A quantum state for being an eigenstate of some local Hamiltonian should be constraint by zero energy variance and consequently, the constraint is rather strong that a single eigenstate may uniquely determine the Hamiltonian. For non-Hermitian systems, it is natural to expect that determining the Hamiltonian requires a pair of both left and right eigenstates. Here, we observe that it can be sufficient to determine a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian from a single right or left eigenstate. Our approach is based on the quantum covariance matrix, where the solution of Hamiltonian corresponds to the complex null vector. Our scheme favours non-Hermitian Hamiltonian learning on experimental quantum systems, as only the right eigenstates there can be accessed. Furthermore, we use numerical simulations to examine the effects of measurement errors and show the stability of our scheme.
The strength of DMRG lies in its treatment of identical sites that are energetically degenerate and spatially similar. However, this becomes a drawback when applied to quantum chemistry calculations for large systems, as entangled orbitals often span broad ranges in energy and space, with notably inhomogeneous interactions. In this study, we propose addressing strong intra-fragment and weak inter-fragment correlations separately using a multi-configurational block interaction product state (BIPS) framework. The strong correlation is captured in electronic states on fragments, considering entanglement between fragments and their environments. This method has been tested in various chemical systems and shows high accuracy and efficiency in addressing inhomogeneous effects in quantum chemistry.
Shi-Chang Zhuang, Bo Li, Ming-Yang Zheng, Yi-Xi Zeng, Hui-Nan Wu, Guang-Bing Li, Quan Yao, Xiu-Ping Xie, Yu-Huai Li, Hao Qin, Li-Xing You, Fei-Hu Xu, Juan Yin, Yuan Cao, Qiang Zhang, Cheng-Zhi Peng, Jian-Wei Pan The entangled photons are crucial resources for quantum communications and networking. Here, we present an ultra-bright polarization-entangled photon source based on a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide designed for practical quantum communication networks. Using a 780 nm pump laser, the source achieves a pair generation rate of 2.4 $\times 10^{10}$ pairs/s/mW. This work has achieved a directly measured power of 17.9 nW in entangled photon generation with a 3.2 mW pump power. Based on this, we demonstrate the practicality of the source by conducting quantum key distribution experiments over long-distance fiber links, achieving the applicable secure key rates of up to 440.80 bits/s over 200 km with 62 dB loss and reaching a maximum secure key generation distance of 404 km. These results demonstrate the potential of wavelength-multiplexed polarization-entangled photon sources for high-speed, long-distance quantum communication, positioning them as key components for future large-scale quantum networks.
In the ultrastrong-coupling regime, the quantum Rabi model can exhibit quantum phase transition (QPT) when the ratio of the qubit transition frequency to the frequency of the cavity field approaches infinity. However, it is challenging to control the QPT in few-body systems because of the limited coupling strength and the A^2 terms. Here, we propose a practical scheme to manipulate the QPT of quantum Rabi model in the strong-coupling regime. By applying a periodic frequency modulation to the two-level system in a standard quantum Rabi model in the strong-coupling regime, an anisotropic quantum Rabi model with ultrastrong and tunable coupling strengths for rotating and counter-rotating terms is obtained. The ground-state and excitation energy of this model in terms of the modulation parameters are studied. We find that the QPT of quantum Rabi model can be observed in the strong-coupling regime and externally controlled by the modulation.
Xian-He Zhao, Han-Sen Zhong, Feng Pan, Zi-Han Chen, Rong Fu, Zhongling Su, Xiaotong Xie, Chaoxing Zhao, Pan Zhang, Wanli Ouyang, Chao-Yang Lu, Jian-Wei Pan, Ming-Cheng Chen Random quantum circuit sampling serves as a benchmark to demonstrate quantum computational advantage. Recent progress in classical algorithms, especially those based on tensor network methods, has significantly reduced the classical simulation time and challenged the claim of the first-generation quantum advantage experiments. However, in terms of generating uncorrelated samples, time-to-solution, and energy consumption, previous classical simulation experiments still underperform the \textitSycamore processor. Here we report an energy-efficient classical simulation algorithm, using 1432 GPUs to simulate quantum random circuit sampling which generates uncorrelated samples with higher linear cross entropy score and is 7 times faster than \textitSycamore 53 qubits experiment. We propose a post-processing algorithm to reduce the overall complexity, and integrated state-of-the-art high-performance general-purpose GPU to achieve two orders of lower energy consumption compared to previous works. Our work provides the first unambiguous experimental evidence to refute \textitSycamore's claim of quantum advantage, and redefines the boundary of quantum computational advantage using random circuit sampling.
As the simplest atom in nature, the hydrogen atom has been explored thoroughly from the perspective of non-relativistic quantum mechanics to relativistic quantum mechanics. Among the research on hydrogen atom, its energy level is the most basic, which can be obtained more conveniently predicated on the $SO(4)$ symmetry than the wave-equation resolution. Moreover, ``spin'' is another indispensable topic in quantum mechanics, appearing as an intrinsic degree of freedom. In this work, we generalize the quantum Runge-Lenz vector to a spin-dependent one, and then extract a novel Hamiltonian of hydrogen atom with spin based on the requirement of $SO(4)$ symmetry. Furthermore, the energy spectrum of hydrogen atom with spin potentials is also determined by the remarkable approach of $SO(4)$ symmetry. Our findings extend the ground of hydrogen atom, and may contribute to other complicated models based on hydrogen atom.
