Quantum computation with optical coherent states

Summary form only given. We discuss an efficient scheme which is elegant in its simplicity. By encoding the quantum information in multi-photon coherent states, rather than single photon states, simple optical manipulations acquire unexpected power. The required resource, which may be produced non-deterministically, is a superposition of the vacuum and a coherent state. Given this, the scheme is deterministic and requires only simple linear optics and photon counting. Qubit readout uses homodyne detection.