Scheme for generating coherent-state superpositions with realistic cross-Kerr nonlinearity

Abstract

We present a simple scheme using two identical cross-phase modulation processes in the decoherence environment to generate superpositions of two coherent states with the opposite phases, which are known as cat states. The scheme is shown to be robust against decoherence due to photon absorption losses and other errors, and the design of its experimental setup is also discussed.