In quantum information, the Werner state is a benchmark to test the boundary between quantum mechanics and classical models. There have been three well-known critical values for the two-qubit Werner state, i.e., $V_{\rm c}^{\rm E}=1/3$ characterizing the boundary between entanglement and separable model, $V_{\rm c}^{\rm B}=1/K_G(3)$ characterizing the boundary between Bell's nonlocality and the local-hidden-variable model, while $V_{\rm c}^{\rm S}=1/2$ characterizing the boundary between Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering and the local-hidden-state model. So far, the problem of $V_{\rm c}^{\rm E}=1/3$ has been completely solved by an inequality involving in the positive-partial-transpose criterion, while how to reveal the other two critical values by the inequality approach are still open. In this work, we focus on EPR steering, which is a form of quantum nonlocality intermediate between entanglement and Bell's nonlocality. By proposing the optimal $N$-setting linear EPR-steering inequalities, we have successfully obtained the desired value $V_{\rm c}^{\rm S}=1/2$ for the two-qubit Werner state, thus resolving the long-standing problem.
M.A. Norcia, H. Kim, W.B. Cairncross, M. Stone, A. Ryou, M. Jaffe, M.O. Brown, K. Barnes, P. Battaglino, T.C. Bohdanowicz, A. Brown, K. Cassella, C.-A. Chen, R. Coxe, D. Crow, J. Epstein, C. Griger, E. Halperin, F. Hummel, A.M.W. Jones, et al (30) Assembling and maintaining large arrays of individually addressable atoms is a key requirement for continued scaling of neutral-atom-based quantum computers and simulators. In this work, we demonstrate a new paradigm for assembly of atomic arrays, based on a synergistic combination of optical tweezers and cavity-enhanced optical lattices, and the incremental filling of a target array from a repetitively filled reservoir. In this protocol, the tweezers provide microscopic rearrangement of atoms, while the cavity-enhanced lattices enable the creation of large numbers of optical traps with sufficient depth for rapid low-loss imaging of atoms. We apply this protocol to demonstrate near-deterministic filling (99% per-site occupancy) of 1225-site arrays of optical traps. Because the reservoir is repeatedly filled with fresh atoms, the array can be maintained in a filled state indefinitely. We anticipate that this protocol will be compatible with mid-circuit reloading of atoms into a quantum processor, which will be a key capability for running large-scale error-corrected quantum computations whose durations exceed the lifetime of a single atom in the system.
Dirac has predicted that the $g$ factor of an electron is strictly equal to 2 in the framework of relativistic quantum mechanics. However, later physicists have found that this factor can be slightly deviated from 2 (i.e., the problem of anomalous magnetic moments of leptons) when they consider quantum filed theory. This fact thus renders the $g$ factors of free leptons serving as precision tests for quantum electrodynamics, the standard model and beyond. In this work, we re-examine the problem of $g$ factor within the framework of relativistic quantum mechanics. We propose a possible mechanism called the ``electron-braidon mixing'', such that the $g$ factor of an electron can be visibly altered. Our results are hopeful to be verified in experiments and also shed new light to the problem of the anomalous magnetic moments of leptons.
Jian-Long Liu, Xi-Yu Luo, Yong Yu, Chao-Yang Wang, Bin Wang, Yi Hu, Jun Li, Ming-Yang Zheng, Bo Yao, Zi Yan, Da Teng, Jin-Wei Jiang, Xiao-Bing Liu, Xiu-Ping Xie, Jun Zhang, Qing-He Mao, Xiao Jiang, Qiang Zhang, Xiao-Hui Bao, Jian-Wei Pan Towards realizing the future quantum internet, a pivotal milestone entails the transition from two-node proof-of-principle experiments conducted in laboratories to comprehensive, multi-node setups on large scales. Here, we report on the debut implementation of a multi-node entanglement-based quantum network over a metropolitan area. We equipped three quantum nodes with atomic quantum memories and their telecom interfaces, and combined them into a scalable phase-stabilized architecture through a server node. We demonstrated heralded entanglement generation between two quantum nodes situated 12.5 km apart, and the storage of entanglement exceeding the round-trip communication time. We also showed the concurrent entanglement generation on three links. Our work provides a metropolitan-scale testbed for the evaluation and exploration of multi-node quantum network protocols and starts a new stage of quantum internet research.
We have found the special dark state solutions of the anisotropic two-qubit quantum Rabi model (QRM), which has at most one photon, and constant eigenenergy in the whole coupling regime. Accordingly, we propose a scheme to deterministically generate two kinds of the two-qubit Bell states through adiabatic evolution along the dark states. With the assistance of the Stark shift, the generation time can be reduced to subnanosecond scales, proportional to the reverse of the resonator frequency, with fidelity reaching 99%. Furthermore, the other two kinds of Bell states can also be ultrafast generated.
Kuang Liu, Xiaoliang He, Zhengqi Niu, Hang Xue, Wenbing Jiang, Liliang Ying, Wei Peng, Masaaki Maezawa, Zhirong Lin, Xiaoming Xie, Zhen Wang Single flux quantum (SFQ) circuitry is a promising candidate for a scalable and integratable cryogenic quantum control system. However, the operation of SFQ circuits introduces non-equilibrium quasiparticles (QPs), which are a significant source of qubit decoherence. In this study, we investigate QP behavior in a superconducting quantum-classical hybrid chip that comprises an SFQ circuit and a qubit circuit. By monitoring qubit relaxation time, we explore the dynamics of SFQ-circuit-induced QPs. Our findings reveal that the QP density near the qubit reaches its peak after several microseconds of SFQ circuit operation, which corresponds to the phonon-mediated propagation time of QPs in the hybrid circuits. This suggests that phonon-mediated propagation dominates the spreading of QPs in the hybrid circuits. Our results lay the foundation to suppress QP poisoning in quantum-classical hybrid systems.
Solving non-Hermitian quantum many-body systems on a quantum computer by minimizing the variational energy is challenging as the energy can be complex. Here, based on energy variance, we propose a variational method for solving the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, as zero variance can naturally determine the eigenvalues and the associated left and right eigenstates. Moreover, the energy is set as a parameter in the cost function and can be tuned to obtain the whole spectrum, where each eigenstate can be efficiently obtained using a two-step optimization scheme. Through numerical simulations, we demonstrate the algorithm for preparing the left and right eigenstates, verifying the biorthogonal relations, as well as evaluating the observables. We also investigate the impact of quantum noise on our algorithm and show that its performance can be largely improved using error mitigation techniques. Therefore, our work suggests an avenue for solving non-Hermitian quantum many-body systems with variational quantum algorithms on near-term noisy quantum computers.
