Catability as a metric for evaluating superposed coherent states
Quantum Physics
2026-04-27 v4
Abstract
Superposed coherent states are central to quantum technologies, yet their reliable identification remains a challenge, especially in noisy or resource-constrained settings. We introduce a novel, directly measurable criterion for detecting cat-like features in quantum states, rooted in the concept of nonlinear squeezing. This approach bypasses the need for full state tomography and reveals structure where fidelity fails. The numerical results confirm its robustness under loss and its potential for experimental implementation. The method naturally generalizes to more exotic superpositions, including multiheaded cat states.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2505.19723,
title = {Catability as a metric for evaluating superposed coherent states},
author = {Šimon Bräuer and Jan Provazník and Vojtěch Kala and Petr Marek},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.19723},
year = {2026}
}