Quantifying nonclassicality by characteristic functions

Abstract

In this paper, we use the characteristic function, i.e., the Fourier transform of the Glauber-Sudarshan phase-space distribution, to determine the degree of nonclassicality of a given state. This degree of nonclassicality quantifies the nonclassicality in terms of quantum superpositions. We demonstrate two ways to exactly find or to lower-bound the degree of nonclassicality by studying the properties of the characteristic functions. The developed criteria are applied to two examples of squeezed states undergoing a classical mixing or a nonclassical superposition with vacuum.