M. A. Norcia, W. B. Cairncross, K. Barnes, P. Battaglino, A. Brown, M. O. Brown, K. Cassella, C.-A. Chen, R. Coxe, D. Crow, J. Epstein, C. Griger, A. M. W. Jones, H. Kim, J. M. Kindem, J. King, S. S. Kondov, K. Kotru, J. Lauigan, M. Li, et al (25) Measurement-based quantum error correction relies on the ability to determine the state of a subset of qubits (ancillae) within a processor without revealing or disturbing the state of the remaining qubits. Among neutral-atom based platforms, a scalable, high-fidelity approach to mid-circuit measurement that retains the ancilla qubits in a state suitable for future operations has not yet been demonstrated. In this work, we perform imaging using a narrow-linewidth transition in an array of tweezer-confined $^{171}$Yb atoms to demonstrate nondestructive state-selective and site-selective detection. By applying site-specific light shifts, selected atoms within the array can be hidden from imaging light, which allows a subset of qubits to be measured while causing only percent-level errors on the remaining qubits. As a proof-of-principle demonstration of conditional operations based on the results of the mid-circuit measurements, and of our ability to reuse ancilla qubits, we perform conditional refilling of ancilla sites to correct for occasional atom loss, while maintaining the coherence of data qubits. Looking towards true continuous operation, we demonstrate loading of a magneto-optical trap with a minimal degree of qubit decoherence.
As one of the most elegant theories in physics, Yang-Mills (YM) theory not only incorporates Maxwell's equations unifying electromagnetism, but also underpins the standard model explaining the electroweak and strong interactions in a succinct way. Whereas the highly nonlinear terms in YM equations involving the interactions between potentials and fields retard the resolution for them. In the $U(1)$ case, the solutions of Maxwell's equations are the electromagnetic waves, which have been applied extensively in the modern communication networks all over the world. Likewise the operator solutions of the YM equations under the assumptions of weak-coupling and zero-coupling predict the $SU(2)$ angular-momentum waves, which is the staple of this work. Such angular-momentum waves are hopefully realized in the experiments through the oscillations of spin angular momentum, such as the ``spin Zitterbewegung'' of Dirac's electron.
The ability to transmit quantum states over long distances is a fundamental requirement of the quantum internet and is reliant upon quantum repeaters. Quantum repeaters involve entangled photon sources that emit and deliver photonic entangled states at high rates and quantum memories that can temporarily store quantum states. Improvement of the entanglement distribution rate is essential for quantum repeaters, and multiplexing is expected to be a breakthrough. However, limited studies exist on multiplexed photon sources and their coupling with a multiplexed quantum memory. Here, we demonstrate the storing of a frequency-multiplexed two-photon source at telecommunication wavelengths in a quantum memory accepting visible wavelengths via wavelength conversion after 10-km distribution. To achieve this, quantum systems are connected via wavelength conversion with a frequency stabilization system and a noise reduction system. The developed system was stably operated for more than 42 h. Therefore, it can be applied to quantum repeater systems comprising various physical systems requiring long-term system stability.
The quantum critical regime marks a zone in the phase diagram where quantum fluctuation around the critical point plays a significant role at finite temperatures. While it is of great physical interest, simulation of the quantum critical regime can be difficult on a classical computer due to its intrinsic complexity. In this paper, we propose a variational approach, which minimizes the variational free energy, to simulate and locate the quantum critical regime on a quantum computer. The variational quantum algorithm adopts an ansatz by performing an unitary operator on a product of a single-qubit mixed state, in which the entropy can be analytically obtained from the initial state, and thus the free energy can be accessed conveniently. With numeral simulation, we show, using the one-dimensional Kitaev model as a demonstration, the quantum critical regime can be identified by accurately evaluating the temperature crossover line. Moreover, the dependence of both the correlation length and the phase coherence time with the temperature are evaluated for the thermal states. Our work suggests a practical way as well as a first step for investigating quantum critical systems at finite temperatures on quantum devices with few qubits.
The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect is an important discovery of quantum theory. It serves as a surprising quantum phenomenon in which an electrically charged particle can be affected by an electromagnetic potential, despite being confined to a region in which both the magnetic field and electric field are zero. This fact gives the electromagnetic potentials greater significance in quantum physics than in classical physics. The original AB effect belongs to an ``electromagnetic type". A certain vector potential is crucial for building a certain type of AB effect. In this work, we focus on the ``spin", which is an intrinsic property of microscopic particles that has been widely accepted nowadays. First, we propose the hypothesis of spin vector potential by considering a particle with a spin operator. Second, to verify the existence of such a spin vector potential, we present a gedanken double-slit interference experiment (i.e., the spin AB effect), which is possible to be observed in the lab. Third, we apply the spin vector potential to naturally explain why there were the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya-type interaction and the dipole-dipole interaction between spins, and also predict a new type of spin-orbital interaction.
Exact solutions for spin-orbit (SO) coupled cold atomic systems are very important and rare in physics. In this paper, we propose a simple method of combined modulations to generate the analytic exact solutions for an SO-coupled boson held in a driven double well. For the cases of synchronous combined modulations and the spin-conserving tunneling, we obtain the general analytical accurate solutions of the system respectively. For the case of spin-flipping tunneling under asynchronous combined modulations, we get the special exact solutions in simple form when the driving parameters satisfy certain conditions. Based on these obtained exact solutions, we reveal some intriguing quantum spin dynamical phenomena, for instance, the arbitrary population transfer (APT) with and/or without spin-flipping, the controlled coherent population conservation (CCPC), and the controlled coherent population inversion (CCPI). The results may have potential applications in the preparation of accurate quantum entangled states and quantum information processing.
