  Continuous-variable codes are an expedient solution for quantum information
processing and quantum communication involving optical networks. Here we
characterize the squeezed comb, a finite superposition of equidistant squeezed
coherent states on a line, and its properties as a continuous-variable encoding
choice for a logical qubit. The squeezed comb is a realistic approximation to
the ideal code proposed by Gottesman, Kitaev, and Preskill [Phys. Rev. A 64,
012310 (2001)], which is fully protected against errors caused by the
paradigmatic types of quantum noise in continuous-variable systems: damping and
diffusion. This is no longer the case for the code space of finite squeezed
combs, and noise robustness depends crucially on the encoding parameters. We
analyze finite squeezed comb states in phase space, highlighting their
complicated interference features and characterizing their dynamics when
exposed to amplitude damping and Gaussian diffusion noise processes. We find
that squeezed comb state are more suitable and less error-prone when exposed to
damping, which speaks against standard error correction strategies that employ
linear amplification to convert damping into easier-to-describe isotropic
diffusion noise.
