Quantum switch for coupling highly detuned superconducting qubits

We propose to implement a quantum switch scheme for coupling highly detuned superconducting qubits connected by a gap-tunable bridge qubit. By modulating the frequency of the bridge qubit, it can be used as a coupler to switch on/off and adjust the coupling strength between the initially non-interaction qubits. It is shown that the proposals of quantum information transfer and quantum entangled gate between two highly detuned qubits can be implemented with high fidelity. Moreover, we extend the case of coupling the switch to multiple qubits for the generation of W states. The advantages of our scheme are that it eliminates the need for tuning the gaps of the qubits and the cross-talk interaction is greatly suppressed. The influence of decoherence and parameter variation is also investigated by numerical simulation, which suggests that the present scheme is feasible in current experiment.     

Quantum Interface between a Superconducting Qubit and Spin Ensembles

An experimentally feasible strong coupling system between a spin ensemble and a superconducting qubit is studied. The coupling strength can be exponentially enhanced by applying the squeezing transformations to the system. By means of the two spin ensembles commonly coupled to a superconducting qubit, a set of universal nonadiabatic holonomic single‐qubit quantum gates can be realized in a decoherence‐free subspace. Furthermore, this proposal is robust with respect to decay of the system parameters, and it is experimentally feasible with currently available technology.     

Interface between topological and superconducting qubits

We propose and analyze an interface between a topological qubit and a superconducting flux qubit. In our scheme, the interaction between Majorana fermions in a topological insulator is coherently controlled by a superconducting phase that depends on the quantum state of the flux qubit. A controlled-phase gate, achieved by pulsing this interaction on and off, can transfer quantum information between the topological qubit and the superconducting qubit.     

Generation of macroscopic entangled coherent states with large Josephson junctions

We propose a simple and experimental architecture to generate macroscopic entanglement in a solid system which consists of two large Josephson junctions and a flux qubit. Through quantum measuring of flux qubit, entangled coherent states of two large Josephson junctions are obtained. The concurrence of entangled coherent states can be accommodated by adjusted systematic parameters. We also give a brief discussion on the experimental feasibility of this proposal.     

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.     

Quantum State Transfer between Charge and Flux Qubits in Circuit-QED

We propose a scheme to implement quantum state transfer in a hybrid circuit quantum electrodynarnics （QED） system which consists of a superconducting charge qubit, a flux qubit, and a transmission line resonator （TLR）. It is shown that quantum state transfer between the charge qubit and the flux qubit can be realized by using the TLR as the data bus.     

Coupling nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond to superconducting flux qubits

We propose a method to achieve coherent coupling between nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond and superconducting (SC) flux qubits. The resulting coupling can be used to create a coherent interaction between the spin states of distant NV centers mediated by the flux qubit. Furthermore, the magnetic coupling can be used to achieve a coherent transfer of quantum information between the flux qubit and an ensemble of NV centers. This enables a long-term memory for a SC quantum processor and possibly an interface between SC qubits and light.     

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.     

The initial decoherence of the mesoscopic Josephson junction flux qubit

For a mesoscopic radio frequency superconducting quantum interference device (rfSQUID), at a degeneracy point, the system reduces to a quantum two-state system which can be used as a flux qubit. When the noise environment is equivalent to a harmonic oscillators bath, by virtue of an operator-norm measure for the short time decoherence, this paper investigates the initial decoherence of the flux qubit operating in the ohmic noise environment and illustrates its property by means of the numerical evaluation.     

Readout of superconducting flux qubit state with a Cooper pair box

We study a readout scheme of a superconducting flux qubit state with a Cooper pair box as a transmon. The qubit states consist of the superpositions of two degenerate states where the charge and phase degrees of freedom are entangled. Owing to the robustness of the transmon against external fluctuations, our readout scheme enables the quantum non-demolition and single-shot measurement of flux qubit states. The qubit state readout can be performed by using the nonlinear Josephson amplifiers after a π/2 rotation driven by an ac electric field.     

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.     

Superconducting quantum interference devices made of Sb-doped Bi2Se3 topological insulator nanoribbons

We report the fabrication and characterization of superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) made of Sb-doped Bi₂Se₃ topological insulator (TI) nanoribbon (NR) contacted with PbIn superconducting electrodes. When an external magnetic field was applied along the NR axis, the TI NR exhibited periodic magneto-conductance oscillations, the so-called Aharonov-Bohm oscillations, owing to one-dimensional subbands. Below the superconducting transition temperature of PbIn electrodes, we observed supercurrent flow through TI NR-based SQUID. The critical current periodically modulates with a magnetic field perpendicular to the SQUID loop, revealing that the periodicity corresponds to the superconducting flux quantum. Our experimental observations can be useful to explore Majorana bound states (MBS) in TI NR, promising for developing topological quantum information devices.     

