Patent Application
20050101489
The present invention relates to quantum computing. More specifically, the present invention relates to entangling the quantum state of superconducting qubits.
In 1982 Richard Feynman introduced the concept of a “quantum simulator.” See Feynman, 1982, “Simulating Physics with Computers”, Int. J Theor. Phys. 21, p. 467, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Soon thereafter it was determined that a quantum system could be used to yield a potentially exponential time saving in certain types of intensive computations. See Deutsch, 1985, “Quantum Theory, the Church-Turing Principle and the Universal Quantum Computer”, Proc. of the Roy. Soc. of London A400, p. 97, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Since then, further quantum computing research has provided significant software and hardware advances. As the speed of classical computers approaches a projected upper bound due to the natural limits of miniaturization of integrated circuits, the interest in quantum computers has intensified. Indeed many algorithms suitable for quantum computing have been written. Two notable examples of such algorithms are the Shor and Grover algorithms. See Shor, 1997, SIAM J. of Comput. 26, p.1484; U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,766; and Grover, 1996, Proc. 28th STOC p. 212, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. Nevertheless, sizeable obstacles prevent the development of large-scale quantum computing devices that are practical and that are capable of out-performing known classical computers. See, for example, “Quantum Dreams”, The Economist, Mar. 10, 2001, pp. 81-82, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
In fact, the field of quantum computing remained theoretical until the late 1990's when several hardware proposals were tested. Of these hardware proposals, the most scalable physical systems appear to be those that are superconducting structures. Superconducting material is material that has zero electrical resistance below critical levels of current, magnetic field and temperature. Josephson junctions are examples of such structures. In fact, Josephson junctions are of special interest because their observable properties are macroscopic manifestations of underlying quantum mechanical principles.
One physical realization of a quantum computer is based on quantum bits, or “qubits.” Generally speaking, a qubit is a well-defined physical structure that (i) has a plurality of quantum states, (ii) can be isolated from its environment and (iii) quantum tunneling between each of the quantum states can occur. See for example, Mooji et al., 1999, Science 285, p. 1036. A survey of the current physical systems from which qubits can be formed is found in Braunstein and Lo (eds.), 2001, Scalable Quantum Computers, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Berlin, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
In order for a physical system to behave as a qubit a number of requirements must be satisfied. See DiVincenzo in Scalable Quantum Computers, chapter 1, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Berlin which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. These requirements include the need for the physical system (qubit) to be scalable. In other words, it must be possible to combine a reasonable number of the qubits in a coherent fashion. Associated with scalability is the need to eliminate qubit decoherence. Also required for a qubit to be useful in quantum computing, is the ability to perform operations that initialize, control and couple the qubit. Control of a qubit includes performing single qubit operations as well as operations on two or more qubits. In order to support universal quantum computing, this set of operations needs to be a universal set. A universal set of quantum operations is any set of quantum operations that permits all possible quantum computations. Many sets of gates are universal, see Barenco et al., 1995, Physical Review A 52, p. 3457, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Yet another requirement is the need to be able to measure the state of the qubit in order to perform computing operations and retrieve information.
There are two principal means to realize superconducting qubits. One means corresponds to the limits of well-defined charge (charge qubit). The other means corresponds to the limits of well-defined phase (phase qubit). Phase and charge are related variables that, according to basic quantum principles, are canonical conjugates of one another. The division of the two classes of devices is outlined in Makhlin et al., 2001, Reviews of Modern Physics 73, p. 357, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Materials that exhibit superconducting properties are attractive candidates for quantum computing applications, since the quantum behavior of the Bose condensates (Cooper pairs) at Josephson junctions have macroscopically observable consequences. Indeed, recently, several designs of a superconducting qubit have been proposed and tested. See, for example, Nakamura et al., 1999, Nature 398, p. 786; Friedman et al., 2000, Nature 406, p. 43; and van der Wal et al., 2000, Science 290, p. 773, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. The qubits described in these reference demonstrate the existence of qubits having potential energy states. The qubits described in these reference are not coupled and they are not controlled in a scalable manner. Therefore, the qubits described in these references do not satisfy all the requirements for universal quantum computing put forth by DiVincenzo.
