B, or vice versa. First, we examine the decay of the steering correlations of the two-mode squeezed state. We find that if the system B is coupled to a reservoir, then the decoherence of the steering of A by B is particularly marked, to the extent that there is a sudden death of steering after a finite time. We find a different directional effect, if the reservoirs are thermally excited. Second, we study the decoherence of the steering of a Schr\"odinger cat state, modeled as the entangled state of a spin and harmonic oscillator, when the macroscopic system (the cat) is coupled to a reservoir.

Following previous work, we distinguish between genuine $N$-partite entanglement and full $N$-partite inseparability. Accordingly, we derive criteria to detect genuine multipartite entanglement using continuous variable (position and momentum) measurements. Our criteria are similar but different to those based on the van Loock-Furusawa inequalities, which detect full $N$-partite inseparability. We explain how the criteria can be used to detect the genuine $N$-partite entanglement of continuous variable states generated from squeezed and vacuum state inputs, including the continuous variable Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state, with explicit predictions for up to $N=9$$ $. This makes our work accessible to experiment. For $N=3$, we also present criteria for tripartite Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering. These criteria provide a means to demonstrate a genuine three-party EPR paradox, in which any single party is steerable by the remaining two parties., Comment: 19 pages, 14 Figures, many new proofs and results added