I am going to post here all newly submitted articles on the arXiv related to superconducting circuits. If your article has been accidentally forgotten, feel free to contact me
26
Nov
2014
Robust quantum state transfer using tunable couplers
We analyze the transfer of a quantum state between two resonators connected by a superconducting transmission line. Nearly perfect state-transfer efficiency can be achieved by using
adjustable couplers and destructive interference to cancel the back-reflection into the transmission line at the receiving coupler. We show that the transfer protocol is robust to parameter variations affecting the transmission amplitudes of the couplers. We also show that the effects of Gaussian filtering, pulse-shape noise, and multiple reflections on the transfer efficiency are insignificant. However, the transfer protocol is very sensitive to frequency mismatch between the two resonators. Moreover, the tunable coupler we considered produces time-varying frequency detuning caused by the changing coupling. This detuning requires an active frequency compensation with an accuracy better than 90% to yield the transfer efficiency above 99%.
24
Nov
2014
Stationary discrete solitons in circuit QED
We demonstrate that stationary localized solutions (discrete solitons) exist in a one dimensional Bose-Hubbard lattices with gain and loss in the semiclassical regime. Stationary solutions,
by defi- nition, are robust and do not demand for state preparation. Losses, unavoidable in experiments, are not a drawback, but a necessary ingredient for these modes to exist. The semiclassical calculations are complemented with their classical limit and dynamics based on a Gutzwiller Ansatz. We argue that circuit QED architectures are ideal platforms for realizing the physics developed here. Finally, within the input-output formalism, we explain how to experimentally access the different phases, including the solitons, of the chain.
20
Nov
2014
Fermion parity measurement and control in Majorana circuit quantum electrodynamics
Combining superconducting qubits with mesoscopic devices that carry topological states of matter may lead to compact and improved qubit devices with properties useful for fault-tolerant
quantum computation. Recently, a charge qubit device based on a topological superconductor circuit has been introduced where signatures of Majorana fermions could be detected spectroscopically in the transmon regime. This device stores quantum information in coherent superpositions of fermion parity states originating from the Majorana fermions, generating a highly isolated qubit whose coherence time could be greatly enhanced. We extended the conventional semi-classical method and obtained analytical derivations for strong transmon-photon coupling. The analytical challenge is rendered tractable via a formalism based on the WKB method that allows to extract the energy eigenstates of the qubit and its dipole matrix elements. Using this formalism, we study the effect of the Majorana fermions on the quantum electrodynamics of the device embedded within an optical cavity and develop protocols to initialise, control and measure the parity states. We show that, remarkably, the parity eigenvalue can be detected via dispersive shifts of the optical cavity in the strong coupling regime and its state can be coherently manipulated via a second order sideband transition.
Detecting bit-flip errors in a logical qubit using stabilizer measurements
Quantum data is susceptible to decoherence induced by the environment and to errors in the hardware processing it. A future fault-tolerant quantum computer will use quantum error correction
(QEC) to actively protect against both. In the smallest QEC codes, the information in one logical qubit is encoded in a two-dimensional subspace of a larger Hilbert space of multiple physical qubits. For each code, a set of non-demolition multi-qubit measurements, termed stabilizers, can discretize and signal physical qubit errors without collapsing the encoded information. Experimental demonstrations of QEC to date, using nuclear magnetic resonance, trapped ions, photons, superconducting qubits, and NV centers in diamond, have circumvented stabilizers at the cost of decoding at the end of a QEC cycle. This decoding leaves the quantum information vulnerable to physical qubit errors until re-encoding, violating a basic requirement for fault tolerance. Using a five-qubit superconducting processor, we realize the two parity measurements comprising the stabilizers of the three-qubit repetition code protecting one logical qubit from physical bit-flip errors. We construct these stabilizers as parallelized indirect measurements using ancillary qubits, and evidence their non-demolition character by generating three-qubit entanglement from superposition states. We demonstrate stabilizer-based quantum error detection (QED) by subjecting a logical qubit to coherent and incoherent bit-flip errors on its constituent physical qubits. While increased physical qubit coherence times and shorter QED blocks are required to actively safeguard quantum information, this demonstration is a critical step toward larger codes based on multiple parity measurements.
Optimized pulse shapes for a resonator-induced phase gate
The resonator-induced phase gate is a multi-qubit controlled-phase gate for fixed-frequency superconducting qubits. Through off-resonant driving of a bus resonator, statically coupled
qubits acquire a state-dependent phase. However, photon loss leads to dephasing during the gate, and any residual entanglement between the resonator and qubits after the gate leads to decoherence. Here we consider how to shape the drive pulse to minimize these unwanted effects. First, we review how the gate’s entangling and dephasing rates depend on the system parameters and validate closed-form solutions against direct numerical solution of a master equation. Next, we propose spline pulse shapes that reduce residual qubit-bus entanglement, are robust to imprecise knowledge of the resonator shift, and can be shortened by using higher-degree polynomials. Finally, we present a procedure that optimizes over the subspace of pulses that leave the resonator unpopulated. This finds shaped drive pulses that further reduce the gate duration. Assuming realistic parameters, we exhibit shaped pulses that have the potential to realize ~212 ns spline pulse gates and ~120 ns optimized gates with ~6e-4 average gate infidelity. These examples do not represent fundamental limits of the gate and in principle even shorter gates may be achievable.
