Coupled Josephson qubits: Characterization of low-frequency charge noise

The realization of coupled qubit setups is a fundamental step towards implementation of universal quantum computing architectures. Solid state nano- devices, despite being very promising from the point of view of scalability and integration, strongly suffer from various noise sources. Particular detrimental role is played by low-frequency noise components. Here we identify stability conditions against low-frequency charge noise of two Josephson qubits in a fixed coupling scheme implementation. The effects of adiabatic noise in an i-SWAP protocol is discussed. Reduced sensitivity to charge flutuations with respect to the single qubit setup is predicted.     

Dephasing of solid-state qubits at optimal points

Motivated by recent experiments with Josephson-junction circuits, we analyze the influence of various noise sources on the dynamics of two-level systems at optimal operation points where the linear coupling to low-frequency fluctuations is suppressed. We study the decoherence due to nonlinear (quadratic) coupling, focusing on the experimentally relevant 1/f and Ohmic noise power spectra. For 1/f noise strong higher-order effects influence the evolution.     

Dephasing of Josephson qubits close to optimal points

Decoherence of Josephson qubits can be substantially reduced by tuning their parameters to optimal operation points with only quadratic coupling to fluctuations. We analyze dephasing due to 1/f noise for a two-level system detuned from an optimal point, i.e., the crossover to the linear-coupling regime, both for free induction decay and for spin-echo experiments. Influence of several noise sources is also discussed. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Dephasing of a superconducting qubit induced by photon noise

We have studied the dephasing of a superconducting flux qubit coupled to a dc-SQUID based oscillator. By varying the bias conditions of both circuits we were able to tune their effective coupling strength. This allowed us to measure the effect of such a controllable and well-characterized environment on the qubit coherence. We can quantitatively account for our data with a simple model in which thermal fluctuations of the photon number in the oscillator are the limiting factor. In particular, we observe a strong reduction of the dephasing rate whenever the coupling is tuned to zero. At the optimal point we find a large spin-echo decay time of .     

Qubit decoherence by Gaussian low-frequency noise

We have derived an explicit nonperturbative expression for decoherence of quantum oscillations in a qubit by Gaussian low-frequency noise. Decoherence strength is controlled by the noise spectral density at zero frequency, while the noise correlation time τ determines the time t of crossover from the \({1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 {\sqrt t }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\sqrt t }}\) to the exponential suppression of coherence. We also performed Monte Carlo simulations of qubit dynamics with noise which agree with the analytical results.     

Binegativity of two qubits under noise

Recently, it was argued that the binegativity might be a good quantifier of entanglement for two-qubit states. Like the concurrence and the negativity, the binegativity is also analytically computable quantifier for all two qubits. Based on numerical evidence, it was conjectured that it is a PPT (positive partial transposition) monotone and thus fulfills the criterion to be a good measure of entanglement. In this work, we investigate its behavior under noisy channels which indicate that the binegativity is decreasing monotonically with respect to increasing noise. We also find that the binegativity is closely connected to the negativity and has closed analytical form for arbitrary two qubits. Our study supports the conjecture that the binegativity is a monotone.     

Dephasing of a qubit due to quantum and classical noise

The qubit (or a system of two quantum dots) has become a standard paradigm for studying quantum information processes. Our focus is decoherence due to interaction of the qubit with its environment, leading to noise. We consider quantum noise generated by a dissipative quantum bath. A detailed comparative study with the results for a classical noise source such as generated by a telegraph process, enables us to set limits on the applicability of this process vis à vis its quantum counterpart, as well as lend handle on the parameters that can be tuned for analysing decoherence. Both Ohmic and non-Ohmic dissipations are treated and appropriate limits are analysed for facilitating comparison with the telegraph process.     

Spatial structure of low-frequency wind noise

The distinguishing spatial properties of low-frequency microphone wind noise (turbulent pressure disturbances) are examined with a planar, 49-element array. Individual, propagating transient pressure disturbances are imaged by wavelet processing to the array data. Within a given frequency range, the wind disturbances are much smaller and less spatially coherent than sound waves. Conventional array processing techniques are particularly sensitive to wind noise when sensor separations are small compared to the acoustic wavelengths of interest.     

Model of Schottky-barrier diode low-frequency noise

A planar Schottky-barrier diode (SBD) is represented by two parallel-connected diodes that describe processes in the central region and in the leakage region. Independent fluctuations of the junction parameters and of the base resistances are sources of 1/F noise. The experimentally verified noise model developed on this basis explains the diversity of current and dependences of SBD noise observed in practice.St. Petersburg State Engineering University. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 167–178, February, 1993.     

1/f Flux noise in Josephson phase qubits

We present a new method to measure 1/f noise in Josephson quantum bits (qubits) that yields low-frequency spectra below 1 Hz. A comparison of the noise taken at positive and negative bias of a phase qubit shows the dominant noise source to be flux noise and not junction critical-current noise, with a magnitude similar to that measured previously in other systems. Theoretical calculations show that the level of flux noise is not compatible with the standard model of noise from two-level state defects in the surface oxides of the films.     

Probing noise in flux qubits via macroscopic resonant tunneling

Macroscopic resonant tunneling between the two lowest lying states of a bistable rf SQUID is used to characterize noise in a flux qubit. Measurements of the incoherent decay rate as a function of flux bias revealed a Gaussian-shaped profile that is not peaked at the resonance point but is shifted to a bias at which the initial well is higher than the target well. The rms amplitude of the noise, which is proportional to the dephasing rate 1/tauphi, was observed to be weakly dependent on temperature below 70 mK. Analysis of these results indicates that the dominant source of low energy flux noise in this device is a quantum mechanical environment in thermal equilibrium.     

