Loss-tolerant optical qubits

We present a linear optics quantum computation scheme that employs a new encoding approach that incrementally adds qubits and is tolerant to photon loss errors. The scheme employs a circuit model but uses techniques from cluster-state computation and achieves comparable resource usage. To illustrate our techniques we describe a quantum memory which is fault tolerant to photon loss.     

Coherent manipulation of atomic qubits in optical micropotentials

We experimentally demonstrate the coherent manipulation of atomic states in far-detuned dipole traps and registers of dipole traps based on two-dimensional arrays of microlenses. By applying Rabi, Ramsey, and spin-echo techniques, we systematically investigate the dephasing mechanisms and determine the coherence time. Simultaneous Ramsey measurements in up to 16 dipole traps are performed and prove the scalability of our approach. This represents an important step in the application of scalable registers of atomic qubits for quantum information processing. In addition, this system can serve as the basis for novel atomic clocks making use of the parallel operation of a large number of individual clocks each remaining separately addressable. PACS 03.67.Lx; 32.80.Pj; 42.50.-p     

The optical phonon effect of quantum rod qubits

The Hamiltonian of a quantum rod with an ellipsoidal boundary is given by using a coordinate transformation in which the ellipsoidal boundary is changed into a spherical one.Under the condition of strong electron-longitudinal optical phonon coupling in the rod,we obtain both the electron eigenfunctions and the eigenenergies of the ground and first-excited state by using the Pekar-type variational method.This quantum rod system may be used as a two-level qubit.When the electron is in the superposition state of the ground and first-excited states,the probability density of the electron oscillates in the rod with a certain period.It is found that the oscillation period is an increasing function of the ellipsoid aspect ratio and the transverse and longitudinal effective confinement lengths of the quantum rod,whereas it is a decreasing function of the electron-phonon coupling strength.     

Distribution of time-bin entangled qubits over 50 km of optical fiber

We report experimental distribution of time-bin entangled qubits over 50 km of optical fibers. Using actively stabilized preparation and measurement devices we demonstrate violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt Bell inequality by more than 15 standard deviations without removing the detector noise. In addition we report a proof-of principle experiment of quantum key distribution over 50 km of optical fibers using entangled photon.     

Effect of phonons on optical properties of RbCl quantum pseudodot qubits

In this work, an electron which is strongly coupled to the strong electron-longitudinal optical (LO) phonon in RbCl quantum pseudodot qubits is considered. First, we employ the Pekar variational method and obtain the eigenenergies and eigenfunctions of the ground and the first-excited states of the system. Then, we have studied optical properties of the system under strong electron-LO phonon coupling. In this regard, the refractive index changes and absorption coefficient of the system are obtained using compact-density-matrix approach and iterative method. It is found that the absorption coefficients show saturation in the presence of phonon effect. This behavior occurs at small quantum size and for different potential height. Our results show that both the structure parameters and phonon effect have a great effect on the total absorption and refractive index changes.     

Feasible schemes for quantum swap gates of optical qubits via cavity QED

Feasible schemes for implementing quantum swap gates of both coherent-state qubits and photonic qubits are proposed using a Λ-type atomic ensemble trapped in a bimodal optical cavity. In both protocols, the decoherence from atomic spontaneous emission is negligible due to the fact that the excited states of the atoms are adiabatically eliminated under large detuning condition and the swap gates can be created in a single step. In our schemes, the required atoms-cavity interaction time decreases with the increase of the number of atoms, which is very important in view of decoherence. The experimental feasibilities of the schemes are also discussed.     

Dressed qubits

Inherent gate errors can arise in quantum computation when the actual system Hamiltonian or Hilbert space deviates from the desired one. Two important examples we address are spin-coupled quantum dots in the presence of spin-orbit perturbations to the Heisenberg exchange interaction, and off-resonant transitions of a qubit embedded in a multilevel Hilbert space. We propose a "dressed qubit" transformation for dealing with such inherent errors. Unlike quantum error correction, the dressed qubit method does not require additional operations or encoding redundancy, is insensitive to error magnitude, and imposes no new experimental constraints.     

Producing cluster states in charge qubits and flux qubits

We propose a method to efficiently generate cluster states in charge qubits, both semiconducting and superconducting, as well as flux qubits. We show that highly entangled cluster states can be realized by a "one-touch" entanglement operation by tuning gate bias voltages for charge qubits. We also investigate the robustness of these cluster states for nonuniform qubits, which are unavoidable in solid-state systems. We find that quantum computation based on cluster states is a promising approach for solid-state qubits.     

Entanglement of three qubits

For the formulation of Bell inequalities, it is important to include not just N-site correlation functions, but also (N-n)-site correlation functions. In this article, we focus on a three-qubit Bell inequality, which has been shown to be a good candidate for generalizing Gisin’s theorem to three qubits. The three-qubit Bell inequality can be used to detect the W-type entanglement in a proposed experiment.     

Transfer of quantum entangled states between superconducting qubits and microwave field qubits

Transferring entangled states between matter qubits and microwave-field (or optical-field) qubits is of fundamental interest in quantum mechanics and necessary in hybrid quantum information processing and quantum communication. We here propose a way for transferring entangled states between superconducting qubits (matter qubits) and microwave-field qubits. This proposal is realized by a system consisting of multiple superconducting qutrits and microwave cavities. Here, „qutrit” refers to a three-level quantum system with the two lowest levels encoding a qubit while the third level acting as an auxiliary state. In contrast, the microwave-field qubits are encoded with coherent states of microwave cavities. Because the third energy level of each qutrit is not populated during the operation, decoherence from the higher energy levels is greatly suppressed. The entangled states can be deterministically transferred because measurement on the states is not needed. The operation time is independent of the number of superconducting qubits or microwave-field qubits. In addition, the architecture of the circuit system is quite simple because only a coupler qutrit and an auxiliary cavity are required. As an example, our numerical simulations show that high-fidelity transfer of entangled states from two superconducting qubits to two microwave-field qubits is feasible with present circuit QED technology. This proposal is quite general and can be extended to transfer entangled states between other matter qubits (e.g., atoms, quantum dots, and NV centers) and microwave- or optical-field qubits encoded with coherent states.     

