Trapped magnetic vortices in niobium can introduce microwave losses in superconducting devices, affecting both niobium-based qubits and resonators. While our group has extensively studiedthis problem at temperatures above 1~K, in this study we quantify for the first time the losses driven by magnetic vortices for niobium-based quantum devices operating down to millikelvin temperature, and in the low photon counts regime. By cooling a single interface system a 3-D niobium superconducting cavity in a dilution refrigerator through the superconducting transition temperature in controlled levels of magnetic fields, we isolate the flux-induced losses and quantify the added surface resistance per unit of trapped magnetic flux. Our findings indicate that magnetic flux introduces approximately 2~nΩ/mG at 10~mK and at 6~GHz in high RRR niobium. We find that the decay rate of a 6~GHz niobium cavity at 10~mK which contains a native niobium pentoxide will be dominated by the TLS oxide losses until vortices begin to impact T1 for trapped magnetic field (Btrap) levels of >100~mG. In the absence of the niobium pentoxide, Btrap=~10~mG limits Q0∼~10\textsuperscript{10}, or T1∼~350~ms, highlighting the importance of magnetic shielding and magnetic hygiene in enabling T1>~1~s. We observe that the flux-induced resistance decreases with temperature-yet remains largely field-independent, qualitatively explained by thermal activation of vortices in the flux-flow regime. We present a phenomenological model which captures the salient experimental observations. Scaling our findings to typical transmon qubit dimensions suggests that these 2-D structures could be robust against vortex dissipation up to several hundreds~mG. We are directly addressing vortex losses in transmon qubits made with low RRR Nb films in a separate experimental study.
Loading quantum information deterministically onto a quantum node is an important step towards a quantum network. Here, we demonstrate that coherent-state microwave photons, with anoptimal temporal waveform, can be efficiently loaded onto a single superconducting artificial atom in a semi-infinite one-dimensional (1D) transmission-line waveguide. Using a weak coherent state (average photon number N<<1 with an exponentially rising waveform, whose time constant matches the decoherence time of the artificial atom, we demonstrate a loading efficiency of above 94% from 1D semi-free space to the artificial atom. We also show that Fock-state microwave photons can be deterministically loaded with an efficiency of 98.5%. We further manipulate the phase of the coherent state exciting the atom, enabling coherent control of the loading process. Our results open up promising applications in realizing quantum networks based on waveguide quantum electrodynamics (QED).[/expand]
Qubit connectivity is an important property of a quantum processor, with an ideal processor having random access — the ability of arbitrary qubit pairs to interact directly. Here,we implement a random access superconducting quantum information processor, demonstrating universal operations on a nine-bit quantum memory, with a single transmon serving as the central processor. The quantum memory uses the eigenmodes of a linear array of coupled superconducting resonators. The memory bits are superpositions of vacuum and single-photon states, controlled by a single superconducting transmon coupled to the edge of the array. We selectively stimulate single-photon vacuum Rabi oscillations between the transmon and individual eigenmodes through parametric flux modulation of the transmon frequency, producing sidebands resonant with the modes. Utilizing these oscillations for state transfer, we perform a universal set of single- and two-qubit gates between arbitrary pairs of modes, using only the charge and flux bias of the transmon. Further, we prepare multimode entangled Bell and GHZ states of arbitrary modes. The fast and flexible control, achieved with efficient use of cryogenic resources and control electronics, in a scalable architecture compatible with state-of-the-art quantum memories is promising for quantum computation and simulation.