Nonlinear potential of quantum oscillator induced by single photons

Experimental investigation of the nonlinear dynamics of a quantum oscillator is a long standing goal of quantum physics. We propose a conditional method for inducing an arbitrary nonlinear potential on a quantum oscillator weakly interacting with light. Such an arbitrary nonlinear potential can be implemented by sequential repetition of an elementary conditional $X$-gate. To implement the $X$-gate, a single photon is linearly coupled to the oscillator and is subsequently detected by optical homodyne detection.