Homodyne measurements are a widely used quantum measurement. Using a coherent state of large amplitude as the local oscillator, it can be shown that the quantum homodyne measurement limits to a field quadrature measurement. In this work, we give an example of a general idea: injecting nonclassical states as a local oscillator can lead to nonclassical measurements. Specifically, we consider injecting a superposition of coherent states, a Schrödinger cat state, as a local oscillator. We derive the Kraus operators and the positive operator-valued measure in this situation.
Physical Review A 106, 063706 (2022)
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