npj Quantum Information

List of Papers (Total 1,161)

Coherent Ising machines—optical neural networks operating at the quantum limit

In this article, we will introduce the basic concept and the quantum feature of a novel computing system, coherent Ising machines, and describe their theoretical and experimental performance. We start with the discussion how to construct such physical devices as the quantum analog of classical neuron and synapse, and end with the performance comparison against various classical...

Autonomous calibration of single spin qubit operations

Fully autonomous precise control of qubits is crucial for quantum information processing, quantum communication, and quantum sensing applications. It requires minimal human intervention on the ability to model, to predict, and to anticipate the quantum dynamics, as well as to precisely control and calibrate single qubit operations. Here, we demonstrate single qubit autonomous...

Topological networks for quantum communication between distant qubits

Efficient communication between qubits relies on robust networks, which allow for fast and coherent transfer of quantum information. It seems natural to harvest the remarkable properties of systems characterized by topological invariants to perform this task. Here, we show that a linear network of coupled bosonic degrees of freedom, characterized by topological bands, can be...

Multi-mode ultra-strong coupling in circuit quantum electrodynamics

With the introduction of superconducting circuits into the field of quantum optics, many experimental demonstrations of the quantum physics of an artificial atom coupled to a single-mode light field have been realized. Engineering such quantum systems offers the opportunity to explore extreme regimes of light-matter interaction that are inaccessible with natural systems. For...

Enhancing quantum control by bootstrapping a quantum processor of 12 qubits

Accurate and efficient control of quantum systems is one of the central challenges for quantum information processing. Current state-of-the-art experiments rarely go beyond 10 qubits and in most cases demonstrate only limited control. Here we demonstrate control of a 12-qubit system, and show that the system can be employed as a quantum processor to optimize its own control...

Projected gradient descent algorithms for quantum state tomography

Accurate quantum tomography is a vital tool in both fundamental and applied quantum science. It is a task that involves processing a noisy measurement record in order to construct a reliable estimate of an unknown quantum state, and is central to quantum computing, metrology and communication. To date, many different approaches to quantum state estimation have been developed, yet...

Multi-state discrimination below the quantum noise limit at the single-photon level

Measurements approaching the ultimate quantum limits of sensitivity are central in quantum information processing, quantum metrology, and communication. Quantum measurements to discriminate multiple states at the single-photon level are essential for optimizing information transfer in low-power optical communications and quantum communications, and can enhance the capabilities of...

3D integrated superconducting qubits

As the field of quantum computing advances from the few-qubit stage to larger-scale processors, qubit addressability and extensibility will necessitate the use of 3D integration and packaging. While 3D integration is well-developed for commercial electronics, relatively little work has been performed to determine its compatibility with high-coherence solid-state qubits. Of...

Witnessing the quantumness of a system by observing only its classical features

A central problem in fundamental physics is to witness the non-classicality of systems whose dynamics is not completely specified. For example, this arises in testing predictions that a macroscopic system, such as a living system, obeys quantum theory. Notoriously, also, it has been claimed that witnessing non-classicality in the gravitational field is practically impossible...

Room-temperature cavity quantum electrodynamics with strongly coupled Dicke states

The strong coupling regime is essential for efficient transfer of excitations between states in different quantum systems on timescales shorter than their lifetimes. The coupling of single spins to microwave photons is very weak but can be enhanced by increasing the local density of states by reducing the magnetic mode volume of the cavity. In practice, it is difficult to achieve...

Density-matrix simulation of small surface codes under current and projected experimental noise

We present a density-matrix simulation of the quantum memory and computing performance of the distance-3 logical qubit Surface-17, following a recently proposed quantum circuit and using experimental error parameters for transmon qubits in a planar circuit QED architecture. We use this simulation to optimize components of the QEC scheme (e.g., trading off stabilizer measurement...

Non-stoquastic Hamiltonians in quantum annealing via geometric phases

We argue that a complete description of quantum annealing implemented with continuous variables must take into account the non-adiabatic Aharonov-Anandan geometric phase that arises when the system Hamiltonian changes during the anneal. We show that this geometric effect leads to the appearance of non-stoquasticity in the effective quantum Ising Hamiltonians that are typically...

