Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

Abstract: Spin squeezing is vitally important in quantum metrology and quantum information science. The noise reduction resulting from spin squeezing can surpass the standard quantum limit and even reach the Heisenberg Limit (HL) in some special circumstances. However, systems that can reach the HL are very limited. Here we study the spin squeezing in atomic systems with a generic form of quadratic collective-spin interaction, which can be described by the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick(LMG) model. We find that the squeezing properties are determined by the initial states and the anisotropic parameters. Moreover, we propose a pulse rotation scheme to transform the model into two-axis twisting model with Heisenberg-limited spin squeezing. Our study paves the way for reaching HL in a broad variety of systems.

Abstract: Synchronization has recently been explored deep in the quantum regime with elementary few-level quantum oscillators such as qudits and weakly pumped quantum Van der Pol oscillators. To engineer more complex quantum synchronizing systems, it is practically relevant to study composite oscillators built up from basic quantum units that are commonly available and offer high controllability. Here, we consider a minimal model for a composite oscillator consisting of two interacting qubits coupled to separate baths, for which we also propose and analyze an implementation on a circuit quantum electrodynamics platform. We adopt a `microscopic' and `macroscopic' viewpoint and study the response of the constituent qubits and of the composite oscillator when one of the qubits is weakly driven. We find that the phase-locking of the individual qubits to the external drive is strongly modified by interference effects arising from their mutual interaction. In particular, we discover a phase-locking blockade phenomenon at particular coupling strengths. Furthermore, we find that interactions between the qubits can strongly enhance or suppress the extent of synchronization of the composite oscillator to the external drive. Our work demonstrates the potential for assembling complex quantum synchronizing systems from basic building units, which is of pragmatic importance for advancing the field of quantum synchronization.

Abstract: The use of quantum processing units (QPUs) promises speed-ups for solving computational problems. Yet, current devices are limited by the number of qubits and suffer from significant imperfections, which prevents achieving quantum advantage. To step towards practical utility, one approach is to apply hardware-software co-design methods. This can involve tailoring problem formulations and algorithms to the quantum execution environment, but also entails the possibility of adapting physical properties of the QPU to specific applications. In this work, we follow the latter path, and investigate how key figures - circuit depth and gate count - required to solve four cornerstone NP-complete problems vary with tailored hardware properties. Our results reveal that achieving near-optimal performance and properties does not necessarily require optimal quantum hardware, but can be satisfied with much simpler structures that can potentially be realised for many hardware approaches. Using statistical analysis techniques, we additionally identify an underlying general model that applies to all subject problems. This suggests that our results may be universally applicable to other algorithms and problem domains, and tailored QPUs can find utility outside their initially envisaged problem domains. The substantial possible improvements nonetheless highlight the importance of QPU tailoring to progress towards practical deployment and scalability of quantum software.

Abstract: Chain-mapping techniques combined with time-dependent density matrix renormalization group are powerful tools for simulating the dynamics of open quantum systems interacting with structured bosonic environments. Most interestingly, they leave the degrees of freedom of the environment open to inspection. In this work, we fully exploit the access to environmental observables to illustrate how the evolution of the open quantum system can be related to the detailed evolution of the environment it interacts with. In particular, we give a precise description of the fundamental physics that enables the finite temperature chain-mapping formalism to express dynamical equilibrium states. Furthermore, we analyze a two-level system strongly interacting with a super-Ohmic environment, where we discover a change in the Spin-Boson ground state that can be traced to the formation of polaronic states.

Abstract: Multicritical Ising models and their perturbations are paradigmatic models of statistical mechanics. In two space-time dimensions, these models provide a fertile testbed for investigation of numerous non-perturbative problems in strongly-interacting quantum field theories. In this work, analog superconducting quantum electronic circuit simulators are described for the realization of these multicritical Ising models. The latter arise as perturbations of the quantum sine-Gordon model with $p$-fold degenerate minima, $p =2, 3,4,\ldots$. The corresponding quantum circuits are constructed with Josephson junctions with $\cos(n\phi + \delta_n)$ potential with $1\leq n\leq p$ and $\delta_n\in[-\pi,\pi]$. The simplest case, $p = 2$, corresponds to the quantum Ising model and can be realized using conventional Josephson junctions and the so-called $0-\pi$ qubits. The lattice models for the Ising and tricritical Ising models are analyzed numerically using the density matrix renormalization group technique. Evidence for the multicritical phenomena are obtained from computation of entanglement entropy of a subsystem and correlation functions of relevant lattice operators. The proposed quantum circuits provide a systematic approach for controlled numerical and experimental investigation of a wide-range of non-perturbative phenomena occurring in low-dimensional quantum field theories.