In the past few years, the lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) platform has revolutionized lithium niobate materials, and a series of quantum photonic chips based on LNOI have shown unprecedented performances. Quantum frequency conversion (QFC) photonic chips, which enable quantum state preservation during frequency tuning, are crucial in quantum technology. In this work, we demonstrate a low-noise QFC process on an LNOI nanophotonic platform designed to connect telecom and near-visible bands with sum-frequency generation by long-wavelength pumping. An internal conversion efficiency of 73% and an on-chip noise count rate of 900 counts per second (cps) are achieved. Moreover, the on-chip preservation of quantum statistical properties is verified, showing that the QFC chip is promising for extensive applications of LNOI integrated circuits in quantum information. Based on the QFC chip, we construct an upconversion single-photon detector with the sum-frequency output spectrally filtered and detected by a silicon single-photon avalanche photodiode, demonstrating the feasibility of an upconversion single-photon detector on-chip with a detection efficiency of 8.7% and a noise count rate of 300 cps. The realization of a low-noise QFC device paves the way for practical chip-scale QFC-based quantum systems in heterogeneous configurations.
Confinement of quarks due to the strong interaction and the deconfinement at high temperatures and high densities are a basic paradigm for understanding the nuclear matter. Their simulation, however, is very challenging for classical computers due to the sign problem of solving equilibrium states of finite-temperature quantum chromodynamical systems at finite density. In this paper, we propose a variational approach, using the lattice Schwinger model, to simulate the confinement or deconfinement by investigating the string tension. We adopt an ansatz that the string tension can be evaluated without referring to quantum protocols for measuring the entropy in the free energy. Results of numeral simulation show that the string tension decreases both along the increasing of the temperature and the chemical potential, which can be an analog of the phase diagram of QCD. Our work paves a way for exploiting near-term quantum computers for investigating the phase diagram of finite-temperature and finite density for nuclear matters.
Chen Ye, Xiangnan Xie, Wenxing Lv3, Ke Huang, Allen Jian Yang, Sicong Jiang, Xue Liu, Dapeng Zhu, Xuepeng Qiu, Mingyu Tong, Tong Zhou, Chuang-Han Hsu, Guoqing Chang, Hsin Lin, Peisen Li, Kesong Yang, Zhenyu Wang, Tian Jiang, Xiao Renshaw Wang MnBi2Te4 (MBT) is the first intrinsic magnetic topological insulator with the interaction of spin-momentum locked surface electrons and intrinsic magnetism, and it exhibits novel magnetic and topological phenomena. Recent studies suggested that the interaction of electrons and magnetism can be affected by the Mn-doped Bi2Te3 phase at the surface due to inevitable structural defects. Here we report an observation of nonreciprocal transport, i.e. current-direction-dependent resistance, in a bilayer composed of antiferromagnetic MBT and nonmagnetic Pt. The emergence of the nonreciprocal response below the Néel temperature confirms a correlation between nonreciprocity and intrinsic magnetism in the surface state of MBT. The angular dependence of the nonreciprocal transport indicates that nonreciprocal response originates from the asymmetry scattering of electrons at the surface of MBT mediated by magnon. Our work provides an insight into nonreciprocity arising from the correlation between magnetism and Dirac surface electrons in intrinsic magnetic topological insulators.
Xi-Yu Luo, Yong Yu, Jian-Long Liu, Ming-Yang Zheng, Chao-Yang Wang, Bin Wang, Jun Li, Xiao Jiang, Xiu-Ping Xie, Qiang Zhang, Xiao-Hui Bao, Jian-Wei Pan Quantum internet gives the promise of getting all quantum resources connected, and it will enable applications far beyond a localized scenario. A prototype is a network of quantum memories that are entangled and well separated. Previous realizations are limited in the distance. In this paper, we report the establishment of remote entanglement between two atomic quantum memories physically separated by 12.5 km directly in a metropolitan area. We create atom-photon entanglement in one node and send the photon to a second node for storage. We harness low-loss transmission through a field-deployed fiber of 20.5 km by making use of frequency down-conversion and up-conversion. The final memory-memory entanglement is verified to have a fidelity of 90% via retrieving to photons. Our experiment paves the way to study quantum network applications in a practical scenario.
We theoretically demonstrate that non-Abelian braiding operation can be realized through the scattering between chiral Dirac edge modes (CDEMs) in quantum anomalous Hall insulators by analytically deriving its S-matrix. Based on the analytical model, we propose a viable device for the experimental realization and detection of the non-Abelian braiding operations. Through investigating the tunneling conductance in a discretized lattice model, the non-Abelian properties of CDEMs could also be verified in a numerical way. Our proposal for the CDEM-based braiding provides a new avenue for realizing topologically protected quantum gates.
We perform a tensor network simulation of the (1+1)-dimensional $O(3)$ nonlinear $\sigma$-model with $\theta=\pi$ term. Within the Hamiltonian formulation, this field theory emerges as the finite-temperature partition function of a modified quantum rotor model decorated with magnetic monopoles. Using the monopole harmonics basis, we derive the matrix representation for this modified quantum rotor model, which enables tensor network simulations. We employ our recently developed continuous matrix product operator method [Tang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 170604 (2020)] to study the finite-temperature properties of this model and reveal its massless nature. The central charge as a function of the coupling constant is directly extracted in our calculations and compared with field theory predictions.
Non-line-of-sight (NLOS) imaging enables monitoring around corners and is promising for diverse applications. The resolution of transient NLOS imaging is limited to a centimeter scale, mainly by the temporal resolution of the detectors. Here, we construct an up-conversion single-photon detector with a high temporal resolution of ~1.4 ps and a low noise count rate of 5 counts per second (cps). Notably, the detector operates at room temperature, near-infrared wavelength. Using this detector, we demonstrate high-resolution and low-noise NLOS imaging. Our system can provide a 180 \mum axial resolution and a 2 mm lateral resolution, which is more than one order of magnitude better than that in previous experiments. These results open avenues for high-resolution NLOS imaging techniques in relevant applications.
