Publications

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

We consider the task of deterministically entangling two remote qubits using joint measurement and feedback, but no directly entangling Hamiltonian. In order to formulate the most effective experimentally feasible protocol, we introduce the notion of average-sense locally optimal feedback protocols, which do not require real-time quantum state estimation, a difficult component of real-time quantum feedback control. We use this notion of optimality to construct two protocols that can deterministically create maximal entanglement: a semiclassical feedback protocol for low-efficiency measurements and a quantum feedback protocol for high-efficiency measurements. The latter reduces to direct feedback in the continuous-time limit, whose dynamics can be modeled by a Wiseman-Milburn feedback master equation, which yields an analytic solution in the limit of unit measurement efficiency. Our formalism can smoothly interpolate between continuous-time and discrete-time descriptions of feedback dynamics and we exploit this feature to derive a superior hybrid protocol for arbitrary nonunit measurement efficiency that switches between quantum and semiclassical protocols. Finally, we show using simulations incorporating experimental imperfections that deterministic entanglement of remote superconducting qubits may be achieved with current technology using the continuous-time feedback protocol alone.

Using a novel formal methods approach, we have generated computer-veri ed proofs of major theorems pertinent to the quantum phase estimation algorithm. This was accomplished using our Prove-It software package in Python. While many formal methods tools are available, their practical utility is limited. Translating a problem of interest into these systems and working through the steps of a proof is an art form that requires much expertise. One must surrender to the preferences and restrictions of the tool regarding how mathematical notions are expressed and what deductions are allowed. Automation is a major driver that forces restrictions. Our focus, on the other hand, is to produce a tool that allows users the ability to con rm proofs that are essentially known already. This goal is valuable in itself. We demonstrate the viability of our approach that allows the user great exibility in expressing state- ments and composing derivations. There were no major obstacles in following a textbook proof of the quantum phase estimation algorithm. There were tedious details of algebraic manipulations that we needed to implement (and a few that we did not have time to enter into our system) and some basic components that we needed to rethink, but there were no serious roadblocks. In the process, we made a number of convenient additions to our Prove-It package that will make certain algebraic manipulations easier to perform in the future. In fact, our intent is for our system to build upon itself in this manner.

We present a first-principles theoretical analysis of the entanglement of two superconducting qubits in spatially separated microwave cavities by a sequential (cascaded) probe of the two cavities with a coherent mode, that provides a full characterization of both the continuous measurement induced dynamics and the entanglement generation. We use the SLH formalism to derive the full quantum master equation for the coupled qubits and cavities system, within the rotating wave and dispersive approximations, and conditioned equations for the cavity fields. We then develop effective stochastic master equations for the dynamics of the qubit system in both a polaronic reference frame and a reduced representation within the laboratory frame. We compare simulations with and analyze tradeoffs between these two representations, including the onset of a non-Markovian regime for simulations in the reduced representation. We provide conditions for ensuring persistence of entanglement and show that using shaped pulses enables these conditions to be met at all times under general experimental conditions. The resulting entanglement is shown to be robust with respect to measurement imperfections and loss channels. We also study the effects of qubit driving and relaxation dynamics during a weak measurement, as a prelude to modeling measurement-based feedback control in this cascaded system.

Abstract not provided.

Estimating the parameters that dictate the dynamics of a quantum system is an important task for quantum information processing and quantum metrology, as well as fundamental physics. In this paper we develop a method for parameter estimation for Markovian open quantum systems using a temporal record of measurements on the system. The method is based on system realization theory and is a generalization of our previous work on identification of Hamiltonian parameters [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 080401 (2014)PRLTAO0031-9007 10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.080401].

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

We introduce a new continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocol, self-referenced CV-QKD, that eliminates the need for transmission of a high-power local oscillator between the communicating parties. In this protocol, each signal pulse is accompanied by a reference pulse (or a pair of twin reference pulses), used to align Alice's and Bob's measurement bases. The method of phase estimation and compensation based on the reference pulse measurement can be viewed as a quantum analog of intradyne detection used in classical coherent communication, which extracts the phase information from the modulated signal. We present a proof-of-principle, fiber-based experimental demonstration of the protocol and quantify the expected secret key rates by expressing them in terms of experimental parameters. Our analysis of the secret key rate fully takes into account the inherent uncertainty associated with the quantum nature of the reference pulse(s) and quantifies the limit at which the theoretical key rate approaches that of the respective conventional protocol that requires local oscillator transmission. The self-referenced protocol greatly simplifies the hardware required for CV-QKD, especially for potential integrated photonics implementations of transmitters and receivers, with minimum sacrifice of performance. As such, it provides a pathway towards scalable integrated CV-QKD transceivers, a vital step towards large-scale QKD networks.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

While adiabatic quantum computing (AQC) has some robustness to noise and decoherence, it is widely believed that encoding, error suppression and error correction will be required to scale AQC to large problem sizes. Previous works have established at least two different techniques for error suppression in AQC. In this paper we derive a model for describing the dynamics of encoded AQC and show that previous constructions for error suppression can be unified with this dynamical model. In addition, the model clarifies the mechanisms of error suppression and allows the identification of its weaknesses. In the second half of the paper, we utilize our description of non-equilibrium dynamics in encoded AQC to construct methods for error correction in AQC by cooling local degrees of freedom (qubits). While this is shown to be possible in principle, we also identify the key challenge to this approach: the requirement of high-weight Hamiltonians. Finally, we use our dynamical model to perform a simplified thermal stability analysis of concatenated-stabilizer-code encoded many-body systems for AQC or quantum memories. This work is a companion paper to 'Error suppression and error correction in adiabatic quantum computation: techniques and challenges (2013 Phys. Rev. X 3 041013)', which provides a quantum information perspective on the techniques and limitations of error suppression and correction in AQC. In this paper we couch the same results within a dynamical framework, which allows for a detailed analysis of the non-equilibrium dynamics of error suppression and correction in encoded AQC. © IOP Publishing and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.