Spectroscopy and coherent manipulation of single and coupled flux qubits

Measurements of three-junction flux qubits, both single flux qubits and coupled flux qubits, using a coupled direct current superconducting quantum interference device （dc-SQUID） for readout are reported. The measurement procedure is described in detail. We performed spectroscopy measurements and coherent manipulations of the qubit states on a single flux qubit, demonstrating quantum energy levels and Rabi oscillations, with Rabi oscillation decay time TRabi =- 78 ns and energy relaxation time T~ = 315 ns. We found that the value of TRabi depends strongly on the mutual inductance between the qubit and the magnetic coil. We also performed spectroscopy measurements on inductively coupled flux qubits.     

Observation of excitation in asymmetric flux qubits coupled inductively

We measured magnetic flux produced by coupled flux qubits with a switching current measurement of a DC-SQUID. Both the circulating currents and the SQUID–qubit coupling were designed to be asymmetric. The experimental result exhibits a broad peak and dip, and does not agree with the thermally averaged magnetic flux calculated with the two qubit Hamiltonian. This disagreement can be explained in terms of nonthermal excitation of the coupled qubits, which is probably caused by the microwaves generated by the DC-SQUID in the voltage state.     

Steady-state teleportation fidelity and Bell nonlocality in dissipative environments

We investigate quantum teleportation and Bell nonlocality for two channel qubits coupled via the Heisenberg interaction and subject to two independent dissipative environments. Compared with the case of two uncoupled qubits, it is shown that the interaction Hamiltonian is beneficial for enhancing the teleportation fidelity and Bell nonlocality, and remarkably, it can also be used to create nonclassical teleportation fidelity and Bell nonlocality even from the initial product states. Moreover, the interaction Hamiltonian guarantees the generation of steady-state nonclassical teleportation fidelity, which is independent of the initial state and therefore one can take any state as the initial channel state.     

Nanoscale superconducting quantum bits

Various physical systems were proposed for quantum information processing. Among those nanoscale devices appear most promising for integration in electronic circuits and large-scale applications. We discuss Josephson junction circuits in two regimes where they can be used for quantum computing. These systems combine intrinsic coherence of the superconducting state with control possibilities of single-charge circuits. In the regime where the typical charging energy dominates over the Josephson coupling, the low-temperature dynamics is limited to two states differing by a Cooper-pair charge on a superconducting island. In the opposite regime of prevailing Josephson energy, the phase (or flux) degree of freedom can be used to store and process quantum information. Under suitable conditions the system reduces to two states with different flux configurations. Several qubits can be joined together into a register. The quantum state of a qubit register can be manipulated by voltage and magnetic field pulses. The qubits are inevitably coupled to the environment. However, estimates of the phase coherence time show that many elementary quantum logic operations can be performed before the phase coherence is lost. In addition to manipulations, the final state of the qubits has to be read out. This quantum measurement process can be accomplished using a single-electron transistor for charge Josephson qubits, and a d.c.-SQUID for flux qubits. Recent successful experiments with superconducting qubits demonstrate for the first time quantum coherence in macroscopic systems.     

Spectroscopy on two coupled superconducting flux qubits

We have performed spectroscopy measurements on two coupled flux qubits. The qubits are coupled inductively, which results in a sigma(z)(1)sigma(z)(2) interaction. By applying microwave radiation, we observe resonances due to transitions from the ground state to the first two excited states. From the position of these resonances as a function of the applied magnetic field, we observe the coupling of the qubits. The coupling strength agrees with calculations of the mutual inductance.     

A scheme for two-photon lasing with two coupled flux qubits in circuit quantum electrodynamics

We theoretically study the system of a superconducting transmission line resonator coupled to two interacting superconducting flux qubits.It is shown that under certain conditions the resonator mode can be tuned to two-photon resonance between the ground state and the highest excited state while the middle excited states are far-off resonance.Furthermore,we study the steady-state properties of the flux qubits and resonator,such as the photon statistics,the spectrum and squeezing of the resonator,and demonstrate that two-photon laser can be implemented with current experimental technology.     