Charting the circuit QED design landscape using optimal control theory

With recent improvements in coherence times, superconducting transmon qubits have become a promising platform for quantum computing. They can be flexibly engineered over a wide range of parameters, but also require us to identify an efficient operating regime. Using state-of-the-art quantum optimal control techniques, we exhaustively explore the landscape for creation and removal...

Quantum generalisation of feedforward neural networks

We propose a quantum generalisation of a classical neural network. The classical neurons are firstly rendered reversible by adding ancillary bits. Then they are generalised to being quantum reversible, i.e., unitary (the classical networks we generalise are called feedforward, and have step-function activation functions). The quantum network can be trained efficiently using...

Optimization of lattice surgery is NP-hard

The traditional method for computation in either the surface code or in the Raussendorf model is the creation of holes or “defects” within the encoded lattice of qubits that are manipulated via topological braiding to enact logic gates. However, this is not the only way to achieve universal, fault-tolerant computation. In this work, we focus on the lattice surgery representation...

Interfacing spin qubits in quantum dots and donors—hot, dense, and coherent

Semiconductor spins are one of the few qubit realizations that remain a serious candidate for the implementation of large-scale quantum circuits. Excellent scalability is often argued for spin qubits defined by lithography and controlled via electrical signals, based on the success of conventional semiconductor integrated circuits. However, the wiring and interconnect...

A quantum spectrum analyzer enhanced by a nuclear spin memory

We realize a two-qubit sensor designed for achieving high-spectral resolution in quantum sensing experiments. Our sensor consists of an active “sensing qubit” and a long-lived “memory qubit”, implemented by the electronic and the nitrogen-15 nuclear spins of a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond, respectively. Using state storage times of up to 45 ms, we demonstrate spectroscopy...

Extending the coherence of a quantum dot hybrid qubit

Identifying and ameliorating dominant sources of decoherence are important steps in understanding and improving quantum systems. Here, we show that the free induction decay time ( T 2 * ) and the Rabi decay rate (ΓRabi) of the quantum dot hybrid qubit can be increased by more than an order of magnitude by appropriate tuning of the qubit parameters and operating points. By...

Selective addressing of solid-state spins at the nanoscale via magnetic resonance frequency encoding

The nitrogen vacancy centre in diamond is a leading platform for nanoscale sensing and imaging, as well as quantum information processing in the solid state. To date, individual control of two nitrogen vacancy electronic spins at the nanoscale has been demonstrated. However, a key challenge is to scale up such control to arrays of nitrogen vacancy spins. Here, we apply nanoscale...

Progress in satellite quantum key distribution

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a family of protocols for growing a private encryption key between two parties. Despite much progress, all ground-based QKD approaches have a distance limit due to atmospheric losses or in-fibre attenuation. These limitations make purely ground-based systems impractical for a global distribution network. However, the range of communication may be...

Why we need to quantise everything, including gravity

There is a long-standing debate about whether gravity should be quantised. A powerful line of argument in favour of quantum gravity considers models of hybrid systems consisting of coupled quantum–classical sectors. The conclusion is that such models are inconsistent: either the quantum sector’s defining properties necessarily spread to the classical sector, or they are violated...

Long-range spin wave mediated control of defect qubits in nanodiamonds

Hybrid architectures that combine nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond with other materials and physical systems have been proposed to enhance the nitrogen-vacancy center’s capabilities in many quantum sensing and information applications. In particular, spin waves in ferromagnetic materials are a promising candidate to implement these platforms due to their strong magnetic fields...

Efficient protocol for qubit initialization with a tunable environment

We propose an efficient qubit initialization protocol based on a dissipative environment that can be dynamically adjusted. Here, the qubit is coupled to a thermal bath through a tunable harmonic oscillator. On-demand initialization is achieved by sweeping the oscillator rapidly into resonance with the qubit. This resonant coupling with the engineered environment induces fast...

Quantum information density scaling and qubit operation time constraints of CMOS silicon-based quantum computer architectures

Even the quantum simulation of an apparently simple molecule such as Fe2S2 requires a considerable number of qubits of the order of 106, while more complex molecules such as alanine (C3H7NO2) require about a hundred times more. In order to assess such a multimillion scale of identical qubits and control lines, the silicon platform seems to be one of the most indicated routes as...