Xiang You, Ming-Yang Zheng, Si Chen, Run-Ze Liu, Jian Qin, M.-C. Xu, Z.-X. Ge, T.-H. Chung, Y.-K. Qiao, Y.-F. Jiang, H.-S. Zhong, M.-C. Chen, H. Wang, Y.-M. He, X.-P. Xie, H. Li, L.-X. You, C. Schneider, J. Yin, T.-Y. Chen, et al (6) In the quest to realize a scalable quantum network, semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) offer distinct advantages including high single-photon efficiency and indistinguishability, high repetition rate (tens of GHz with Purcell enhancement), interconnectivity with spin qubits, and a scalable on-chip platform. However, in the past two decades, the visibility of quantum interference between independent QDs rarely went beyond the classical limit of 50$\%$ and the distances were limited from a few meters to kilometers. Here, we report quantum interference between two single photons from independent QDs separated by 302 km optical fiber. The single photons are generated from resonantly driven single QDs deterministically coupled to microcavities. Quantum frequency conversions are used to eliminate the QD inhomogeneity and shift the emission wavelength to the telecommunication band. The observed interference visibility is 0.67$\pm$0.02 (0.93$\pm$0.04) without (with) temporal filtering. Feasible improvements can further extend the distance to 600 km. Our work represents a key step to long-distance solid-state quantum networks.
Joonhee Choi, Adam L. Shaw, Ivaylo S. Madjarov, Xin Xie, Ran Finkelstein, Jacob P. Covey, Jordan S. Cotler, Daniel K. Mark, Hsin-Yuan Huang, Anant Kale, Hannes Pichler, Fernando G.S.L. Brandão, Soonwon Choi, Manuel Endres Producing quantum states at random has become increasingly important in modern quantum science, with applications both theoretical and practical. In particular, ensembles of such randomly-distributed, but pure, quantum states underly our understanding of complexity in quantum circuits and black holes, and have been used for benchmarking quantum devices in tests of quantum advantage. However, creating random ensembles has necessitated a high degree of spatio-temporal control, placing such studies out of reach for a wide class of quantum systems. Here we solve this problem by predicting and experimentally observing the emergence of random state ensembles naturally under time-independent Hamiltonian dynamics, which we use to implement an efficient, widely applicable benchmarking protocol. The observed random ensembles emerge from projective measurements and are intimately linked to universal correlations built up between subsystems of a larger quantum system, offering new insights into quantum thermalization. Predicated on this discovery, we develop a fidelity estimation scheme, which we demonstrate for a Rydberg quantum simulator with up to 25 atoms using fewer than 10^4 experimental samples. This method has broad applicability, as we show for Hamiltonian parameter estimation, target-state generation benchmarking, and comparison of analog and digital quantum devices. Our work has implications for understanding randomness in quantum dynamics, and enables applications of this concept in a much wider context.
We present a detailed study of the Bose-Hubbard model in a $p$-band triangular lattice by focusing on the evolution of orbital order across the superfluid-Mott insulator transition. Two distinct phases are found in the superfluid regime. One of these phases adiabatically connects the weak interacting limit. This phase is characterized by the intertwining of axial $p_\pm=p_x \pm ip_y$ and in-plane $p_\theta=\cos\theta p_x+\sin\theta p_y$ orbital orders, which break the time-reversal symmetry and lattice symmetries simultaneously. In addition, the calculated Bogoliubov excitation spectrum gaps the original Dirac points in the single-particle spectrum but exhibits emergent Dirac points. The other superfluid phase in close proximity to the Mott insulator with unit boson filling shows a detwined in-plane ferro-orbital order. Finally, an orbital exchange model is constructed for the Mott insulator phase. Its classical ground state has an emergent SO$(2)$ rotational symmetry in the in-plane orbital space and therefore enjoys an infinite degeneracy, which is ultimately lifted by the orbital fluctuation via the order by disorder mechanism. Our systematic analysis suggests that the in-plane ferro-orbital order in the Mott insulator phase agrees with and likely evolves from the latter superfluid phase.
Lu-Chuan Liu, Luo-Yuan Qu, Cheng Wu, Jordan Cotler, Fei Ma, Ming-Yang Zheng, Xiu-Ping Xie, Yu-Ao Chen, Qiang Zhang, Frank Wilczek, Jian-Wei Pan Interferometers are widely used in imaging technologies to achieve enhanced spatial resolution, but require that the incoming photons be indistinguishable. In previous work, we built and analyzed color erasure detectors which expand the scope of intensity interferometry to accommodate sources of different colors. Here we experimentally demonstrate how color erasure detectors can achieve improved spatial resolution in an imaging task, well beyond the diffraction limit. Utilizing two 10.9 mm-aperture telescopes and a 0.8 m baseline, we measure the distance between a 1063.6 nm source and a 1064.4 nm source separated by 4.2 mm at a distance of 1.43 km, which surpasses the diffraction limit of a single telescope by about 40 times. Moreover, chromatic intensity interferometry allows us to recover the phase of the Fourier transform of the imaged objects - a quantity that is, in the presence of modest noise, inaccessible to conventional intensity interferometry.
Wei-Jun Zhang, Guang-Zhao Xu, Li-Xing You, Cheng-Jun Zhang, Hao Huang, Xin Ou, Xing-Qu Sun, Jia-Min Xiong, Hao Li, Zhen Wang, Xiao-Ming Xie We report a compact, scalable, and high-performance superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) array by using a multichannel optical fiber array-coupled configuration. For single pixels with an active area of 18 um in diameter and illuminated at the telecom wavelength of 1550 nm, we achieved a pixel yield of 13/16 on one chip, an average system detection efficiency of 69% at a dark count rate of 160 cps, a minimum timing jitter of 74 ps, and a maximum count rate of ~40 Mcps. The optical crosstalk coefficient between adjacent channels is better than -60 dB. The performance of the fiber array-coupled detectors is comparable with a standalone detector coupled to a single fiber. Our method is promising for the development of scalable, high-performance, and high-yield SNSPDs.
