Quantum interface between an electrical circuit and a single atom

We show how to bridge the divide between atomic systems and electronic devices by engineering a coupling between the motion of a single ion and the quantized electric field of a resonant circuit. Our method can be used to couple the internal state of an ion to the quantized circuit with the same speed as the internal-state coupling between two ions. All the well-known quantum information protocols linking ion internal and motional states can be converted to protocols between circuit photons and ion internal states. Our results enable quantum interfaces between solid state qubits, atomic qubits, and light, and lay the groundwork for a direct quantum connection between electrical and atomic metrology standards.     

Interfacing quantum-optical and solid-state qubits

We present a generic model of coupling quantum-optical and solid-state qubits, and the corresponding transfer protocols. The example discussed is a trapped ion coupled to a charge qubit (e.g., Cooper pair box). To enhance the coupling and to achieve compatibility between the different experimental setups we introduce a superconducting cavity as the connecting element.     

Detecting a single atom in a cavity using the χ(2) nonlinear medium

We propose a protocol for detecting a single atom in a cavity with the help of the χ⁽²⁾ nonlinear medium. When the χ⁽²⁾ nonlinear medium is driven by an external laser field, the cavity mode will be squeezed, and thus one can obtain an exponentially enhanced light-matter coupling. Such a strong coupling between the atom and the cavity field can significantly change the output photon flux, the quantum fluctuations, the quantum statistical property, and the photon number distributions of the cavity field. This provides practical strategies to determine the presence or absence of an atom in a cavity. The proposed protocol exhibits some advantages, such as controllable squeezing strength and exponential increase of atom-cavity coupling strength, which make the experimental phenomenon more obvious. We hope that this protocol can supplement the existing intracavity single-atom detection protocols and provide a promise for quantum sensing in different quantum systems.     

Rapid enrichment of leucocytes and genomic DNA from blood based on bifunctional core–shell magnetic nanoparticles

A series of protocols are proposed to extract genomic DNA from whole blood at different scales using carboxyl-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles as solid-phase absorbents. The enrichment of leucocytes and the adsorption of genomic DNA can be achieved with the same carboxyl-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles. The DNA bound to the bead surfaces can be used directly as PCR templates. By coupling cell separation and DNA purification, the whole operation can be accomplished in a few minutes. Our simplified protocols proved to be rapid, low cost, and biologically and chemically non-hazardous, and are therefore promising for microfabrication of a DNA-preparation chip and routine laboratory use.     

Generation of entangled coherent states through cavity-assisted interaction

We propose schemes to generate an n-coherent-pulse GHZ state and a cluster state via the interaction between n coherent pulses and a two-sided cavity.In these schemes,a strong coupling condition is not needed,which makes the protocols possibly able to be implemented based on the current experiment technology.     

Enhanced coherence of a quantum doublet coupled to Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid leads

We use boundary field theory to describe the phases accessible to a tetrahedral qubit coupled to Josephson junction chains acting as Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid leads. We prove that, in a pertinent range of the fabrication and control parameters, an attractive finite coupling fixed point emerges due to the geometry of the composite Josephson junction network. We show that this new stable phase is characterized by the emergence of a quantum doublet which is robust not only against the noise in the external control parameters (magnetic flux, gate voltage) but also against the decoherence induced by the coupling of the tetrahedral qubit with the superconducting leads. We provide protocols allowing to read and to manipulate the state of the emerging quantum doublet and argue that a tetrahedral Josephson junction network operating near the new finite coupling fixed point may be fabricated with today?s technologies.     

A single-crystal source of path/polarization entanglement at non-degenerate wavelengths

We demonstrate a bright, narrowband, compact, quasi-phase-matched single-crystal source generating path-polarization-entangled photon pairs at 810 nm and 1550 nm at a maximum rate of 3 × 10⁶ s⁻¹ THz⁻¹ mW⁻¹ after coupling to single-mode fiber, and with two-photon interference visibility above 90%. While the source can already be used to implement quantum communication protocols such as quantum key distribution, this work is also instrumental for narrowband applications such as entanglement transfer from photonic to atomic qubits, or entanglement of photons from independent sources.     

