Decoherence in solid-state qubits

The interaction of solid-state qubits with environmental degrees of freedom strongly affects the qubit dynamics, and leads to decoherence. In quantum information processing with solid-state qubits, decoherence significantly limits the performances of such devices. Therefore, it is necessary to fully understand the mechanisms that lead to decoherence. In this review, we discuss how decoherence affects two of the most successful realizations of solid-state qubits, namely, spin qubits and superconducting qubits. In the former, the qubit is encoded in the spin 1/2 of the electron, and it is implemented by confining the electron spin in a semiconductor quantum dot. Superconducting devices show quantum behaviour at low temperatures, and the qubit is encoded in the two lowest energy levels of a superconducting circuit. The electron spin in a quantum dot has two main decoherence channels, a (Markovian) phonon-assisted relaxation channel, due to the presence of a spin–orbit interaction, and a (non-Markovian) spin bath constituted by the spins of the nuclei in the quantum dot that interact with the electron spin via the hyperfine interaction. In a superconducting qubit, decoherence takes place as a result of fluctuations in the control parameters, such as bias currents, applied flux and bias voltages, and via losses in the dissipative circuit elements.     

具有次近邻相互作用的五量子比特XXZ海森伯自旋链的热纠缠

研究具有次近邻相互作用五量子比特XXZ海森伯自旋链在磁场作用下的热纠缠性质,利用数值计算求出最近邻两量子比特和次近邻两量子比特的共生纠缠度(concurrence),分别记为C_(12)和C_(13).研究结果表明,阻挫参数对配对热纠缠具有重要影响,而且阻挫参数的变化对C_(12)和C_(13)的影响也各不相同;温度、磁场、Dzyaloshinkii-Moriya相互作用以及各向异性参数对配对热纠缠有着不同程度的影响;通过选择适当的模型参数,可以有效地调节和提高五量子比特XXZ海森伯自旋链的配对热纠缠.     

Long-range quantum gates using dipolar crystals

We propose the use of dipolar spin chains to enable long-range quantum logic between distant qubits. In our approach, an effective interaction between remote qubits is achieved by adiabatically following the ground state of the dipolar chain across the paramagnet to crystal phase transition. We demonstrate that the proposed quantum gate is particularly robust against disorder and derive scaling relations, showing that high-fidelity qubit coupling is possible in the presence of realistic imperfections. Possible experimental implementations in systems ranging from ultracold Rydberg atoms to arrays of nitrogen vacancy defect centers in diamond are discussed.     

A controlled-NOT gate in a chain of qubits embedded in a spin field-effect transistor and its process tomography

We have investigated the realizability of the controlled-not (cnot) gate and characterized the gate operation by quantum process tomography for a chain of qubits, realized by electrons confined in self-assembled quantum dots embedded in the spin field-effect transistor. We have shown that the cnot gate operation and its process tomography are performable by using the spin exchange interaction and several local qubit rotations within the coherence time of qubits. Moreover we have taken into account the fluctuation of operation time and the imperfection of polarization of channel electrons as sources of decay of fidelity. The cnot process fidelity decreases only by at most 5% by the fluctuation of the operation time and its values as high as 0.49 and 0.72 are obtained for the channel spin polarizations of 0.6 and 0.8, respectively.     

Robust Quantum Computing in Decoherence-Free Subspaces with Double-Dot Spin Qubits

We present a scheme for implementing robust quantum gates in decoherence-free subspaces （DFSs） with double-dot spin qubits. Through the resonator-assisted interaction, the controllable interqubit couplings can be achieved only by adjusting the qubit transition frequencies. We construct a set of logic gates on the DFS-encoded qubits to eliminate the collective noise effects, and thus the gate fidelities can be enhanced remarkably. This proposal may offer a potential approach to realize the robust quantum computing with spin qubits.     

Universal quantum logic gates in a scalable Ising spin quantum computer

We consider the model of quantum computer, which is represented as a Ising spin lattice, where qubits (spin-half systems) are separated by the isolators (two spin-half systems). In the idle mode or at the single bit operations the total spin of isolators is 0. There are no need of complicated protocols for correcting the phase and probability errors due to permanent interaction between the qubits. We present protocols for implementation of universal quantum gates with the rectangular radio-frequency pulses.     

