Implementation of discrete-time quantum walk (DTQW) with superconducting qubits is difficult since on-chip superconducting qubits cannot hop between lattice sites. We propose an efficientprotocol for the implementation of DTQW in circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED), in which only N+1 qutrits and N assistant cavities are needed for an N-step DTQW. The operation of each DTQW step is very quick because only resonant processes are adopted. The numerical simulations show that high-similarity DTQW with the number of step up to 20 is feasible with present-day circuit QED technique. This protocol can help to study properties and applications of large-step DTQW in experiments, which is important for the development of quantum computation and quantum simulation in circuit QED.
We present a way to create entangled states of two superconducting transmon qutrits based on circuit QED. Here, a qutrit refers to a three-level quantum system. Since only resonantinteraction is employed, the entanglement creation can be completed within a short time. The degree of entanglement for the prepared entangled state can be controlled by varying the weight factors of the initial state of one qutrit, which allows the prepared entangled state to change from a partially entangled state to a maximally entangled state. Because a single cavity is used, only resonant interaction is employed, and none of identical qutrit-cavity coupling constant, measurement, and auxiliary qutrit is needed, this proposal is easy to implement in experiments. The proposal is quite general and can be applied to prepare a two-qutrit partially or maximally entangled state with two natural or artificial atoms of a ladder-type level structure, coupled to an optical or microwave cavity.
Cat-state qubits (qubits encoded with cat states) have recently drawn intensive attention due to their long lifetimes. We here propose a method to implement a universal controlled-phasegate of two cat-state qubits, via two microwave resonators coupled to a superconducting transmon qutrit. During the gate operation, the qutrit remains in the ground state; thus decoherence from the qutrit is greatly suppressed. This proposal requires only two basic operations and neither classical pulse nor measurement is needed; therefore the gate realization is simple. Numerical simulations show that high-fidelity implementation of this gate is feasible with current circuit QED technology. The proposal is quite general and can be applied to implement the proposed gate with two microwave resonators or two optical cavities coupled to a single three-level natural or artificial atom.
The realization of cross-Kerr nonlinearity is an important task for many applications in quantum information processing. In this work, we propose a method for realizing cross-Kerr nonlinearityinteraction between two superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators coupled by a three-level superconducting flux qutrit (coupler). By employing the qutrit-resonator dispersive interaction, we derive an effective Hamiltonian involving two-photon number operators and a coupler operator. This Hamiltonian can be used to describe a cross-Kerr nonlinearity interaction between two resonators when the coupler is in the ground state. Because the coupler is unexcited during the entire process, the effect of coupler decoherence can be greatly minimized. More importantly, compared with the previous proposals, our proposal does not require classical pulses. Furthermore, due to use of only a three-level qutrit, the experimental setup is much simplified when compared with previous proposals requiring a four-level artificial atomic systems. Based on our Hamiltonian, we implement a two-resonator qubits controlled-phase gate and generate a two-resonator entangled coherent state. Numerical simulation shows that the high-fidelity implementation of the phase gate and creation of the entangled coherent state are feasible with current circuit QED technology.
A qudit (d-level quantum systems) has a large Hilbert space and thus can be used to achieve many quantum information and communication tasks. Here, we propose a method to transfer arbitraryd-dimensional quantum states (known or unknown) between two superconducting qudits coupled to a single cavity. The state transfer can be performed fast because of employing resonant interactions only. In addition, quantum states can be deterministically transferred without measurement. Numerical simulations show that high-fidelity transfer of quantum states between two superconducting transmon qudits (d≤5) is feasible with current circuit QED technology. This proposal is quite general and can be applied to accomplish the same task with various superconducting qudits, quantum dots, or natural atoms coupled to a cavity or resonator.
Compared with a qubit, a qutrit (i.e., three-level quantum system) has a larger Hilbert space and thus can be used to encode more information in quantum information processing and communication.Here, we propose a scheme to transfer an arbitrary quantum state between two flux qutrits coupled to two resonators. This scheme is simple because it only requires two basic operations. The state-transfer operation can be performed fast because of using resonant interactions only. Numerical simulations show that high-fidelity transfer of quantum states between the two qutrits is feasible with current circuit-QED technology. This scheme is quite general and can be applied to accomplish the same task for other solid-state qutrits coupled to resonators.
Important tasks in cavity quantum electrodynamics include the generation and control of quantum states of spatially-separated particles distributed in different cavities. An interestingquestion in this context is how to prepare entanglement among particles located in different cavities, which are important for large-scale quantum information processing. We here consider a multi-cavity system where cavities are coupled to a superconducting (SC) qubit and each cavity hosts many SC qubits. We show that all intra-cavity SC qubits plus the coupler SC qubit can be prepared in an entangled Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state, by using a single operation and without the need of measurements. The GHZ state is created without exciting the cavity modes; thus greatly suppressing the decoherence caused by the cavity-photon decay and the effect of unwanted inter-cavity crosstalk on the operation. We also introduce two simple methods for entangling the intra-cavity SC qubits in a GHZ state. As an example, our numerical simulations show that it is feasible, with current circuit-QED technology, to prepare high-fidelity GHZ states, for up to nine SC qubits by using SC qubits distributed in two cavities. This proposal can in principle be used to implement a GHZ state for {\it an arbitrary number} of SC qubits distributed in multiple cavities. The proposal is quite general and can be applied to a wide range of physical systems, with the intra-cavity qubits being either atoms, NV centers, quantum dots, or various SC qubits.
We propose an efficient scheme for generating photonic NOON states of two resonators coupled to a four-level superconducting flux device (coupler). This proposal operates essentiallyby employing a technique of a coupler resonantly interacting with two resonators simultaneously. As a consequence, the NOON-state preparation requires only N+1 operational steps and thus is much faster when compared with a recent proposal [Q. P. Su et al., Scientific Reports 4, 3898 (2014)] requiring 2N steps of operation. Moreover, due to the use of only two resonators and a coupler, the experimental setup is much simplified when compared with previous proposals requiring three resonators and two superconducting qubits/qutrits.
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.
We present a scheme to achieve maximally entangled states, controlled phase-shift gate, and SWAP gate for two superconducting-quantum-interference-device (SQUID) qubits, by placingSQUIDs in a microwave cavity. We also show how to transfer quantum information from one SQUID qubit to another. In this scheme, no transfer of quantum information between the SQUIDs and the cavity is required, the cavity field is only virtually excited and thus the requirement on the quality factor of the cavity is greatly relaxed.