18
Nov
2014
Machine learning for discriminating quantum measurement trajectories and improving readout
High-fidelity measurements are important for the physical implementation of quantum information protocols. Current methods for classifying measurement trajectories in superconducting
qubit systems produce fidelities that are systematically lower than those predicted by experimental parameters. Here, we place current classification methods within the framework of machine learning algorithms and improve on them by investigating more sophisticated ML approaches. We find that non-linear algorithms and clustering methods produce significantly higher assignment fidelities that help close the gap to the fidelity achievable under ideal noise conditions. Clustering methods group trajectories into natural subsets within the data, which allows for the diagnosis of specific systematic errors. We find large clusters in the data associated with relaxation processes and show these are the main source of discrepancy between our experimental and achievable fidelities. These error diagnosis techniques help provide a concrete path forward to improve qubit measurements.
14
Nov
2014
Computational Role of Collective Tunneling in a Quantum Annealer
Quantum tunneling is a phenomenon in which a quantum state traverses energy barriers above the energy of the state itself. Tunneling has been hypothesized as an advantageous physical
resource for optimization. Here we present the first experimental evidence of a computational role of multiqubit quantum tunneling in the evolution of a programmable quantum annealer. We develop a theoretical model based on a NIBA Quantum Master Equation to describe the multiqubit dissipative tunneling effects under the complex noise characteristics of such quantum devices. We start by considering a computational primitive, the simplest non-convex optimization problem consisting of just one global and one local minimum. The quantum evolutions enable tunneling to the global minimum while the corresponding classical paths are trapped in a false minimum. In our study the non-convex potentials are realized by frustrated networks of qubit clusters with strong intra-cluster coupling. We show that the collective effect of the quantum environment is suppressed in the „critical“ phase during the evolution where quantum tunneling „decides“ the right path to solution. In a later stage dissipation facilitates the multiqubit tunneling leading to the solution state. The predictions of the model accurately describe the experimental data from the D-Wave Two quantum annealer at NASA Ames. In our computational primitive the temperature dependence of the probability of success in the quantum model is opposite to that of the classical paths with thermal hopping. Specifically, we provide an analysis of an optimization problem with sixteen qubits, demonstrating eight qubit tunneling that increases success probabilities. Furthermore, we report results for larger problems with up to 200 qubits that contain the primitive as subproblems.
12
Nov
2014
Generating a macroscopic W-type entangled coherent state of quantum memories in circuit QED
We propose a way to generate a macroscopic W-type entangled coherent state of quantum memories in circuit QED. The memories considered here are nitrogen-vacancy center ensembles (NVEs)
each located in a different cavity. This proposal does not require initially preparing each NVE in a coherent state instead of a ground state, which significantly reduces the experimental difficulty. For most of the operation time, each cavity remains in a vacuum state, thus decoherence caused by the cavity decay is greatly suppressed. Moreover, only one external-cavity coupler qubit is needed, and the operation time does not increase with the number of NVEs and cavities. The prepared W state can be stored via NVEs for a long time, mapped onto cavities, and then transferred into a quantum network via optical fibers each linked to a cavity, for potential applications in quantum communication. The method is quite general and can be applied to generate the proposed W state with atomic ensembles or other spin ensembles distributed in different cavities.
10
Nov
2014
Fermionic Models with Superconducting Circuits
We propose a method for the efficient quantum simulation of fermionic systems with superconducting circuits. It consists in the suitable use of Jordan-Wigner mapping, Trotter decomposition,
and multiqubit gates, be with the use of a quantum bus or direct capacitive couplings. We apply our method to the paradigmatic cases of 1D and 2D Fermi-Hubbard models, involving couplings with nearest and next-nearest neighbours. Furthermore, we propose an optimal architecture for this model and discuss the benchmarking of the simulations in realistic circuit quantum electrodynamics setups.
04
Nov
2014
Continuous Generation and Stabilization of Mesoscopic Field Superposition States in a Quantum Circuit
While dissipation is widely considered as being harmful for quantum coherence, it can, when properly engineered, lead to the stabilization of non-trivial pure quantum states. We propose
a scheme for continuous generation and stabilization of Schr\“{o}dinger cat states in a cavity using dissipation engineering. We first generate non-classical photon states with definite parity by means of a two-photon drive and dissipation, and then stabilize these transient states against single-photon decay. The single-photon stabilization is autonomous, and is implemented through a second engineered bath, which exploits the photon number dependent frequency-splitting due to Kerr interactions in the strongly dispersive regime of circuit QED. Starting with the Hamiltonian of the baths plus cavity, we derive an effective model of only the cavity photon states along with analytic expressions for relevant physical quantities, such as the stabilization rate. The deterministic generation of such cat states is one of the key ingredients in performing universal quantum computation.