Symplectic tomographic probability distribution of crystallized Schrodinger cat states

Within the framework of the probability representation of quantum mechanics, we study a superposition of generic Gaussian states associated to symmetries of a regular polygon of n sides; in other words, the cyclic groups (containing the rotational symmetries) and dihedral groups (containing the rotational and inversion symmetries). We obtain the Wigner functions and tomographic probability distributions (symplectic and optical tomograms) determining the density matrices of the states explicitly as the sums of Gaussian terms. The obtained Wigner functions demonstrate nonclassical behavior, i.e., contain negative values, while the tomograms show a series of maxima and minima different for each state, where the number of the critical points reflects the order of the group defining the states. We discuss general properties of such a generalization of normal probability distributions. (C)& nbsp;2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In the framework of probability representation in quantum mechanics, we investigated a superposition of Gaussian states associated with the symmetries of a regular polygon. By obtaining the Wigner functions and tomographic probability distributions, we explicitly determined the density matrices of these states as sums of Gaussian terms. The obtained results exhibit nonclassical behavior and varied extrema for each state, with the number of critical points reflecting the order of the symmetry group defining the states.