As superconductors are cooled below their critical temperature, stray magnetic flux can become trapped in regions that remain normal. The presence of trapped flux facilitates dissipationof ac current in a superconductor, leading to losses in superconducting elements of microwave devices. In type II superconductors, dissipation is well-understood in terms of the dynamics of vortices hosting a single flux quantum. In contrast, the ac response of type I superconductors with trapped flux has not received much attention. Building on Andreev’s early work [Sov. Phys. JETP 24, 1019 (1967)], here we show theoretically that the dominant dissipation mechanism is the absorption of the ac field at the exposed surfaces of the normal regions, while the deformation of the superconducting/normal interfaces is unimportant. We use the developed theory to estimate the degradation of the quality factors in field-cooled cavities, and we satisfactorily compare these theoretical estimates to the measured field dependence of the quality factors of two aluminum cavities.
A quantum computer has the potential to effciently solve problems that are intractable for classical computers. Constructing a large-scale quantum processor, however, is challengingdue to errors and noise inherent in real-world quantum systems. One approach to this challenge is to utilize modularity–a pervasive strategy found throughout nature and engineering–to build complex systems robustly. Such an approach manages complexity and uncertainty by assembling small, specialized components into a larger architecture. These considerations motivate the development of a quantum modular architecture, where separate quantum systems are combined via communication channels into a quantum network. In this architecture, an essential tool for universal quantum computation is the teleportation of an entangling quantum gate, a technique originally proposed in 1999 which, until now, has not been realized deterministically. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a teleported controlled-NOT (CNOT) operation made deterministic by utilizing real-time adaptive control. Additionally, we take a crucial step towards implementing robust, error-correctable modules by enacting the gate between logical qubits, encoding quantum information redundantly in the states of superconducting cavities. Such teleported operations have significant implications for fault-tolerant quantum computation, and when realized within a network can have broad applications in quantum communication, metrology, and simulations. Our results illustrate a compelling approach for implementing multi-qubit operations on logical qubits within an error-protected quantum modular architecture.
Large-scale quantum information processing networks will most probably require the entanglement of distant systems that do not interact directly. This can be done by performing entanglinggates between standing information carriers, used as memories or local computational resources, and flying ones, acting as quantum buses. We report the deterministic entanglement of two remote transmon qubits by Raman stimulated emission and absorption of a traveling photon wavepacket. We achieve a Bell state fidelity of 73 %, well explained by losses in the transmission line and decoherence of each qubit.