A proposal for the realization of universal quantum gates via superconducting qubits inside a cavity

A family of quantum logic gates is proposed via superconducting (SC) qubits coupled to a SC-cavity. The Hamiltonian for SC-charge qubits inside a single mode cavity is considered. Three- and two-qubit operations are generated by applying a classical magnetic field with the flux. Therefore, a number of quantum logic gates are realized. Numerical simulations and calculation of the fidelity are used to prove the success of these operations for these gates.     

On Effectiveness of Protocol Creating Maximum Entanglement of Two Charge-Phase Qubits by Cavity Field

We revisit the protocols to create maximally entangled states between two Josephson junction （33） charge phase qubits coupled to a microwave field in a cavity as a quantum data bus. We analyze a novel mechanism of quantum decoherence due to the adiabatic entanglement between qubits and the data bus, the off-resonance microwave field. We show that even if the variable of the data bus can be adiabatically eliminated, the entanglement between the qubits and data bus remains and can decohere the superposition of two-particle state. Fortunately we can construct a decoherencefree subspace of two-dimension to against this adiabatic decoherence. To carry out the analytic study for this decoherence problem, we develop Frohlich transformation to re-derive the effective Hamiltonian of these systems, which is equivalent to that obtained from the adiabatic elimination approach.     

Thermal states as universal resources for quantum computation with always-on interactions

Measurement-based quantum computation utilizes an initial entangled resource state and proceeds with subsequent single-qubit measurements. It is implicitly assumed that the interactions between qubits can be switched off so that the dynamics of the measured qubits do not affect the computation. By proposing a model spin Hamiltonian, we demonstrate that measurement-based quantum computation can be achieved on a thermal state with always-on interactions. Moreover, computational errors induced by thermal fluctuations can be corrected and thus the computation can be executed fault tolerantly if the temperature is below a threshold value.     

Vertical Josephson interferometers for quantum computation

We characterize a niobium-based vertical Josephson interferometer which we propose to include in a superconducting loop for applications to quantum computation using flux qubits. The most interesting feature of this device is that the Josephson current is precisely modulated by a small transversal magnetic field parallel to superconducting loop plane from a maximum to zero, with fine control and precision. This device can be used to independently control the off-diagonal Hamiltonian terms of flux qubits and/or to control the flux transfer function of a superconducting transformer for inter-qubits coupling.     

Preparation of multi-photon Fock states and quantum entanglement properties in circuit QED

We demonstrate the controllable generation of multi-photon Fock states in circuit quantum electrodynamics （circuit QED）. The external bias flux regulated by a counter can effectively adjust the bias time on each superconducting flux qubit so that each flux qubit can pass in turn through the circuit cavity and thereby avoid the effect of decoherence. We further investigate the quantum correlation dynamics of coupling superconducting qubits in a Fock state. The results reveal that the lower the photon number of the light field in the number state, the stronger the interaction between qubits is, then the more beneficial to maintaining entanglement between qubits it will be.     

Nondestructive readout for a superconducting flux qubit

We present a new readout method for a superconducting flux qubit, based on the measurement of the Josephson inductance of a superconducting quantum interference device that is inductively coupled to the qubit. The intrinsic flux detection efficiency and backaction are suitable for a fast and nondestructive determination of the quantum state of the qubit, as needed for readout of multiple qubits in a quantum computer. We performed spectroscopy of a flux qubit and we measured relaxation times of the order of 80 micros.     

Four-qubit device with mixed couplings

We present the first experimental results on a device with more than two superconducting qubits. The circuit consists of four three-junction flux qubits, with simultaneous ferro- and antiferromagnetic coupling implemented using shared Josephson junctions. Its response, which is dominated by the ground state, is characterized using low-frequency impedance measurement with a superconducting tank circuit coupled to the qubits. The results are found to be in excellent agreement with the quantum-mechanical predictions.     

