Quantum-state engineering assisted by entanglement

We suggest a general scheme for continuous variable quantum-state engineering based on conditional measurements carried out on entangled twin beam of radiation. Realistic detection schemes such as on/off photodetection, homodyne detection, and joint measurement of two-mode quadratures are analyzed in detail. Imperfections of the apparatuses, such as nonunit quantum efficiency and finite resolution, are taken into account. We show that conditional on/off photodetection provides a reliable scheme to verify nonclassicality, whereas conditional homodyning represents a tunable and robust source of squeezed light. We also describe optical continuous variable teleportation as a conditional measurement, and evaluate the degrading effects of finite amount of entanglement, decoherence due to losses, and nonunit quantum efficiency.