  We describe a continuous-variable scheme for simulating the Kitaev lattice
model and for detecting statistics of abelian anyons. The corresponding quantum
optical implementation is solely based upon Gaussian resource states and
Gaussian operations, hence allowing for a highly efficient creation,
manipulation, and detection of anyons. This approach extends our understanding
of the control and application of anyons and it leads to the possibility for
experimental proof-of-principle demonstrations of anyonic statistics using
continuous-variable systems.