Andreev level qubit

We investigate the dynamics of a two-level Andreev bound state system in a transmissive quantum point contact embedded in an rf SQUID. Coherent coupling of the Andreev levels to the circulating supercurrent allows manipulation and readout of the level states. The two-level Hamiltonian for the Andreev levels is derived, and the effect of interaction with the quantum fluctuations of the induced flux is studied. We also consider an inductive coupling of qubits and discuss the relevant SQUID parameters for qubit operation and readout.     

Vacuum Rabi oscillations in a macroscopic superconducting qubit oscillator system

We have observed the coherent exchange of a single energy quantum between a flux qubit and a superconducting LC circuit acting as a quantum harmonic oscillator. The exchange of an energy quantum is known as the vacuum Rabi oscillation: the qubit is oscillating between the excited state and the ground state and the oscillator between the vacuum state and the first excited state. We also show that we can detect the state of the oscillator with the qubit and thereby obtained evidence of level quantization of the LC circuit. Our results support the idea of using oscillators as couplers of solid-state qubits.     

Quantum state conversion between continuous variable and qubits systems

We investigate how quantum state can be converted between continuous variable and qubits systems. Non-linear Jaynes–Cumings interaction Hamiltonian is introduced to accomplish the conversion. Detail analysis on the conversion of thermal state exhibits that pretty good fidelity can be achieved.     

Unconventional Geometric Phase-Shift Gates Based on Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices Coupled to a Single-Mode Cavity

We present a scheme to realize geometric phase-shift gate for two superconducting quantum interference device （SQUID） qubits coupled to a single-mode microwave field. The geometric phase-shift gate operation is performed in two lower flux states, and the excited state [2〉 would not participate in the procedure. The SQUIDs undergo no transitions during the gate operation. Thus, the docoherence due to energy spontaneous emission based on the levels of SQUIDs are suppressed. The gate is insensitive to the cavity decay throughout the operation since the cavity mode is displaced along a circle in the phase space, acquiring a phase conditional upon the two lower flux states of the SQUID qubits, and the cavity mode is still in the original vacuum state. Based on the SQUID qubits interacting with the cavity mode, our proposed approach may open promising prospects for quantum iogic in SQUID-system.     

Robust quantum state transfer in random unpolarized spin chains

We propose and analyze a new approach for quantum state transfer between remote spin qubits. Specifically, we demonstrate that coherent quantum coupling between remote qubits can be achieved via certain classes of random, unpolarized (infinite temperature) spin chains. Our method is robust to coupling-strength disorder and does not require manipulation or control over individual spins. In principle, it can be used to attain perfect state transfer over an arbitrarily long range via purely Hamiltonian evolution and may be particularly applicable in a solid-state quantum information processor. As an example, we demonstrate that it can be used to attain strong coherent coupling between nitrogen-vacancy centers separated by micrometer distances at room temperature. Realistic imperfections and decoherence effects are analyzed.     

嵌入并联耦合双量子点介观环系统中的近藤效应

使用双杂质Anderson模型的哈密顿，从理论上研究了一个嵌入并联耦合双量子点介观环系统 , 当处在Kondo区时的基态性质, 并用slave-boson平均场方法求解了哈密顿.研究的结果表 明， 在这个系统中，当两个量子点处于强耦合时，两个量子点可以相干耦合成一个人造分 子，导致一个增强的Kondo效应和超强持续电流的出现.因此，在未来的纳米装置应用中，这 个系统具有潜在的应用价值. 关键词： 并联耦合双量子点 Kondo效应 超强持续电流     

The Dynamics of Quantum Correlation and Its Transfer in Dissipative Systems

Quantum correlation of a general bipartite quantum state may contain not only entanglement but also the ingredient that cannot be accounted for by entanglement. In this paper, we study the dynamics of quantum correlation by virtue of quantum discord, in particular the transfer of quantum correlation in the absence of entanglement. The considered model consists of two correlated qubits with each one being coupled to an independent reservoir. We show that the reservoirs which are initially in product state can be induced quantum correlation even when the qubits are initially in separate state.