Abstract: We present a scalable and modular error mitigation protocol for running $\mathsf{BQP}$ computations on a quantum computer with time-dependent noise. Utilising existing tools from quantum verification, our framework interleaves standard computation rounds alongside test rounds for error-detection and inherits a local-correctness guarantee which exponentially bounds (in the number of circuit runs) the probability that a returned classical output is correct. On top of the verification work, we introduce a post-selection technique we call basketing to address time-dependent noise behaviours and reduce overhead. The result is a first-of-its-kind error mitigation protocol which is exponentially effective and requires minimal noise assumptions, making it straightforwardly implementable on existing, NISQ devices and scalable to future, larger ones.

Abstract: Bell states form a complete set of four maximally polarization entangled two-qubit quantum state. Being a key ingredient of many quantum applications such as entanglement based quantum key distribution protocols, superdense coding, quantum teleportation, entanglement swapping etc, Bell states have to be prepared and measured. Spontaneous parametric down conversion is the easiest way of preparing Bell states and a desired Bell state can be prepared from any entangled photon pair through single-qubit logic gates. In this paper, we present the generation of complete set of Bell states, only by using unitary transformations of half-wave plate (HWP). The initial entangled state is prepared using a combination of a nonlinear crystal and a beam-splitter (BS) and the rest of the Bell states are created by applying single-qubit logic gates on the entangled photon pairs using HWPs. Our results can be useful in many quantum applications, especially in superdense coding where control over basis of maximally entangled state is required.

Abstract: The unavoidable interaction between thermal environments and quantum systems leads to the degradation of the quantum features, which can be fought against by engineered environments. In particular, preparing a thermal coherent environment can be promising for prolonging quantum properties relative to incoherent baths. We propose that a thermal coherent state (TCS) can be realized by using an ancilla qubit to thermally and longitudinally driven resonator modes. Using the master equation approach to describe the open system dynamics, we obtain the steady-state solution of the master equation for the qubit and resonator. Remarkably, the state of the resonator is a TCS, while the ancilla qubit remains thermal. Furthermore, we study the second-order correlation coefficient and photon number statistics to validate its quantum properties. To sum up, we also investigate a mechanism for generating quantum coherence based on a hybrid system composed of two-level systems and resonator to claim that an ancilla-assisted engineered thermal coherent bath prolongs the coherence lifetimes of qubits. Our results may provide a promising direction for preparing and practically implementing TCSs and environments for quantum science and technology.

Abstract: Going as far as possible at SAT problem solving is the main aim of our work. For this sake we have made use of quantum computing from its two, on practice, main models of computation. They have required some reformulations over the former statement of 3-SAT problem in order to accomplish the requirements of both techniques. This paper presents and describes a hybrid quantum computing strategy for solving 3-SAT problems. The performance of this approximation has been tested over a set of representative scenarios when dealing with 3-SAT from the quantum computing perspective.

Abstract: The study of correlation functions in quantum systems plays a vital role in decoding their properties and gaining insights into physical phenomena. In this context, the Gell-Mann and Low theorem have been employed to simplify computations by canceling connected vacuum diagrams. Building upon the essence of this theorem, we propose a modification to the adiabatic evolution process by adopting the two-state vector formalism with time symmetry. This novel perspective reveals correlation functions as weak values, offering a universal method for recording them on the apparatus through weak measurement. To illustrate the effectiveness of our approach, we present numerical simulations of perturbed quantum harmonic oscillators, addressing the intricate interplay between the coupling coefficient and the number of ensemble copies. Additionally, we extend our protocol to the domain of quantum field theory, where joint weak values encode crucial information about the correlation function. This comprehensive investigation significantly advances our understanding of the fundamental nature of correlation functions and weak measurements in quantum theories.

