Quantumness of correlations in a nondegenerate three-level laser

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze, under realistic experimental conditions, entanglement and quantum discord in a two-mode Gaussian state [Formula: see text] coupled to a thermal reservoir. The mode [Formula: see text]([Formula: see text]) is generated during the first(second) transition of a nondegenerate three-level laser. The gain medium of the laser is a set of three-level atoms in a cascade configuration. The atoms are prepared initially in a superposition of the upper and lower levels. In the good cavity-limit, applying the master equation we obtain the covariance matrix of the state [Formula: see text] at steady-state. We use the entanglement of formation and the Gaussian quantum discord to quantify entanglement and quantum correlations beyond entanglement, respectively. The two indicators of nonclassicality are defined by means of the von Neumann entropy, and obtained as functions of the parameters characterizing the physical and environmental parameters of the state [Formula: see text], i.e. atomic coherence, dissipation and thermal photon number. As results, we find that maximum entanglement and discord could be achieved by adjusting the degree of atomic coherence. In contrary to the expectation based on the assumption that entanglement is a part of quantum discord, it is found that the latter can be less than the former. Under thermal noise effect, we find that quantum discord measured when the state [Formula: see text] exhibits entanglement diminishes drastically, while that measured when the [Formula: see text] is separable displays a relatively robust behavior seeming to be captured over a wide range of temperature. Our results assert that nondegenerate three-level lasers may play a crucial role in the implementation of quantum processing tasks, particularly those who do not need entangled states.