S Lakshmi Bala

The dynamics of tripartite systems of field-atom interactions and optomechanics is investigated through relevant tomograms. Quadrature and tomographic entropic squeezing and entanglement properties are examined . Entanglement collapses to constant nonzero values over significant time intervals.

We obtain entanglement indicators for continuous variable systems directly from tomograms avoiding detailed state reconstruction. Tomographic indicators are compared with those from inverse participation ratios and with the subsystem von Neumann entropy.

Several nonclassical effects displayed by wave packets governed by nonlinear Hamiltonians can be identified and assessed directly from tomograms without attempting to reconstruct the Wigner function or the density matrix explicitly. We have demonstrated this for both single-mode and bipartite systems. We have shown that a wide spectrum of effects such as the revival phenomena, quadrature squeezing, and Hong-Mandel and Hillery type higher-order squeezing in a generic single-mode system and the double-well Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) can be obtained from appropriate tomograms in a straightforward manner. We have examined the manner in which decoherence affects the nature of the state of a generic single-mode system at specific instants during temporal evolution. We have investigated entropic squeezing of the subsystem state of a bipartite system as it evolves in time, solely from tomograms. The procedures that we have demonstrated can be readily adapted to multimode systems. Further, for the double-well BEC we have identified an indicator of entanglement between subsystems that can be obtained directly from the tomogram. This mirrors the qualitative behavior of the subsystem von Neumann entropy and the subsystem linear entropy.

A Λ-type atom interacting with two radiation fields exhibits electromagnetically induced transparency and other nonclassical effects that appear in the entanglement dynamics of the atomic subsystem and in appropriate field observables. Both EIT and field-atom entanglement are important for quantum information processing. We investigate the roles played by specific initial field states, detuning parameters, field nonlinearities and intensity-dependent field-atom couplings on EIT and the entanglement between subsystems. Departure from coherence of the initial field states produces significant effects. We investigate these aspects in a model that exhibits the salient features of entangled tripartite systems. For initial photon-added coherent states, collapses and revivals of the atomic subsystem von Neumann entropy appear as the intensity parameter varies over a narrow range of values. These features could be useful in enabling entanglement.

We investigate the recurrence properties of the time series of quantum-mechanical expectation values, in terms of representative models for a single-mode radiation field interacting with a nonlinear medium. From recurrence time distributions, return maps and recurrence plots, we show that when the nonlinearity is sufficiently high, the expectation values of appropriate observables pertaining to the field can exhibit features characteristic of hyperbolic classical dynamical systems, even though the total Hamiltonian has a discrete spectrum. © 2010 Europhysics Letters Association.

We examine the dynamics of subsystems of bipartite and tripartite quantum systems with nonlinear Hamiltonians. We consider two models which capture the generic features of open quantum systems: a three-level atom interacting with a single-mode radiation field, and a three-level atom interacting with two field modes which do not directly interact with each other. The entanglement of specific initially unentangled states of the atom-field system is examined through the time-varying subsystem von Neumann entropy (SVNE). The counterparts of near-revivals and fractional revivals of the initial state are clearly identifiable in the SVNE in all cases where revival phenomena occur. The Mandel Q parameter corresponding to the photon number of a radiation field is obtained as a function of time in both models. In those cases where revivals are absent, a time series analysis of the mean photon number reveals a variety of ergodicity properties (as manifested in return maps, recurrence-time distributions and Lyapunov exponents), depending on the strength of the nonlinearity and the degree of coherence of the initial state of the radiation field(s).

The states of radiation of a single frequency and polarization propagating in free space are very conveniently represented by those of a quantum mechanical simple harmonic oscillator. This fact is exploited, together with the Ehrenfest theorem, to map the time evolution of the radiation to the dynamics of the oscillator. This enables a graphical comparison of the behaviour of classical and nonclassical states of radiation. © 2012 Indian Academy of Sciences.

We investigate the advantages of extracting the degree of entanglement in bipartite systems directly from tomograms, as it is the latter that are readily obtained from experiments. This would provide a superior alternative to the standard procedure of assessing the extent of entanglement between subsystems after employing the machinery of state reconstruction from the tomogram. The latter is both cumbersome and involves statistical methods, while a direct inference about entanglement from the tomogram circumvents these limitations. In an earlier paper, we had identified a procedure to obtain a bipartite entanglement indicator directly from tomograms. To assess the efficacy of this indicator, we now carry out a detailed investigation using two nonlinear bipartite models by comparing this tomographic indicator with standard markers of entanglement such as the subsystem linear entropy and the subsystem von Neumann entropy and also with a commonly used indicator obtained from inverse participation ratios. The two-model systems selected for this purpose are a multilevel atom interacting with a radiation field, and a double-well Bose–Einstein condensate. The role played by the specific initial states of these two systems in the performance of the tomographic indicator is also examined. Further, the efficiency of the tomographic entanglement indicator during the dynamical evolution of the system is assessed from a time-series analysis of the difference between this indicator and the subsystem von Neumann entropy.

We have examined both single and entangled two-mode multiphoton coherent states and shown how the ‘Janus-faced’ properties between two partner states are mirrored in appropriate tomograms. Entropic squeezing, quadrature squeezing and higher-order squeezing properties for a wide range of nonclassical states are estimated directly from tomograms. We have demonstrated how squeezing properties of two-mode entangled states produced at the output port of a quantum beamsplitter are sensitive to the relative phase between the reflected and transmitted fields. This feature allows for the possibility of tuning the relative phase to enhance squeezing properties of the state. Finally, we have examined the manner in which decoherence affects squeezing and the changes in the optical tomogram of the state due to interaction with the environment.

When it was first enunciated, Ehrenfest's Theorem provided a necessary and important link between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics. Today, the content of the theorem is understood to be a natural and immediate consequence of the equation of motion for operators when quantum mechanics is formulated in the Heisenberg picture. Nevertheless, the theorem leads to useful approximations when systems with Hamiltonians of higher than quadratic order in the dynamical variables are considered. In this two-part article, we use it to provide a convenient illustration of the differences between so-called classical and nonclassical states of radiation. © 2012 Indian Academy of Sciences.