Implementation of SWAP test for two unknown states in photons via cross-Kerr nonlinearities under decoherence effect.

We present an optical scheme for a SWAP test (controlled swap operation) that can determine whether the difference between two unknown states (photons) using cross-Kerr nonlinearities (XKNLs). The SWAP test, based on quantum fingerprinting, has been widely applied to various quantum information processing (QIP) schemes. Thus, for a reliable QIP scheme, it is important to implement a scheme for a SWAP test that is experimentally feasible. Here, we utilize linearly and nonlinearly optical (XKNLs) gates to design a scheme for a SWAP test. We also analyze the efficiency and the performance of nonlinearly optical gates in our scheme under the decoherence effect and exhibit a technique employing quantum bus beams and photon-number-resolving measurements to reduce the effect of photon loss and dephasing caused by the decoherence effect. Consequently, our scheme, which is designed using linearly optical devices and XKNLs (nonlinear optics), can feasibly operate the nearly deterministic SWAP test with high efficiency, in practice.