By analyzing the dissipative dynamics of a tunable gap flux qubit, we extract both sides of its two-sided environmental flux noise spectral density over a range of frequencies around2kBT/h≈1GHz, allowing for the observation of a classical-quantum crossover. Below the crossover point, the symmetric noise component follows a 1/f power law that matches the magnitude of the 1/f noise near 1Hz. The antisymmetric component displays a 1/T dependence below 100mK, providing dynamical evidence for a paramagnetic environment. Extrapolating the two-sided spectrum predicts the linewidth and reorganization energy of incoherent resonant tunneling between flux qubit wells.
Surface distributions of two level system (TLS) defects and magnetic vortices are limiting dissipation sources in superconducting quantum circuits. Arrays of flux-trapping holes arecommonly used to eliminate loss due to magnetic vortices, but may increase dielectric TLS loss. We find that dielectric TLS loss increases by approximately 25% for resonators with a hole array beginning 2 μm from the resonator edge, while the dielectric loss added by holes further away was below measurement sensitivity. Other forms of loss were not affected by the holes. Additionally, we bound the loss tangent due to residual magnetic effects to <9×10−11/mG for resonators patterned with flux-traps and operated in magnetic fields up to 50mG.[/expand]
Many superconducting qubit systems use the dispersive interaction between the qubit and a coupled harmonic resonator to perform quantum state measurement. Previous works have foundthat such measurements can induce state transitions in the qubit if the number of photons in the resonator is too high. We investigate these transitions and find that they can push the qubit out of the two-level subspace. Furthermore, these transitions show resonant behavior as a function of photon number. We develop a theory for these observations based on level crossings within the Jaynes-Cummings ladder, with transitions mediated by terms in the Hamiltonian which are typically ignored by the rotating wave approximation. We confirm the theory by measuring the photon occupation of the resonator when transitions occur while varying the detuning between the qubit and resonator.
The intriguing many-body phases of quantum matter arise from the interplay of particle interactions, spatial symmetries, and external fields. Generating these phases in an engineeredsystem could provide deeper insight into their nature and the potential for harnessing their unique properties. However, concurrently bringing together the main ingredients for realizing many-body phenomena in a single experimental platform is a major challenge. Using superconducting qubits, we simultaneously realize synthetic magnetic fields and strong particle interactions, which are among the essential elements for studying quantum magnetism and fractional quantum Hall (FQH) phenomena. The artificial magnetic fields are synthesized by sinusoidally modulating the qubit couplings. In a closed loop formed by the three qubits, we observe the directional circulation of photons, a signature of broken time-reversal symmetry. We demonstrate strong interactions via the creation of photon-vacancies, or „holes“, which circulate in the opposite direction. The combination of these key elements results in chiral groundstate currents, the first direct measurement of persistent currents in low-lying eigenstates of strongly interacting bosons. The observation of chiral currents at such a small scale is interesting and suggests that the rich many-body physics could survive to smaller scales. We also motivate the feasibility of creating FQH states with near future superconducting technologies. Our work introduces an experimental platform for engineering quantum phases of strongly interacting photons and highlight a path toward realization of bosonic FQH states.
We present a method to optimize qubit control parameters during error detection which is compatible with large-scale qubit arrays. We demonstrate our method to optimize single or two-qubitgates in parallel on a nine-qubit system. Additionally, we show how parameter drift can be compensated for during computation by inserting a frequency drift and using our method to remove it. We remove both drift on a single qubit and independent drifts on all qubits simultaneously. We believe this method will be useful in keeping error rates low on all physical qubits throughout the course of a computation. Our method is O(1) scalable to systems of arbitrary size, providing a path towards controlling the large numbers of qubits needed for a fault-tolerant quantum computer
We report the first electronic structure calculation performed on a quantum computer without exponentially costly precompilation. We use a programmable array of superconducting qubitsto compute the energy surface of molecular hydrogen using two distinct quantum algorithms. First, we experimentally execute the unitary coupled cluster method using the variational quantum eigensolver. Our efficient implementation predicts the correct dissociation energy to within chemical accuracy of the numerically exact result. Next, we experimentally demonstrate the canonical quantum algorithm for chemistry, which consists of Trotterization and quantum phase estimation. We compare the experimental performance of these approaches to show clear evidence that the variational quantum eigensolver is robust to certain errors, inspiring hope that quantum simulation of classically intractable molecules may be viable in the near future.
A major challenge in quantum computing is to solve general problems with limited physical hardware. Here, we implement digitized adiabatic quantum computing, combining the generalityof the adiabatic algorithm with the universality of the digital approach, using a superconducting circuit with nine qubits. We probe the adiabatic evolutions, and quantify the success of the algorithm for random spin problems. We find that the system can approximate the solutions to both frustrated Ising problems and problems with more complex interactions, with a performance that is comparable. The presented approach is compatible with small-scale systems as well as future error-corrected quantum computers.
Since the inception of quantum mechanics, its validity as a complete description of reality has been challenged due to predictions that defy classical intuition. For many years it wasunclear whether predictions like entanglement and projective measurement represented real phenomena or artifacts of an incomplete model. Bell inequalities (BI) provided the first quantitative test to distinguish between quantum entanglement and a yet undiscovered classical hidden variable theory. The Leggett-Garg inequality (LGI) provides a similar test for projective measurement, and more recently has been adapted to include variable strength measurements to study the process of measurement itself. Here we probe the intersection of both entanglement and measurement through the lens of the hybrid Bell-Leggett-Garg inequality (BLGI). By correlating data from ancilla-based weak measurements and direct projective measurements, we for the first time quantify the effect of measurement strength on entanglement collapse. Violation of the BLGI, which we achieve only at the weakest measurement strengths, offers compelling evidence of the completeness of quantum mechanics while avoiding several loopholes common to previous experimental tests. This uniquely quantum result significantly constrains the nature of any possible classical theory of reality. Additionally, we demonstrate that with sufficient scale and fidelity, a universal quantum processor can be used to study richer fundamental physics.
Josephson parametric amplifiers have become a critical tool in superconducting device physics due to their high gain and quantum-limited noise. Traveling wave parametric amplifiers(TWPAs) promise similar noise performance while allowing for significant increases in both bandwidth and dynamic range. We present a TWPA device based on an LC-ladder transmission line of Josephson junctions and parallel plate capacitors using low-loss amorphous silicon dielectric. Crucially, we have inserted λ/4 resonators at regular intervals along the transmission line in order to maintain the phase matching condition between pump, signal, and idler and increase gain. We achieve an average gain of 12\,dB across a 4\,GHz span, along with an average saturation power of -92\,dBm with noise approaching the quantum limit.
Simulating quantum physics with a device which itself is quantum mechanical, a notion Richard Feynman originated, would be an unparallelled computational resource. However, the universalquantum simulation of fermionic systems is daunting due to their particle statistics, and Feynman left as an open question whether it could be done, because of the need for non-local control. Here, we implement fermionic interactions with digital techniques in a superconducting circuit. Focusing on the Hubbard model, we perform time evolution with constant interactions as well as a dynamic phase transition with up to four fermionic modes encoded in four qubits. The implemented digital approach is universal and allows for the efficient simulation of fermions in arbitrary spatial dimensions. We use in excess of 300 single-qubit and two-qubit gates, and reach global fidelities which are limited by gate errors. This demonstration highlights the feasibility of the digital approach and opens a viable route towards analog-digital quantum simulation of interacting fermions and bosons in large-scale solid state systems.