Quantum computing and quantum communication, have been greatly developed in recent years and expected to contribute to quantum internet technologies, including cloud quantum computing and unconditionally secure communication. However, long-distance quantum communication is challenging mainly because of optical fiber losses; quantum repeaters are indispensable for fiber-based transmission because unknown quantum states cannot be amplified with certainty. In this study, we demonstrate a versatile entanglement source in the telecom band for fiber-based quantum internet, which has a narrow linewidth of sub-MHz range, entanglement fidelity of more than 95%, and Bell-state generation even with frequency multimode. Furthermore, after a total distribution length of 20-km in fiber, two-photon correlation is observed with an easily identifiable normalized correlation coefficient, despite the limited bandwidth of the wavelength converter. The presented implementation promises an efficient method for entanglement distribution that is compatible with quantum memory and frequency-multiplexed long-distance quantum communication applications.
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) with near-unity system efficiency is a key enabling, but still elusive technology for numerous quantum fundamental theory verifications and quantum information applications. The key challenge is to have both a near-unity photon-response probability and absorption efficiency simultaneously for the meandered nanowire with a finite filling ratio, which is more crucial for NbN than other superconducting materials (e.g., WSi) with lower transition temperatures. Here, we overcome the above challenge and produce NbN SNSPDs with a record system efficiency by replacing a single-layer nanowire with twin-layer nanowires on a dielectric mirror. The detector at 0.8 K shows a maximal system detection efficiency (SDE) of 98% at 1590 nm and a system efficiency of over 95% in the wavelength range of 1530-1630 nm. Moreover, the detector at 2.1K demonstrates a maximal SDE of 95% at 1550 nm using a compacted two-stage cryocooler. This type of detector also shows the robustness against various parameters, such as the geometrical size of the nanowire, and the spectral bandwidth, enabling a high yield of 73% (36%) with an SDE of >80% (90%) at 2.1K for 45 detectors fabricated in the same run. These SNSPDs made of twin-layer nanowires are of important practical significance for batch production.
Luo-Yuan Qu, Lu-Chuan Liu, Jordan Cotler, Fei Ma, Jian-Yu Guan, Ming-Yang Zheng, Quan Yao, Xiu-Ping Xie, Yu-Ao Chen, Qiang Zhang, Frank Wilczek, Jian-Wei Pan By developing a `two-crystal' method for color erasure, we can broaden the scope of chromatic interferometry to include optical photons whose frequency difference falls outside of the 400 nm to 4500 nm wavelength range, which is the passband of a PPLN crystal. We demonstrate this possibility experimentally, by observing interference patterns between sources at 1064.4 nm and 1063.6 nm, corresponding to a frequency difference of about 200 GHz.
We present in this work a quasi-continuous-wave (CW) pentacene maser operating at 1.45 GHz in the Earth's magnetic field at room temperature with a duration of $\sim$4 ms and an output power of up to -25 dBm. The maser is optically pumped by a cerium-doped YAG (Ce:YAG) luminescent concentrator (LC) whose wedge-shaped output is embedded inside a 0.1% pentacene-doped para-terphenyl (Pc:Ptp) crystal. The pumped crystal is located inside a ring of strontium titanate (STO) that supports a TE$_{01\delta}$ mode of high magnetic Purcell factor. Combined with simulations, our results indicate that CW operation of pentacene masers at room-temperature is perfectly feasible so long as excessive heating of the crystal is avoided.
Xin Xie, Weixuan Zhang, Xiaowu He, Shiyao Wu, Jianchen Dang, Kai Peng, Feilong Song, Longlong Yang, Haiqiao Ni, Zhichuan Niu, Can Wang, Kuijuan Jin, Xiangdong Zhang, Xiulai Xu Topological photonics provides a new paradigm in studying cavity quantum electrodynamics with robustness to disorder. In this work, we demonstrate the coupling between single quantum dots and the second-order topological corner state. Based on the second-order topological corner state, a topological photonic crystal cavity is designed and fabricated into GaAs slabs with quantum dots embedded. The coexistence of corner state and edge state with high quality factor close to 2000 is observed. The enhancement of photoluminescence intensity and emission rate are both observed when the quantum dot is on resonance with the corner state. This result enables the application of topology into cavity quantum electrodynamics, offering an approach to topological devices for quantum information processing.
By engineering and manipulating quantum entanglement between incoming photons and experimental apparatus, we construct single-photon detectors which cannot distinguish between photons of very different wavelengths. These color erasure detectors enable a new kind of intensity interferometry, with potential applications in microscopy and astronomy. We demonstrate chromatic interferometry experimentally, observing robust interference using both coherent and incoherent photon sources.
Yong Yu, Fei Ma, Xi-Yu Luo, Bo Jing, Peng-Fei Sun, Ren-Zhou Fang, Chao-Wei Yang, Hui Liu, Ming-Yang Zheng, Xiu-Ping Xie, Wei-Jun Zhang, Li-Xing You, Zhen Wang, Teng-Yun Chen, Qiang Zhang, Xiao-Hui Bao, Jian-Wei Pan Quantum internet will enable a number of revolutionary applications. It relies on entanglement of remote quantum memories over long distances. Despite enormous progresses so far, the maximal physical separation achieved between two nodes is 1.3 km, and challenges for long distance remain. Here we make a significant step forward by entangling two atomic ensembles in one lab via photon transmission through metropolitan-scale fibers. We use cavity enhancement to create bright atom-photon entanglement, and harness quantum frequency conversion to shift the atomic wavelength to telecom. We realize entanglement over 22 km field-deployed fibers via two-photon interference, and entanglement over 50 km coiled fibers via single-photon interference. Our experiment can be extended to physically separated nodes with similar distance as a functional segment for atomic quantum networks, thus paving the way towards establishing atomic entanglement over many nodes and over much longer distance.
