Preparing macroscopic mechanical quantum superpositions via photon detection

In this paper, we propose a feasible scheme for generating the Schrodinger-cat-like states of a macroscopic mechanical resonator in pulsed cavity optomechanics via photon detection. Starting with cooling the mechanical oscillator to its ground state, a red pulse and a blue pulse with different powers are simultaneously employed to dissipatively generate squeezed mechanical states. Subsequently, a second red pulse is utilized to achieve large-amplitude mechanical catlike states with high fidelities, conditioned on the multiphoton detection of cavity output and assisted by squeezing injection into the cavity. This combination effectively overcomes the difficulty that only a kitten can be produced by single-photon detection. Finally, after being stored in the resonator for a period of time during which thermal effect is analytically revealed, the mechanical quantum superpositions are mapped, with a third red pulse, to the cavity output field for state verification. Our scheme is generic and can also be used to produce other kinds of non-Gaussian mechanical states, such as optical-catalysis nonclassical states.