Consensus for second-order multi-agent systems with position sampled data

In this paper, the consensus problem with position sampled data for second-order multi-agent systems is investigated.The interaction topology among the agents is depicted by a directed graph. The full-order and reduced-order observers with position sampled data are proposed, by which two kinds of sampled data-based consensus protocols are constructed. With the provided sampled protocols, the consensus convergence analysis of a continuous-time multi-agent system is equivalently transformed into that of a discrete-time system. Then, by using matrix theory and a sampled control analysis method, some sufficient and necessary consensus conditions based on the coupling parameters, spectrum of the Laplacian matrix and sampling period are obtained. While the sampling period tends to zero, our established necessary and sufficient conditions are degenerated to the continuous-time protocol case, which are consistent with the existing result for the continuous-time case. Finally, the effectiveness of our established results is illustrated by a simple simulation example.     

Enhancement of charging performance of quantum battery via quantum coherence of bath

An open quantum battery (QB) model of a single qubit system charging in a coherent auxiliary bath (CAB) consisting of a series of independent coherent ancillae is considered. According to the collision charging protocol we derive a quantum master equation and obtain the analytical solution of QB in a steady state. We find that the full charging capacity (or the maximal extractable work (MEW)) of QB, in the weak QB-ancilla coupling limit, is positively correlated with the coherence magnitude of ancilla. Combining with the numerical simulations we compare with the charging properties of QB at finite coupling strength, such as the MEW, average charging power and the charging efficiency, when considering the bath to be a thermal auxiliary bath (TAB) and a CAB, respectively. We find that when the QB with CAB, in the weak coupling regime, is in fully charging, both its capacity and charging efficiency can go beyond its classical counterpart, and they increase with the increase of coherence magnitude of ancilla. In addition, the MEW of QB in the regime of relative strong coupling and strong coherent magnitude shows the oscillatory behavior with the charging time increasing, and the first peak value can even be larger than the full charging MEW of QB. This also leads to a much larger average charging power than that of QB with TAB in a short-time charging process. These features suggest that with the help of quantum coherence of CAB it becomes feasible to switch the charging schemes between the long-time slow charging protocol with large capacity and high efficiency and the short-time rapid charging protocol with highly charging power only by adjusting the coupling strength of QB-ancilla. This work clearly demonstrates that the quantum coherence of bath can not only serve as the role of "fuel" of QB to be utilized to improve the QB's charging performance but also provide an alternative way to integrate the different charging protocols into a single QB.     

Ultrasound-assisted Peptide Nucleic Acids synthesis (US-PNAS)

Herein, we developed an innovative and easily accessible solid-phase synthetic protocol for Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) oligomers by systematically investigating the ultrasonication effects in all steps of the PNA synthesis (US-PNAS). When compared with standard protocols, the application of the so-obtained US-PNAS approach succeeded in improving the crude product purities and the isolated yields of different PNA, including small or medium-sized oligomers (5-mer and 9-mer), complex purine-rich sequences (like a 5-mer Guanine homoligomer and the telomeric sequence TEL-13) and longer oligomers (such as the 18-mer anti-IVS2-654 PNA and the 23-mer anti-mRNA 155 PNA). Noteworthy, our ultrasound-assisted strategy is compatible with the commercially available PNA monomers and well-established coupling reagents and only requires the use of an ultrasonic bath, which is a simple equipment generally available in most synthetic laboratories.     

Prospecting Quantum Correlations and Examining Teleportation Fidelity in a Pair of Coupled Double Quantum Dots System

The topic of improving the ability of quantum systems to retain non-local features and enhance the efficiency of quantum protocols continues. This study delves into the thermal investigation of quantum correlations and teleportation fidelity of a two-qubit teleported state using excess electrons in a coupled double quantum dots system as a quantum channel. The study employs three reliable quantum quantifiers to prospect the resourcefulness and non-classicality of the system. The findings suggest that preserving quantum correlations and optimizing teleportation fidelity require minimizing tunneling coupling and maximizing Coulomb interaction. The study has significant implications for quantum physics and its practical applications in quantum information processing.     