Correcting low-frequency noise with continuous measurement

Low-frequency noise presents a serious source of decoherence in solid-state qubits. When combined with a continuous weak measurement of the eigenstates, low-frequency noise induces a second-order relaxation between the qubit states. Here, we show that the relaxation provides a unique approach to calibrate the low-frequency noise in the time domain. By encoding one qubit with two physical qubits that are alternatively calibrated, quantum-logic gates with high fidelity can be performed.     

Decoherence and 1/f noise in Josephson qubits

We propose and study a model of dephasing due to an environment of bistable fluctuators. We apply our analysis to the decoherence of Josephson qubits, induced by background charges present in the substrate, which are also responsible for the 1/f noise. The discrete nature of the environment leads to a number of new features which are mostly pronounced for slowly moving charges. Far away from the degeneracy this model for the dephasing is solved exactly.     

Measurement of low-frequency noise in tunnel diodes

Conclusions Our studies have revealed that the spectral density of low-frequency current fluctuations in GaAs tunnel diodes can be described by the relation Wi(u, F)=f² (u)mF^–, where the nonlinear function f²(u) is not proportional to the rms of excess diode current. The flicker nature of the current noise in tunnel diodes derives from conductance fluctuations on the p-n junction, which occur in tunnel diodes as well as in low-noise transistors at frequencies ranging from near zero to a few kiloheriz and produce noise of almost the same absolute intensty in both kinds of devices.Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 20, No. 5, pp. 777–784, May, 1977.     

Masking of low-frequency signals by high-frequency, high-level narrow bands of noise

Low-frequency masking by intense high-frequency noise bands, referred to as remote masking (RM), was the first evidence to challenge energy-detection models of signal detection. Its underlying mechanisms remain unknown. RM was measured in five normal-hearing young-adults at 250, 350, 500, and 700 Hz using equal-power, spectrally matched random-phase noise (RPN) and low-noise noise (LNN) narrowband maskers. RM was also measured using equal-power, two-tone complex (TC2) and eight-tone complex (TC8). Maskers were centered at 3000 Hz with one or two equivalent rectangular bandwidths (ERBs). Masker levels varied from 80 to 95 dB sound pressure level in 5 dB steps. LNN produced negligible masking for all conditions. An increase in bandwidth in RPN yielded greater masking over a wider frequency region. Masking for TC2 was limited to 350 and 700 Hz for one ERB but shifted to only 700 Hz for two ERBs. A spread of masking to 500 and 700 Hz was observed for TC8 when the bandwidth was increased from one to two ERBs. Results suggest that high-frequency noise bands at high levels could generate significant low-frequency masking. It is possible that listeners experience significant RM due to the amplification of various competing noises that might have significant implications for speech perception in noise.     

Decoherence of flux qubits due to 1/f flux noise

We have investigated decoherence in Josephson-junction flux qubits. Based on the measurements of decoherence at various bias conditions, we discriminate contributions of different noise sources. We present a Gaussian decay function extracted from the echo signal as evidence of dephasing due to 1/f flux noise whose spectral density is evaluated to be about (10(-6)Phi0)2/Hz at 1 Hz. We also demonstrate that, at an optimal bias condition where the noise sources are well decoupled, the coherence observed in the echo measurement is limited mainly by energy relaxation of the qubit.     

Nature of the low-frequency noise in coherent radiation

The correction of the light intensity in one mode of a two-mode radiator oscillating at the difference frequency is calculated. The low-frequency noise is analyzed; the nature of this phenomenon is discussed.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 40–43, March, 1975.The authors thanks V. L. Bonch-Bruevich for discussion of these results.     

High-fidelity quantum operations on superconducting qubits in the presence of noise

We present a scheme for implementing quantum operations with superconducting qubits. Our approach uses a "coupler" qubit to mediate a controllable interaction between data qubits, pulse sequences which strongly mitigate the effects of 1/f flux noise, and a high-Q resonator-based local memory. We develop a Monte Carlo simulation technique capable of describing arbitrary noise-induced dephasing and decay, and demonstrate in this system a set of universal gate operations with O(10(-5)) error probabilities in the presence of experimentally measured levels of 1/f noise. We then add relaxation and quantify the decay times required to maintain this error level.     

Dephasing of atomic tunneling by nuclear quadrupoles

Recent experiments revealed a most surprising magnetic-field dependence of coherent echoes in amorphous solids. We show that a novel dephasing mechanism involving nuclear quadrupole moments is the origin of the observed phenomena.     

Lateralization of low-frequency tones and narrow bands of noise

It is well known and universally accepted that people's ability to use ongoing interaural temporal disparities conveyed via pure tones is limited to frequencies below 1600 Hz. We wish to determine if this limitation is the result of the constant amplitude and periodic axis-crossings which characterize pure tones. To this end, an acoustic pointing task was employed in which listeners varied the interaural intensitive difference of a 500-Hz narrow-band noise (the pointer) so that the position of its intracranial image matched that of a second, experimenter-controlled stimulus (the target). Targets were either pure tones or narrow bands of noise (50 or 100 Hz wide). The narrow bands of noise were delayed interaurally in two distinct manners: Either the entire waveform or only the carrier was delayed. In the latter case, the envelopes and phase-functions of the bands of noise were identical interaurally. This resulted in noises which resemble the pure tone case in that the interaural delay is manifested as a constant phase-shift and resemble ordinary noises in that the envelope and phase are random functions of time. Surprisingly, it appears that all three targets were lateralized virtually identically regardless of frequency or bandwidth. Apparently, the dynamically changing envelopes and phases did not affect the listeners' use of interaural temporal disparities in any discernible fashion.