Search SciRate

Spin precession is a textbook example of dynamics of a quantum system that exactly mimics its classical counterpart. Here we challenge this view by certifying the quantumness of exotic states of a nuclear spin through its uniform precession. The key to this result is measuring the positivity, instead of the expectation value, of the $x$-projection of the precessing spin, and using a spin > 1/2 qudit, that is not restricted to semi-classical spin coherent states. The experiment is performed on a single spin-7/2 $^{123}$Sb nucleus, implanted in a silicon nanoelectronic device, amenable to high-fidelity preparation, control, and projective single-shot readout. Using Schrödinger cat states and other bespoke states of the nucleus, we violate the classical bound by 19 standard deviations, proving that no classical probability distribution can explain the statistic of this spin precession, and highlighting our ability to prepare quantum resource states with high fidelity in a single atomic-scale qudit.

High-dimensional quantum systems are a valuable resource for quantum information processing. They can be used to encode error-correctable logical qubits, for instance in continuous-variable states of oscillators such as microwave cavities or the motional modes of trapped ions. Powerful encodings include 'Schrödinger cat' states, superpositions of widely displaced coherent states, which also embody the challenge of quantum effects at the large scale. Alternatively, recent proposals suggest encoding logical qubits in high-spin atomic nuclei, which can host hardware-efficient versions of continuous-variable codes on a finite-dimensional system. Here we demonstrate the creation and manipulation of Schrödinger cat states using the spin-7/2 nucleus of a single antimony ($^{123}$Sb) atom, embedded and operated within a silicon nanoelectronic device. We use a coherent multi-frequency control scheme to produce spin rotations that preserve the SU(2) symmetry of the qudit, and constitute logical Pauli operations for logical qubits encoded in the Schrödinger cat states. The Wigner function of the cat states exhibits parity oscillations with a contrast up to 0.982(5), and state fidelities up to 0.913(2). These results demonstrate high-fidelity preparation of nonclassical resource states and logical control in a single atomic-scale object, opening up applications in quantum information processing and quantum error correction within a scalable, manufacturable semiconductor platform.

Scalable quantum processors require high-fidelity universal quantum logic operations in a manufacturable physical platform. Donors in silicon provide atomic size, excellent quantum coherence and compatibility with standard semiconductor processing, but no entanglement between donor-bound electron spins has been demonstrated to date. Here we present the experimental demonstration and tomography of universal 1- and 2-qubit gates in a system of two weakly exchange-coupled electrons, bound to single phosphorus donors introduced in silicon by ion implantation. We surprisingly observe that the exchange interaction has no effect on the qubit coherence. We quantify the fidelity of the quantum operations using gate set tomography (GST), and we use the universal gate set to create entangled Bell states of the electrons spins, with fidelity ~ 93%, and concurrence 0.91 +/- 0.08. These results form the necessary basis for scaling up donor-based quantum computers.