The preferred type of superconducting material used to make a qubit depends on the nature of the qubit. Generally speaking, these materials are often divided into metal and oxides. However, the ability to deposit metals and oxides (that are not oxides of the deposited metal) on the same chip is expensive and time consuming. This is a concern because this form of deposition is needed in many types of qubit. Thus, known fabrication methods for forming many types of qubits is time consuming, expensive and difficult.
The quantum mechanical properties of a qubit are easily affected by interactions between the qubit and the environment (e.g., other systems). Yet quantum computing requires that the qubit be isolated from such interactions so that the state of the qubit can coherently evolve in accordance with a quantum gate that is applied to the qubit. Despite the requirement for isolation so that the qubit can evolve, universal quantum computing still requires some control over (interaction with) the qubit so that fundamental operations such as qubit initialization, gate application, and qubit state measurement can be effected. This apparent contradiction between the need for isolation and the need for control over the quibt is a direct result of the quantum behavior of qubits.
The need for isolated qubits that nevertheless can be controlled has presented numerous fabrication and design challenges. Such challenges have included identification of methods for initialization, control, coupling and measurement of qubits. Systems and methods for addressing these challenges are being investigated. In particular, systems in which qubits can be controlled and measured in ways that do not perturb their internal quantum states are being sought. Devices that include multiple controllable qubits that permit classical logic operations to be performed are central to the goal of building a quantum computer. To date, many known systems and methods for coupling model qubits in simulated quantum computing devices have been unwieldy and generally unsatisfactory. Such systems and methods are based on optics (entanglement of photons) or nuclear magnetic resonance (utilizing spin states of atoms and molecules).
Recently, however, inductive coupling between phase qubits has been described. See, for example, Orlando et al., 1999, “Superconducting Persistent Current Qubit”, Phys. Rev. B 60, p. 15398, and Makhlin et al., 2001, “Quantum-State Engineering with Josephson-Junction Devices”, Reviews of Modern Physics 73, p. 357 (and in particular, page 369), each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. However, the qubits described in Orlando et al. have not been coupled and controlled in a scalable manner.
As discussed above, in order to effect quantum computing, a physical system containing a collection of qubits is needed. A qubit as defined herein is a quantum two-level system that is like the ground and excited states of an atom. The generic notation of a qubit state denotes one state as |0>and the other as |1>. The essential feature that distinguishes a qubit from a bit is that, according to the laws of quantum mechanics, the permitted states of a single qubit fills up a two-dimensional complex vector space; the general notation is written a|0>+b|1>, where a and b are complex numbers. The general state of two qubits, a|00>+b|01>+c|10>+d|11> is a four-dimensional state vector, one dimension for each distinguishable state of the two qubits. When an entanglement operation has been performed between the two qubits, their states are entangled. This means that they cannot be written as a product of the states of two individual qubits. The general state of n entangled qubits is therefore specified by a 2n-dimensional complex state vector. The creation of 2n-dimensional complex vectors provides one of the bases for the enormous computing potential of quantum computers. For more information on qubits and entanglement, see Braunstein and Lo (eds), 2001, Scalable Quantum Computers, Wiley-VCH, New York, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Current methods for entangling qubits in order to realize 2n-dimensional complex state vectors are susceptible to loss of coherence. Loss of coherence is the loss of the phases of quantum superpositions in a qubit as a result of interactions with the environment. Loss of coherence results in the loss of the superposition of states in a qubit. See, for example, Zurek, 1991, Phys. Today 44, p. 36; Leggett et al., 1987, Rev. Mod. Phys. 59, p. 1; Weiss, 1999, Quantitative Dissipative Systems, 2nd ed., World Scientific, Singapore; and Hu et al; arXiv:cond-mat/0108339, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
It has been proposed in the art that a superconducting resonator can be entangled with a qubit when the resonant frequency of the superconducting resonator is correlated with the energy difference between the basis states of the qubit. See, e.g., Buisson and Hekking, Aug. 18, 2000, “Entangled states in a Josephson charge qubit coupled to a superconducting resonator,” LANL cond-mat/0008275 and the references therein, and Al-Saidi and Stroud, Dec. 4, 2001 “Eigenstates of a small Josephson junction coupled to a resonant cavity”, Phys. Rev. B, 65, 014512 and the references therein, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. The entanglement proposed in these references causes the state of the charge qubit to be entangled with the state of the superconducting resonator, thus illustrating the potential for achieving entangled quantum states in a solid state design. However, the references do not provide methods for coherently entangling the quantum states of qubits in a solid-state design, nor do they demonstrate how such entanglement is useful for quantum computing.
