VIOLATION OF BELL INEQUALITY BY MACROSCOPIC STATES GENERATED VIA PARAMETRIC DOWN-CONVERSION

We show that correlated photon-number states predicted to violate a Be ll's inequality of the Clauser-Home-Shimony-Holt type might be generat ed from parametric amplification. The test is potentially one of macro scopic quantum mechanics in that violations are predicted for situatio ns where a large number of photons are detected in a single detector a t one time. The traditional amplifier and detectors allow violation on ly for regimes where the probability of generation of a macroscopic st ate is very small. We suggest that this probability may be dramaticall y improved with the use of squeezing and photon-number-state-preparati on techniques.