Chenjiang Qian, Shiyao Wu, Feilong Song, Kai Peng, Xin Xie, Jingnan Yang, Shan Xiao, Matthew J. Steer, Iain G. Thayne, Chengchun Tang, Zhanchun Zuo, Kuijuan Jin, Changzhi Gu, Xiulai Xu Two-photon Rabi splitting in a cavity-dot system provides a basis for multi-qubit coherent control in quantum photonic network. Here we report on two-photon Rabi splitting in a strongly coupled cavity-dot system. The quantum dot was grown intentionally large in size for large oscillation strength and small biexciton binding energy. Both exciton and biexciton transitions couple to a high quality factor photonic crystal cavity with large coupling strengths over 130 $\mu$eV. Furthermore, the small binding energy enables the cavity to simultaneously couple with two exciton states. Thereby two-photon Rabi splitting between biexciton and cavity is achieved, which can be well reproduced by theoretical calculations with quantum master equations.
We demonstrate an ultrabright narrow-band two-photon source at the 1.5 -\mu m telecom wavelength for long-distance quantum communication. By utilizing a bow-tie cavity, we obtain a cavity enhancement factor of $4.06\times 10^4$. Our measurement of the second-order correlation function $G^{(2)} ({\tau})$ reveals that the linewidth of $2.4$ MHz has been hitherto unachieved in the 1.5 -\mu m telecom band. This two-photon source is useful for obtaining a high absorption probability close to unity by quantum memories set inside quantum repeater nodes. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, the observed spectral brightness of $3.94\times 10^5$ pairs/(s$\cdot$MHz$\cdot$mW) is also the highest reported over all wavelengths.
Lixing You, Jia Quan, yong Wang, Yuexue Ma, Xiaoyan Yang, Yanjie Liu, Hao Li, Jianguo Li, Juan Wang, Jingtao Liang, Zhen Wang, Xiaoming Xie Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) have advanced various frontier scientific and technological fields such as quantum key distribution and deep space communications. However, limited by available cooling technology, all past experimental demonstrations have had ground-based applications. In this work we demonstrate a SNSPD system using a hybrid cryocooler compatible with space applications. With a minimum operational temperature of 2.8 K, this SNSPD system presents a maximum system detection efficiency of over 50% and a timing jitter of 48 ps, which paves the way for various space applications.
We convert a strongly interacting ultracold Bose gas into a mixture of atoms and molecules by sweeping the interactions from resonant to weak. By analyzing the decay dynamics of the molecular gas, we show that in addition to Feshbach dimers it contains Efimov trimers. Typically around 8\% of the total atomic population is bound into trimers, identified by their density-independent lifetime of about 100~$\mu$s. The lifetime of the Feshbach dimers shows a density dependence due to inelastic atom-dimer collisions, in agreement with theoretical calculations. We also vary the density of the gas across a factor of 250 and investigate the corresponding atom loss rate at the interaction resonance.
Up-conversion single photon detector (UCSPD) has been widely used in many research fields including quantum key distribution (QKD), lidar, optical time domain reflectrometry (OTDR) and deep space communication. For the first time in laboratory, we have developed an integrated four-channel all-fiber UCSPD which can work in both free-running and gate modes. This compact module can satisfy different experimental demands with adjustable detection efficiency and dark count. We have characterized the key parameters of the UCSPD system.
The fast development of superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) in the past decade has enabled many advances in quantum information technology. The best system detection efficiency (SDE) record at 1550 nm wavelength was 93% obtained from SNSPD made of amorphous WSi which usually operated at sub-kelvin temperatures. We first demonstrate SNSPD made of polycrystalline NbN with SDE of 90.2% for 1550 nm wavelength at 2.1K, accessible with a compact cryocooler. The SDE saturated to 92.1% when the temperature was lowered to 1.8K. The results lighten the practical and high performance SNSPD to quantum information and other high-end applications.
We propose to realize and observe Chern Kondo insulators in an optical superlattice with laser-assisted $s$ and $p$ orbital hybridization and synthetic gauge field, which can be engineered based on the recent cold atom experiments. Considering a double-well square optical lattice, the localized $s$ orbitals are decoupled from itinerant $p$ bands and are driven into a Mott insulator due to strong Hubbard interaction. Raman laser beams are then applied to induce tunnelings between $s$ and $p$ orbitals, and generate a staggered flux simultaneously. Due to the strong Hubbard interaction of $s$ orbital states, we predict the existence of a critical Raman laser-assisted coupling, beyond which the Kondo screening is achieved and then a fully gapped Chern Kondo phase emerges, with the topology characterized by integer Chern numbers. Being a strongly correlated topological state, the Chern Kondo phase is different from the single-particle quantum anomalous Hall state, and can be identified by measuring the band topology and double occupancy of $s$ orbitals. The experimental realization and detection of the predicted Chern Kondo insulator are also proposed.
W. J. Zhang, H. Li, L. X. You, Y. H. He, L. Zhang, X.Y. Liu, X. Y. Yang, J. J. Wu, Q. Guo, S. J. Chen, Z. Wang, X. M. Xie We develop single-photon detectors comprising single-mode fiber-coupled superconducting nanowires, with high system detection efficiencies at a wavelength of 940 nm. The detector comprises a 6.5-nm-thick, 110-nm-wide NbN nanowire meander fabricated onto a Si substrate with a distributed Bragg reflector for enhancing the optical absorptance. We demonstrate that, via the design of a low filling factor (1/3) and active area (\Phi = 10 \mum), the system reaches a detection efficiency of ~60% with a dark count rate of 10 Hz, a recovery time <12 ns, and a timing jitter of ~50 ps.
Satellite-ground quantum communication requires single-photon detectors of 850-nm wavelength with both high detection efficiency and large sensitive area. We developed superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) on one-dimensional photonic crystals, which acted as optical cavities to enhance the optical absorption, with a sensitive-area diameter of 50 um. The fabricated multimode fiber coupled NbN SNSPDs exhibited a maximum system detection efficiency (DE) of up to 82% and a DE of 78% at a dark count rate of 100 Hz at 850-nm wavelength as well as a system jitter of 105 ps.