Quantum computation with quantum-dot spin qubits inside a cavity

Universal set of quantum gates are realized from quantum-dot spin qubits inside a cavity via two-channel Raman interactions. Individual addressing and effective switch of the cavity mediated interaction are directly possible here. This simple realization of all wanted interaction for selective qubits makes current scenario more suitable for scalable quantum computation.     

Decoherence from a spin chain with Dzyaloshinskii—Moriya interaction

We study the dynamics of quantum discord and entanglement for two spin qubits coupled to a spin chain with Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction.In the case of a two-qubit with an initial pure state,quantum correlations decay to zero at the critical point of the environment in a very short time.In the case of a two-qubit with initial mixed state,it is found that quantum discord may get maximized due to the quantum critical behavior of the environment,while entanglement vanishes under the same condition.Besides,we observed a sudden transition between classical and quantum decoherence when only a single qubit interacts with the environment.The effects of Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction on quantum correlations are considered in the two cases.The decay of quantum correlations is always strengthened by Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction.     

Kraus Operators for a Pair of Interacting Qubits: a Case Study

The Kraus form of the completely positive dynamical maps is appealing from the mathematical and the point of the diverse applications of the open quantum systems theory. Unfortunately, the Kraus operators are poorly known for the two-qubit processes. In this paper, we derive the Kraus operators for a pair of interacting qubits, while the strength of the interaction is arbitrary. One of the qubits is subjected to the x-projection spin measurement. The obtained results are applied to calculate the dynamics of the entanglement in the qubits system. We obtain the loss of the correlations in the finite time interval; the stronger the inter-qubit interaction, the longer lasting entanglement in the system.     

Storage of multiple coherent microwave excitations in an electron spin ensemble

Strong coupling between a microwave photon and electron spins, which could enable a long-lived quantum memory element for superconducting qubits, is possible using a large ensemble of spins. This represents an inefficient use of resources unless multiple photons, or qubits, can be orthogonally stored and retrieved. Here we employ holographic techniques to realize a coherent memory using a pulsed magnetic field gradient and demonstrate the storage and retrieval of up to 100 weak 10?GHz coherent excitations in collective states of an electron spin ensemble. We further show that such collective excitations in the electron spin can then be stored in nuclear spin states, which offer coherence times in excess of seconds.     

Entanglement storage through a spin ladder with cyclic interaction

The entanglement dynamics of two qubits coupled to a two-leg spin ladder with cyclic interaction is investigated. The entanglement is a periodic function of time and is affected by both the cyclic interaction in the ladder and the exchange interaction between the qubits and the ladder. If the number of spins in the ladder is increased with suitable external magnetic field, the maximum entanglement can exist for quite long time. Thus the entangled states can be stored and even can be “trapped” with high entanglement. The quantum manipulation of quantum states is possible in such systems.     

Enhancement of next-nearest-neighbouring entanglement in quantum Ising spin chain

Using the method of the Jordan--Wigner transformation for solving different spin--spin correlation functions, we have investigated the generation of next-nearest-neighbouring entanglement in a one-dimensional quantum Ising spin chain with the Gaussian distribution impurities of exchange couplings and external magnetic fields taken into account. The maximal value of entanglement between the next-nearest-neighbouring qubits in the transverse Ising model was analysed in detail by varying the effectively controlled parameters such as interchange coupling, magnetic field and the system impurity. For such systems, where both exchange couplings and external magnetic field disorder appear, we show that it is possible to achieve next-nearest-neighbouring entanglement better than the previously discussed pure Ising spin chain case. We also show that the Gaussian distribution impurity can induce next-nearest-neighbouring entanglement, which can be used as a means to characterize quantum phase transition.     

Implementation of the Fredkin gate with a three-qubit mixed-spin Heisenberg model

We show that a local unitary(LU) equivalent Fredkin gate can be obtained from the free evolution of three mixed-spin qubits by virtue of numerical simulation with only one step.The spin-1 qubit acts as the control qubit,and two spin-1/2 qubits,which interact with the spin-1 qubit via the first neighbor spin interaction,respectively,play the role of target qubits.We also examine the imperfect Fredkin gate operation by considering the effects of nonidentical coupling constants,uniform and inhomogeneous magnetic fields.     

Bell States and Two-Qubit Logic Gate with Superconducting Charge Qubits Coupling to a Nanomechanical Resonator

We propose a scheme for generating Bell states involving two SQUID-based charge qubits by coupling them to a nanomechanical resonator. We also show that it is possible to implement a two-qubit logic gate between the two charge qubits by choosing carefully the interaction time.     

