Engineering superpositions of coherent states in coherent optical pulses through cavity-assisted interaction

We propose a scheme to engineer quantum superpositions of coherent states ('Schroedinger-cat states') of propagating optical pulses. Multidimensional and multipartite cat states can be generated simply by reflecting coherent optical pulses successively from a single-atom cavity. The influences of various sources of noise, including atomic spontaneous emission and pulse-shape distortion, are characterized through detailed numerical simulation, which demonstrates the practicality of this scheme within the reach of current experimental technology.

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