The Josephson junction qubit has been proposed in the art. See, e.g. Martinis et al, “Rabi oscillations in a large Josephson junction qubit”, preprint presented at the American Physical Society (APS) 2002 Annual Meeting, held Jul. 27-31, 2002, and Han et al., 2001, Science, 293, 1457, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. In order to perform quantum computation, the basis states |0> and |1> of the Josephson junction qubit are allowed to evolve according to the rules of quantum mechanics. This quantum evolution is extremely sensitive to decoherence arising from various sources, such as thermal excitations or stray fields. Therefore, qubits must remain coherent in order to achieve scalable quantum computation. Previously, mechanisms proposed for controlling quantum evolution required microwave frequency current biasing of the already current biased Josephson junction qubit.
A problem that is therefore present in the art is the question of how to entangle qubits in order to realize a quantum register that can support quantum computing. In the art, some types of qubits are set to an initial state using means such as a dc current. Next, the qubits are permitted to tunnel between a base and first energy level quantum state. The tunneling, also termed evolution, is a necessary aspect of quantum computing. One means for allowing qubits to evolve is to apply an AC current. The problem, however, is that qubits that are permitted to tunnel between a base and first energy level quantum state using an AC current cannot easily be entangled with other qubits in order to achieve a 2n-dimensional complex state vector, where n is the number of qubits in the quantum register. Such entanglement is necessary in order to realize a quantum register that can support quantum computing. Given the above background, it is apparent that improved methods for permitting qubits to tunnel between a base and first energy level quantum state are needed in the art.
Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The present invention provides apparatuses and methods for allowing qubits to evolve. A major advantage of the present invention is that the apparatuses and methods of the present invention can be used to entangle qubits in order to realize the quantum gates and registers that are necessary for quantum computing. In the invention, two or more superconducting qubits are coherently connected to a tunable circuit. In an illustrative case, there are two qubits that can be coherently coupled to the tunable circuit. Each of the two qubits is characterized by a qubit frequency. First, the tunable circuit is adjusted so that the resonant frequency of the circuit matches the qubit frequency of the first of the two qubits. The resonant frequency of the circuit matches the qubit frequency of the first of the two qubits when the resonant frequency is the same as the qubit frequency or is an integer multiple of the qubit frequency. When this is the case, the quantum state of the first superconducting qubit can evolve. Furthermore, the quantum state of the first qubit influences the quantum state of the tunable circuit. Next, the tunable circuit is adjusted so that the resonant frequency of the tunable circuit matches the qubit frequency of the second of the two circuits. When this is the case, the quantum state of the second qubit can evolve. Furthermore, the quantum state of the second superconducting qubit influences the quantum state of the tunable circuit. In this way, the quantum state of the first and second qubits becomes entangled. A further step of matching the resonant frequency of the circuit to the first of the two qubits, hence entangling the first of the two qubits and the circuit for a second time, reverses the entanglement of the circuit with each of the qubits. This essentially acts to reset the circuit. In this way, the circuit can be used for subsequent entanglement operations.
One embodiment of the present invention provides a resonant control system. The resonant control system includes a superconducting qubit that is characterized by a qubit frequency between about 0.8 Giga-Hertz (GHz) and about 40 GHz. Furthermore, the control system includes a circuit that is characterized by a resonant frequency. The resonant frequency is a function of an effective capacitance of the circuit and an effective inductance of the circuit. At least one of the effective capacitance and the effective inductance is adjustable so that the resonant frequency of the circuit can be tuned to a predetermined resonant frequency. The resonant control system further includes a superconducting mechanism having a capacitance. The superconducting mechanism coherently couples the superconducting qubit to the circuit. In some embodiments, the superconducting qubit is a Josephson junction qubit. In such embodiments, a current source is provided to bias the Josephson junction, thereby creating a three-energy level energy potential well for the superconducting qubit. In some embodiments, the circuit is superconducting.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a resonant control system that includes a plurality of superconducting qubits. Each superconducting qubit in the plurality of superconducting qubits is independently characterized by a frequency between about 0.8 GHz and about 40 GHz. The resonant control system further includes a circuit that is characterized by a resonant frequency. The resonant frequency is a function of an effective capacitance of the circuit and an effective inductance of the circuit. At least one of the effective capacitance and the effective inductance is adjustable so that the resonant frequency of the circuit can be tuned to a predetermined resonant frequency. Further, the resonant control system includes a mechanism for coupling at least one of the plurality of superconducting qubits to the circuit.
