Perfect entanglement concentration of an arbitrary four-photon polarization entangled state via quantum nondemolition detectors

摘要

We show how to concentrate an arbitrary four-photon polarization entangled state into a maximally entangled state based on some quantum nondemolition detectors. The entanglement concentration protocol (ECP) resorts to an ancillary single-photon resource and the conventional projection measurement on photons to assist the concentration, which makes it more economical. Our ECP involves weak cross-Kerr nonlinearities, X homodyne measurement and basic linear-optical elements, which make it feasible in the current experimental technology. Moreover, the ECP considers cyclic utilization to enhance a higher success probability. Thus, our scheme is meaningful in practical applications in quantum communication.