基于金刚石氮-空位色心自旋系综与超导量子电路混合系统的量子节点纠缠

量子纠缠是实现量子计算和量子通信的核心基础,本文提出了在金刚石氮-空位色心(NV centers)自旋系综与超导量子电路耦合的混合系统中实现两个分离量子节点之间纠缠的理论方案.在该混合系统中,把金刚石NV centers自旋系综和与之耦合的超导共面谐振器视为一个量子节点,两个量子节点之间通过一个空的超导共面谐振器连接.具有较长相干时间的NV centers自旋系综作为一个量子存储器,用于制备、存储和发送量子信息;易于外部操控的超导量子电路可执行量子逻辑门操作,快速调控量子信息.为了实现两个分离量子节点之间的纠缠,首先对系统的哈密顿量进行正则变换,将其等价为两个NV centers自旋系综与同一个超导共面谐振器之间的JC耦合;然后采用NV centers自旋-光子混合比特编码的方式,通过调节超导共面谐振器的谐振频率,精确控制体系演化时间,高保真度地实现了两个分离量子节点之间的量子纠缠.本方案还可以进一步扩展和集成,用于构建多节点纠缠的分布式量子网络.     

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.     

Macroscopic resonant tunneling in an rf-SQUID flux qubit

We have observed the macroscopic resonant tunneling of magnetic flux between macroscopically distinct quantum states in a superconducting flux qubit.The dependences of the macroscopic resonant tunneling on the barrier height of the potential well,the flux bias and the initial state are investigated.Detailed measurements of the tunneling rate as a function of the flux bias reveal the feature of the quantum noise in the superconducting flux qubit.     

Detecting non-Abelian statistics of Majorana fermions in quantum nanowire networks

A scheme in semiconducting quantum nanowire structure has been proposed to demonstrate the non-Abelian statistics for Majorana fermions in terms of braid group. The Majorana fermions are localized at the endpoints of semiconducting wires, which are deposited on an s-wave superconductor. The non-Abelian nature of Majorana fermion is manifested by the fact that the output of the different applied orders of two operations, constructed by the braid group elements, are different. In particular, the difference can be unambiguously imprinted on the quantum states of a superconducting flux qubit.     

Flux qubit with a large loop size and tunable Josephson junctions

We present the design of a superconducting flux qubit with a large loop inductance. The large loop inductance is desirable for coupling between qubits. The loop is configured into a gradiometer form that could reduce the interference from environmental magnetic noise. A combined Josephson junction, i.e., a DC-SQUID is used to replace the small Josephson junction in the usual 3-JJ (Josephaon junction) flux qubit, leading to a tunable energy gap by using an independent external flux line. We perform numerical calculations to investigate the dependence of the energy gap on qubit parameters such as junction capacitance, critical current, loop inductance, and the ratio of junction energy between small and large junctions in the flux qubit. We suggest a range of values for the parameters.     

Consistency of ground state and spectroscopic measurements on flux qubits

We compare the results of ground state and spectroscopic measurements carried out on superconducting flux qubits which are effective two-level quantum systems. For a single qubit and for two coupled qubits we show excellent agreement between the parameters of the pseudospin Hamiltonian found using both methods. We argue that by making use of the ground state measurements the Hamiltonian of N coupled flux qubits can be reconstructed as well at temperatures smaller than the energy level separation. Such a reconstruction of a many-qubit Hamiltonian can be useful for future quantum information processing devices.     

Entangling two uncoupled flux qubits via their sequential interaction with a quantized electromagnetic field

A theoretical scheme for the generation of maximally entangled states of two superconducting flux qubits via their sequential interaction with a monochromatic quantum field is presented. The coupling of the qubits with the quantized field can be tuned on and off resonance by modulating the effective Josephson energy of each qubit via an externally applied magnetic flux. The system operates in such a way as to transfer the entanglement from a bipartite field-qubit subsystem to the two qubits. This scheme is attractive in view of the implementation of practical quantum processing systems.     

基于超导量子比特的电磁感应透明研究进展

超导量子计算是目前被认为最有希望实现量子计算机的方案之一. 超导量子比特是超导量子计算的核心部件. 如何尽可能的增加超导量子比特的退相干时间, 大规模的集成超导量子比特已成为超导量子计算研究的主要方向. 超导量子比特作为宏观的人工原子, 有许多量子光学现象都能够在其中观测到. 利用超导量子比特实现电磁感应透明为研究超导量子比特的退相干机理提供了新手段, 为研究非线性光学、光存储、光的超慢速传输等量子光学效应开辟了新思路. 本文介绍了电磁感应透明的理论基础, 总结了目前针对超导量子比特的电磁感应透明研究进展, 对比了一般气体原子与超导量子比特的电磁感应透明区别, 并对超导量子比特实现电磁感应透明的潜在应用进行了总结和展望.