ar X iv : q ua nt - p h / 02 08 10 3 v 1 15 A ug 2 00 2 Stokes operator squeezed continuous variable polarization states

We investigate quantum correlations in continuous wave polarization squeezed laser light generated from one and two optical parametric amplifiers, respectively. A general expression of how Stokes operator variances decompose into two mode quadrature operator variances is given. Stokes parameter variance spectra for four different polarization squeezed states have been measured and compared with a coherent state. Our measurement results are visualized by three-dimensional Stokes operator noise volumes mapped on the quantum Poincaré sphere. We quantitatively compare the channel capacity of the different continuous variable polarization states for communication protocols. It is shown that squeezed polarization states provide 33% higher channel capacities than the optimum coherent beam protocol.