Improvement of resolution in solid state NMR spectra with J-decoupling: an analysis of lineshape contributions in uniformly 13C-enriched amino acids and proteins

In magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectra of highly and uniformly 13C,15N-enriched amino acids and proteins, homo-nuclear coupling interactions contribute significantly to the 13C linewidths, particularly for moderate applied magnetic field strengths and sample spinning frequencies. In this work, we attempted to dissect, analyze, and control the contributions of J-coupling and residual homo-nuclear dipolar coupling interactions to the linewidths of uniformly 13C,15N-enriched crystalline alanine; these studies were carried out at 9.4 T using a range of spinning frequencies from 5 to 15 kHz. The anisotropic second-order dipolar shifts and the J-splittings are comparable in their contribution to the linewidths, but behave very differently in terms of experimental protocols for line narrowing. In contrast to the J-coupling interactions, the second-order dipolar broadening cannot be refocused using selective pulses on the passively coupled spin. We carried out experiments to remove or refocus the 13C J-coupling interactions (omega1 J-decoupling) using a selective DANTE pulse in the center of the indirect evolution period. Inversion profiles and bandwidths of selective DANTE pulses acting on transverse magnetization, in the regime of moderate spinning frequencies, were characterized computationally and experimentally. A dramatic improvement in the resolution of the 2D spectrum was achieved when this decoupling protocol was employed.     

Improvement of resolution in solid state NMR spectra with J-decoupling: an analysis of lineshape contributions in uniformly C-enriched amino acids and proteins

In magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectra of highly and uniformly 13C,15N-enriched amino acids and proteins, homo-nuclear coupling interactions contribute significantly to the 13C linewidths, particularly for moderate applied magnetic field strengths and sample spinning frequencies. In this work, we attempted to dissect, analyze, and control the contributions of J-coupling and residual homo-nuclear dipolar coupling interactions to the linewidths of uniformly 13C,15N-enriched crystalline alanine; these studies were carried out at 9.4 T using a range of spinning frequencies from 5 to 15 kHz. The anisotropic second-order dipolar shifts and the J-splittings are comparable in their contribution to the linewidths, but behave very differently in terms of experimental protocols for line narrowing. In contrast to the J-coupling interactions, the second-order dipolar broadening cannot be refocused using selective pulses on the passively coupled spin. We carried out experiments to remove or refocus the 13C J-coupling interactions (omega1 J-decoupling) using a selective DANTE pulse in the center of the indirect evolution period. Inversion profiles and bandwidths of selective DANTE pulses acting on transverse magnetization, in the regime of moderate spinning frequencies, were characterized computationally and experimentally. A dramatic improvement in the resolution of the 2D spectrum was achieved when this decoupling protocol was employed.     

Enhancing consensus in weighted networks with coupling time-delay

We study the consensus problem in a weighted and directed network composed of self-propelled agents. The weight which quantifies the relationship between the agents is adjusted according to their state incoherence to suppress the heterogeneity in state. The proposed consensus protocol enhances the convergence efficiency of consensus greatly and has better performance than that of two other protocols. The convergence efficiency can be further improved by adjusting the parameter of this protocol. Furthermore, the robustness of the system against coupling time-delay is significantly increased. Unlike most consensus acceleration methods, no topological information is needed in our model. Networks with different stuctures are investigated to demonstrate the generality of the method.     

Hybrid quantum processors: molecular ensembles as quantum memory for solid state circuits

We investigate a hybrid quantum circuit where ensembles of cold polar molecules serve as long-lived quantum memories and optical interfaces for solid state quantum processors. The quantum memory realized by collective spin states (ensemble qubit) is coupled to a high-Q stripline cavity via microwave Raman processes. We show that, for convenient trap-surface distances of a few microm, strong coupling between the cavity and ensemble qubit can be achieved. We discuss basic quantum information protocols, including a swap from the cavity photon bus to the molecular quantum memory, and a deterministic two qubit gate. Finally, we investigate coherence properties of molecular ensemble quantum bits.     

