Fast and simple scheme for generating NOON states of photons in circuit QED

Abstract: The generation, manipulation and fundamental understanding of entanglement lies at very heart of quantum mechanics. Among various types of entangled states, the NOON states are a kind of special quantum entangled states with two orthogonal component states in maximal superposition, which have a wide range of potential applications in quantum communication and quantum information processing. Here, we propose a fast and simple scheme for generating NOON states of photons in two superconducting resonators by using a single superconducting transmon qutrit. Because only one superconducting qutrit and two resonators are used, the experimental setup for this scheme is much simplified when compared with the previous proposals requiring a setup of two superconducting qutrits and three cavities. In addition, this scheme is easier and faster to implement than the previous proposals, which require using a complex microwave pulse, or a small pulse Rabi frequency in order to avoid nonresonant transitions.