Abstract: Diamond has superlative material properties for a broad range of quantum and electronic technologies. However, heteroepitaxial growth of single crystal diamond remains limited, impeding integration and evolution of diamond-based technologies. Here, we directly bond single-crystal diamond membranes to a wide variety of materials including silicon, fused silica, sapphire, thermal oxide, and lithium niobate. Our bonding process combines customized membrane synthesis, transfer, and dry surface functionalization, allowing for minimal contamination while providing pathways for near unity yield and scalability. We generate bonded crystalline membranes with thickness as low as 10 nm, sub-nm interfacial regions, and nanometer-scale thickness variability over 200 by 200 {\mu}m2 areas. We demonstrate multiple methods for integrating high quality factor nanophotonic cavities with the diamond heterostructures, highlighting the platform versatility in quantum photonic applications. Furthermore, we show that our ultra-thin diamond membranes are compatible with total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, which enables interfacing coherent diamond quantum sensors with living cells while rejecting unwanted background luminescence. The processes demonstrated herein provide a full toolkit to synthesize heterogeneous diamond-based hybrid systems for quantum and electronic technologies.

Abstract: Combinatorial optimization problems have attracted much interest in the quantum computing community in the recent years as a potential testbed to showcase quantum advantage. In this paper, we show how to exploit multilevel carriers of quantum information -- qudits -- for the construction of algorithms for constrained quantum optimization. These systems have been recently introduced in the context of quantum optimization and they allow us to treat more general problems than the ones usually mapped into qubit systems. In particular, we propose a hybrid classical quantum heuristic strategy that allows us to sample constrained solutions while greatly reducing the search space of the problem, thus optimizing the use of fewer quantum resources. As an example, we focus on the Electric Vehicle Charging and Routing Problem (EVCRP). We translate the classical problem and map it into a quantum system, obtaining promising results on a toy example which shows the validity of our technique.

Abstract: In this paper, a quantitative investigation of the non-classical and quantum non-Gaussian characters of the photon-subtracted displaced Fock state $|{\psi}\rangle=a^kD(\alpha)|{n}\rangle$, where $k$ is number of photons subtracted, $n$ is Fock parameter, is performed by using a collection of measures like Wigner logarithmic negativity, linear entropy potential, skew information based measure, and relative entropy of quantum non-Gaussianity. It is noticed that the number of photons subtracted ($k$) changes the nonclassicality and quantum non-Gaussianity in a significant amount in the regime of small values of the displacement parameter whereas Fock parameter ($n$) presents a notable change in the large regime of the displacement parameter. In this respect, the role of the Fock parameter is found to be stronger as compared to the photon subtraction number. Finally, the Wigner function dynamics considering the effects of photon loss channel is used to show that the Wigner negativity can only be exposed by highly efficient detectors.

Abstract: Secure communication over long distances is one of the major problems of modern informatics. Classical transmissions are recognized to be vulnerable to quantum computer attacks. Remarkably, the same quantum mechanics that engenders quantum computers offer guaranteed protection against these attacks via a quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol. Yet, long-distance transmission is problematic since the signal decay in optical channels occurs at distances of about a hundred kilometers. We resolve this problem by creating a QKD protocol, further referred to as the Terra Quantum QKD protocol (TQ-QKD protocol), using semiclassical pulses containing enough photons for random bit encoding and exploiting erbium amplifiers to retranslate photon pulses and, at the same time, ensuring that at this intensity only a few photons could go outside the channel even at distances about hundred meters. As a result, an eavesdropper will not be able to efficiently utilize the lost part of the signal. A central TQ-QKD protocol's component is the end-to-end control over losses in the transmission channel which, in principle, could allow an eavesdropper to obtain the transmitted information. However, our control precision is such that if the degree of the leak falls below the control border, then the leaking states are quantum since they contain only a few photons. Therefore, available to an eavesdropper parts of the bit encoding states representing `0' and `1' are nearly indistinguishable. Our work presents the experimental realization of the TQ-QKD protocol ensuring secure communication over 1032 kilometers. Moreover, further refining the quality of the scheme's components will greatly expand the attainable transmission distances. This paves the way for creating a secure global QKD network in the upcoming years.