Wrapped branes as qubits

Recent work has established a correspondence between the tripartite entanglement measure of three qubits and the macroscopic entropy of the four-dimensional 8-charge STU black hole of supergravity. Here we consider the configurations of intersecting D3-branes, whose wrapping around the six compact dimensions T6 provides the microscopic string-theoretic interpretation of the charges, and associate the three-qubit basis vectors |ABC>, (A, B, C=0 or 1) with the corresponding 8 wrapping cycles. In particular, we relate a well-known fact of quantum information theory, that the most general real three-qubit state can be parameterized by four real numbers and an angle, to a well-known fact of string theory, that the most general STU black hole can be described by four D3-branes intersecting at an angle.     

Generating mixtures of spatial qubits

In a recent letter [L. Neves, G. Lima, J.G. Aguirre Gómez, C.H. Monken, C. Saavedra, S. Pádua, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94 (2005) 100501], we presented a scheme for generating pure entangled states of spatial qudits (D-dimensional quantum systems) by using the momentum transverse correlation of the parametric down-converted photons. In this work, we discuss a generalization of this process to enable the creation of mixed states. With the technique proposed we experimentally generated a mixture of two spatial qubits.     

High-fidelity readout of trapped-ion qubits

We demonstrate single-shot qubit readout with a fidelity sufficient for fault-tolerant quantum computation. For an optical qubit stored in 40Ca+ we achieve 99.991(1)% average readout fidelity in 10(6) trials, using time-resolved photon counting. An adaptive measurement technique allows 99.99% fidelity to be reached in 145 micros average detection time. For 43Ca+, we propose and implement an optical pumping scheme to transfer a long-lived hyperfine qubit to the optical qubit, capable of a theoretical fidelity of 99.95% in 10 micros. We achieve 99.87(4)% transfer fidelity and 99.77(3)% net readout fidelity.     

Landau-Zener interferometry for qubits

One may probe coherence of a qubit by periodically sweeping its control parameter. The qubit is then excited by the Landau-Zener (LZ) mechanism. The interference between multiple LZ transitions leads to an oscillatory dependence of the energy absorption rate on the sweeping amplitude and on the period. This interference pattern allows to determine the decoherence time of the qubit. We introduce a simple phenomenological model describing this interferometer, and find the form of the interference pattern.Received: 21 October 2003, Published online: 8 December 2003PACS: 03.67.-a Quantum information - 85.25.Dq Superconducting quantum interference devicesD.A. Ivanov: Present address: Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland     

Experimental purification of single qubits

We report the experimental realization of the purification protocol for single qubits sent through a depolarizing channel. The qubits are associated with polarization states of single photons and the protocol is achieved by means of passive linear optical elements. The present approach may represent a convenient alternative to the distillation and error correction protocols of quantum information.     

Tunable coupling of superconducting qubits

We study an LC circuit implemented using a current-biased Josephson junction (CBJJ) as a tunable coupler for superconducting qubits. By modulating the bias current, the junction can be tuned in and out of resonance and entangled with the qubits coupled to it. One can thus implement two-qubit operations by mediating entanglement. We consider the examples of CBJJ and charge-phase qubits. A simple recoupling scheme leads to a generalization to arbitrary qubit designs.     

Remote interfacing between superconducting qubits and Rydberg-atom qubits via thermal coupled cavities

We propose a built-in fault-tolerant geometric operation to realize fast remote entanglement between superconducting qubits anchored to a 15 m K plate and Rydberg-atom qubits trapped near a 1 K plate via thermal coupled cavities. We show that this operation is robust against the detrimental effects of the thermal mode states and fluctuations in the control parameters. The operation can generate a high-fidelity entanglement between superconducting and atomic qubits under realistic experimental parameters, comparable to the results of the existing methods using auxiliary cooling systems. The scheme proposed here will promote the development of quantum network and distributed superconducting quantum computation.     

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.     

Quantum trajectories of superconducting qubits

In this review, we discuss recent experiments that investigate how the quantum sate of a superconducting qubit evolves during measurement. We provide a pedagogical overview of the measurement process, when the qubit is dispersively coupled to a microwave frequency cavity, and the qubit state is encoded in the phase of a microwave tone that probes the cavity. A continuous measurement record is used to reconstruct the individual quantum trajectories of the qubit state, and quantum state tomography is performed to verify that the state has been tracked accurately. Furthermore, we discuss ensembles of trajectories, time-symmetric evolution, two-qubit trajectories, and potential applications in measurement-based quantum error correction.     

超导量子比特的耦合研究进展

超导量子比特以其在可控性、低损耗以及可扩展性等方面的优势被认为是最有希望实现量子计算机的固态方式之一.量子比特之间的相干可控耦合是实现大规模的量子计算的必要条件.本文介绍了超导量子比特耦合方式的研究进展,包括利用电容或电感实现量子比特的局域耦合,着重介绍一维传输线谐振腔作为量子总线实现多个量子比特的可控耦合的电路量子电动力学体系,并对最新的三维腔与超导量子比特的耦合结构的研究进展进行了论述.对各种耦合体系的哈密顿量进行了比较详细的分析,并按照局域性和可控性对不同耦合机制进行了分类.