Haiyun Xia, Mingjia Shangguan, Guoliang Shentu, Chong Wang, Jiawei Qiu, Xiuxiu Xia, Chao Chen, Mingyang Zheng, Xiuping Xie, Qiang Zhang, Xiankang Dou, Jianwei Pan A direct-detection Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometry (BOTDR) is proposed and demonstrated by using an up-conversion single-photon detector and a fiber Fabry-Perot scanning interferometer (FFP-SI). Taking advantage of high signal-to-noise ratio of the detector and high spectrum resolution of the FFP-SI, the Brillouin spectrum along a polarization maintaining fiber (PMF) is recorded on a multiscaler with a small data size directly. In contrast with conventional BOTDR adopting coherent detection, photon-counting BOTDR is simpler in structure and easier in data processing. In the demonstration experiment, characteristic parameters of the Brillouin spectrum including its power, spectral width and frequency center are analyzed simultaneously along a 10 km PMF at different temperature and stain conditions.
Latching is a serious issue in superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) technology. By extensively studying the electrical transportation characteristics of SNSPD with different bias schemes, we conclude that latching is a result of the improper bias to SNSPD. With the quasi-constant-voltage bias scheme, the intrinsic nonlatching nature of SNSPD is observed and discussed. The SNSPD working in the nonlatching bias shows a smaller jitter and a higher pulse amplitude than that in the previous anti-latching method. The quantum efficiency of SNSPD with the pulsed photon frequency up to 3 GHz is measured successfully, which further proves the nonlatching operation of SNSPD.
The entanglement between two atoms in a damping Jaynes-Cummings model is investigated with different decay coefficients of the atoms from the upper level to other levels under detuning between the atomic frequency and the quantized light field frequency. The results indicate that the larger the decay coefficient is, the more quickly the entanglement decays. The detuning enhances the entanglement's average value at long times. More importantly, the results show that the so-called sudden death effect can be avoided by enhancing the detuning or the decay coefficient.
The cooling effects of a nonlinear quantum oscillator via its interaction with an artificial atom (qubit) are investigated. The quantum dissipations through the environmental reservoir of the nonlinear oscillator are included, taking into account the nonlinearity of the qubit-oscillator interaction. For appropriate bath temperatures and the resonator's quality factors, we demonstrate effective cooling below the thermal background. As the photon coherence functions behave differently for even and odd photon number states, we describe a mechanism distinguishing those states. The analytical formalism developed is general and can be applied to a wide range of systems.
We demonstrate that a single sub-cycle optical pulse can be generated when a pulse with a few optical cycles penetrates through resonant two-level dense media with a subwavelength structure. The single-cycle gap soliton phenomenon in the full Maxwell-Bloch equations without the frame of slowly varying envelope and rotating wave approximations is observed. Our study shows that the subwavelength structure can be used to suppress the frequency shift caused by intrapulse four-wave mixing in continuous media and supports the formation of single-cycle gap solitons even in the case when the structure period breaks the Bragg condition. This suggests a way toward shortening high-intensity laser fields to few- and even single-cycle pulse durations.
We experimentally observed a Hong-Ou-Mandle dip with photon pairs generated in a periodically poled reverse-proton-exchange lithium niobate waveguide with an integrated mode demultiplexer at a wavelength of 1.5 um. The visibility of the dip in the experiment was 80% without subtraction of any noise terms at a peak pump power of 4.4 mW. The new technology developed in the experiment can find various applications in the research field of linear optics quantum computation in fiber or quantum optical coherence tomography with near infrared photon pairs.
In this letter, we report an experimental realization of distributing entangled photon pairs over 100 km of dispersion-shifted fiber. In the experiment, we used a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide to generate the time-energy entanglement and superconducting single-photon detectors to detect the photon pairs after 100 km. We also demonstrate that the distributed photon pairs can still be useful for quantum key distribution and other quantum communication tasks.
This letter reports telecom-band sequential time-bin entangled photon-pair generation at a repetition rate of 10 GHz in periodically-poled reverse-proton-exchange lithium niobate waveguides based on mode demultiplexing. With up-conversion single-photon detectors, we observed a two-photon-interference-fringe visibility of 85.32% without subtraction of accidental noise contributions, which can find broad application in quantum information and quantum entanglement research.
We propose a scheme for using a spin chain with fixed symmetry interaction as a channel for perfect quantum communication. The perfect quantum communication is determined by the eigenvalues that form a special arithmetical progression, the concrete interaction parameter $J_i$ is obtained as a function of integer and perfect transmission time $t_p$. There are infinite choices of $J_i$ for perfect transmission and one can design the channel according to the requirement of $t_p$. This scheme will provide more choices of spin chain for future experiment in quantum communication.
We propose a scheme for using spin chain to realize an ideal channel of long distance entanglement. The results show that there has different entanglement in different Hilbert subspace, the anisotropic parameter $\Delta$ will frustrate the entanglement and the magnetic field affect the entanglement through changing the ground state, the boundary entanglement $C_{1N}$ has the simplest expression in the simplest subspace and it only depend on the first item of the ground state, that item can be increased when a local magnetic field is introduced. Our propose can be handled easily because it only needs a uniform XX open chain initialized in the simplest Hilbert subspace and a bulk magnetic field that absent for the boundary qubits.
We report 10-ps correlated photon pair generation in periodically-poled reverse-proton-exchange lithium niobate waveguides with integrated mode demultiplexer at a wavelength of 1.5-um and a clock of 10 GHz. Using superconducting single photon detectors, we observed a coincidence to accidental count ratio (CAR) as high as 4000. The developed photon-pair source may find broad application in quantum information systems as well as quantum entanglement experiments.
Braneshop, and
the US National Science Foundation.
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