Abstract
Nonclassical states of light are of fundamental importance in quantum optics. The properties of these states are due to the quantal nature of the electromagnetic field. In recent years there have been many experimental demonstrations of the realizability of nonclassical states in various physical schemes such as resonance fluorescence, four-wave mixing, centre-of-mass motion of a trapped ion and manipulation of field in a cavity. It is of interest to introduce new classes of nonclassical states and investigate their properties. In this context, generalization of the concept of coherent states (CSs) has played a major role. New concepts such as the nonlinear coherent states (NCSs) and interference in phase space have emerged from such studies. In this tutorial review we are concerned with the construction of new classes of nonclassical states by generalizing the notion of CSs. Our investigations on the photon-added coherent states (PACSs) indicate that these states can be interpreted as NCSs. Also, we introduce a new class of nonclassical states related to the PACSs. Having introduced a realizable example of NCSs, we extend the notion of even and odd CSs to the case of NCSs by introducing even and odd NCSs. With this new definition we interrelate some of the well known states of light. We suggest a scheme to generate a class of even and odd NCSs in the centre-of-mass motion of a trapped, laser-cooled, two-level ion.