Topological quantum memory interfacing atomic and superconducting qubits

We propose a scheme to manipulate a topological spin qubit which is realized with cold atoms in a one-dimensional optical lattice. In particular, by introducing a quantum opto-electro-mechanical interface, we are able to first transfer a superconducting qubit state to an atomic qubit state and then to store it into the topological spin qubit. In this way, an efficient topological quantum memory could be constructed for the superconducting qubit. Therefore, we can consolidate the advantages of both the noise resistance of the topological qubits and the scalability of the superconducting qubits in this hybrid architecture.     

Spin quantum computation in silicon nanostructures

Proposed silicon-based quantum-computer architectures have attracted attention because of their promise for scalability and their potential for synergetically utilizing the available resources associated with the existing Si technology infrastructure. Electronic and nuclear spins of shallow donors (e.g. phosphorus) in Si are ideal candidates for qubits in such proposals because of their long spin coherence times due to their limited interactions with their environments. For these spin qubits, shallow donor exchange gates are frequently invoked to perform two-qubit operations. We discuss in this review a particularly important spin decoherence channel, and bandstructure effects on the exchange gate control. Specifically, we review our work on donor electron spin spectral diffusion due to background nuclear spin flip-flops, and how isotopic purification of silicon can significantly enhance the electron spin dephasing time. We then review our calculation of donor electron exchange coupling in the presence of degenerate silicon conduction band valleys. We show that valley interference leads to orders of magnitude variations in electron exchange coupling when donor configurations are changed on an atomic scale. These studies illustrate the substantial potential that donor electron/nuclear spins in silicon have as candidates for qubits and simultaneously the considerable challenges they pose. In particular, our work on spin decoherence through spectral diffusion points to the possible importance of isotopic purification in the fabrication of scalable solid state quantum computer architectures. We also provide a critical comparison between the two main proposed spin-based solid state quantum computer architectures, namely, shallow donor bound states in Si and localized quantum dot states in GaAs.     

Resource-Efficient Direct Entanglement Measurement of Werner State with Hybrid Spin-Photon Interaction System

We propose two resource-efficient schemes of direct entanglement measurement of two-qubit Werner states via hybrid interaction system with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center coupled to micro-cavity. Based on the unconventional encoding mode on auxiliary qubits, our physical unit can realize the hybrid controlled phase gate and controlled-NOT gate between spin and polarization qubits. Utilizing only one copy of initial entangled state, we implement direct concurrence measurement of spin Werner states in NV centers and polarization Werner states of single photons. Both schemes can be transformed into remote ones with the initial entangled states possessed by spatially separated participants. Experimental feasibility analyses indicate that the presented schemes have reliable performance in the current available experimental conditions.

     

Spin Squeezed States and Entangled States

The time evolution of spontaneous decay of a two-level atom in one dimension photonic crystals is investigated with three different methods ： （ 1 ） using the Markovian approximation, （2） using the constant approximation, and （3） without using any of the two approximations. The second and third methods are Non-Markovian, which yield similar results. The second method gives us a clear physical picture of the effect of the reflected field. The Non- Markovian processes due to the reflected field have great influence on the atomic decay mainly within one tenth of an optical cycle, and reach steady state influence fter one optical cycle. The result of Markovian approximation gives almost the same result of the other two methods after one optical cycle, but misses the details within the one optical cycle.     

Robust controlled-NOT gates from almost any interaction

There are many cases where the interaction between two qubits is not precisely known, but single-qubit operations are available. In this Letter we show how, regardless of an incomplete knowledge of the strength or form of the interaction between two qubits, it is often possible to construct a controlled-NOT gate which has arbitrarily high fidelity. In particular, we show that oscillations in the strength of the exchange interaction in solid state Si and Ge structures are correctable.     

Quantum readout and fast initialization of nuclear spin qubits with electric currents

Nuclear spin qubits have the longest coherence times in the solid state, but their quantum readout and initialization is a great challenge. We present a theory for the interaction of an electric current with the nuclear spins of donor impurities in semiconductors. The theory yields a sensitivity criterion for quantum detection of nuclear spin states using electrically detected magnetic resonance, as well as an all-electrical method for fast nuclear spin qubit initialization.