Sequential double Auger decay in atoms: A quantum informatic analysis

We theoretically show that the process of inner-shell photoionization in an atom A, followed by the spontaneous sequential emission of two Auger electrons, produces various kinds of spin-entangled states of three flying electronic qubits. All properties of these states are completely pre-determined by the total spin quantum numbers of the electronic states of four atomic species (i.e., A, A^+∗, A2^+∗, A3+) participating in this process in the Russell-Saunders coupling. These tripartite states are readily characterized experimentally by measuring only energies of the three emitted electrons, without requiring any entanglement witness or other such protocols.     

Quantum phase transition of cold atoms trapped in optical lattices

We review our recent theoretical advances in phase transition of cold atoms in optical lattices, such as triangular lattice, honeycomb lattice, and Kagomé lattice. By employing the new developed numerical methods called dynamical cluster approximation and cellular dynamical mean-field theory, the properties in different phases of cold atoms in optical lattices are studied, such as density of states, Fermi surface and double occupancy. On triangular lattice, a reentrant behavior of phase translation line between Fermi liquid state and pseudogap state is found due to the Kondo effect. We find the system undergoes a second order Mott transition from a metallic state into a Mott insulator state on honeycomb lattice and triangular Kagomé lattice. The stability of quantum spin Hall phase towards interaction on honeycomb lattice with spin-orbital coupling is systematically discussed. And we investigate the transition from quantum spin Hall insulator to normal insulator in Kagomé lattice which includes a nearest-neighbor intrinsic spin-orbit coupling and a trimerized Hamiltonian. In addition, we propose the experimental protocols to observe these phase transition of cold atoms in optical lattices.     

The role of a dipole-coupled but not dipole-probed state in probe absorption with multilevel coupling

We study the impact on weak-probe spectra from the presence of a state for which the electric-dipole transition is allowed for coupling but forbidden for probing. Such is the ⁸⁵Rb ²P_3/2(F′ = 1) state, providing D2-line hfs transitions in Λ-configurations are considered with the 5²S_1/2(F = 2) and 5²S_1/2(F = 3) states in the role of the ground-states for coupling and probing, respectively. The multilevel EIT/Autler-Townes spectra were simulated with coupling field frequency fixed at various values in the range encompassing the atomic resonances. Collisionless (cold) atoms are assumed, and all decoherence rates, other than those related to the natural decay rates, are neglected. The general conclusion is that a state which is not directly involved in probe absorption can still considerably shape absorption spectra (due to multiphoton transitions), and its influence (negative for some applications) has to be carefully considered, even for the coupling-field-induced Rabi frequency values not exceeding the natural linewidth. A particular attention is paid to how the F′ = 1 state effects the narrow resonances, such as those of EIT origin or a “distant wing” of the Autler-Townes splitting, because resonances of these types are of interest, e.g., for developing quantum memory protocols [Sheremet et al., PRA82 (2010) 033838].     

Blind quantum computation with identity authentication

Blind quantum computation (BQC) allows a client with relatively few quantum resources or poor quantum technologies to delegate his computational problem to a quantum server such that the client's input, output, and algorithm are kept private. However, all existing BQC protocols focus on correctness verification of quantum computation but neglect authentication of participants' identity which probably leads to man-in-the-middle attacks or denial-of-service attacks. In this work, we use quantum identification to overcome such two kinds of attack for BQC, which will be called QI-BQC. We propose two QI-BQC protocols based on a typical single-server BQC protocol and a double-server BQC protocol. The two protocols can ensure both data integrity and mutual identification between participants with the help of a third trusted party (TTP). In addition, an unjammable public channel between a client and a server which is indispensable in previous BQC protocols is unnecessary, although it is required between TTP and each participant at some instant. Furthermore, the method to achieve identity verification in the presented protocols is general and it can be applied to other similar BQC protocols.