Still another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling a qubit. In the method, a superconducting qubit that is characterized by a qubit frequency is provided. Then, for some duration t,, at least one of an effective capacitance and an effective inductance of a circuit, which is capacitively coupled to the superconducting qubit, is adjusted so that the resonant frequency of the circuit is set to an active frequency that allows the circuit to interact with the qubit in a manner that permits quantum evolution of the state of the superconducting qubit. In some embodiments, the superconducting qubit is a Josephson junction qubit, and the method further comprises providing a current source to bias the Josephson junction qubit thereby creating a three-energy level energy potential well for the superconducting qubit. In some embodiments, the circuit is superconducting. In some embodiments, the resonant frequency of the circuit ω is:
where,
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling a qubit. The method comprises providing a superconducting qubit that is characterized by a critical frequency correlated with the energy difference between the basis states of the qubit. In the method a tunable resonant circuit is controllably coupled to the qubit for some duration t1. The tunable resonant circuit has a resonant frequency that correlates with the critical frequency of the superconducting qubit,
Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for entangling the quantum state of superconducting qubits. In the method, a plurality of superconducting qubits is provided. Further, the resonant frequency of a resonant circuit is tuned to a frequency f1 for a period of time t1. Frequency f1 is a frequency that allows the tunable resonant circuit to couple to a first superconducting qubit in a plurality of superconducting qubits. Next, the resonant circuit is coupled, during at least a portion of the period t1, to the first superconducting qubit so that the quantum state of the first superconducting qubit influences the quantum state of the circuit. Then, the resonant frequency of the tunable resonant circuit is tuned to the frequency f2 for a duration t2. Frequency f2 is a frequency that allows the tunable resonant circuit to couple to a second superconducting qubit in the plurality of superconducting qubits. The resonant circuit is coupled, during at least a portion of the period t2, to the second superconducting qubit so that the quantum state of the first superconducting qubit influences the quantum state of the circuit, thereby entangling the state of a plurality of superconducting qubits.
In some embodiments of the invention, a method for entangling the quantum states of superconducting qubits further includes a final step of tuning the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit to a first frequency f1 for a duration t3. The result of this entanglement operation leaves the resonant circuit unentangled with respect to the corresponding qubits from the operation thereby affecting a square root of SWAP logical operation.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a circuit comprising a superconducting qubit and a resonant control system that is characterized by a resonant frequency. The resonant frequency is a function of a bias current. The qubit is characterized by a qubit frequency between about 0.8 GHz and about 40 GHz. The circuit further includes a superconducting mechanism having a capacitance or inductance. The superconducting mechanism coherently couples the superconducting qubit to the resonant control system. Still another embodiment of the present invention provides a quantum register. The quantum register comprises (1) an array of superconducting qubits, (2) at least one resonant control system having a characteristic resonance frequency, and (3) a bus mechanism for capacitively or inductively coupling each superconducting qubit in the array of superconducting qubits to the at least one resonant control system.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controllably entangling a quantum state of a first qubit with the quantum state of a second qubit. The method comprises tuning a resonant control system, which is capacitively coupled to the first and second qubit, to a first frequency for a period of time t1. The first frequency corresponds to the energy differential between the lowest two potential energy levels of the first qubit. Then, the resonant control system is adjusted to a second frequency for a time period t2. The second frequency represents the energy differential between the lowest two potential energy levels of the second qubit.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for entangling a qubit in a first qubit group with a second qubit in a second qubit group. The method comprises coupling, for a first period of time, the first qubit with a first resonant control system by biasing the first resonant control system to a first frequency, the first frequency representing the energy differential between the lowest two potential energy levels of the first qubit. Then, coupling, for a second period of time, the first resonant control system to a pivot qubit by biasing the resonant control system to a second frequency, the second frequency representing the energy differential between the lowest two potential energy levels of the pivot qubit. Next, a subregion that is capacitively connected to the pivot qubit is isolated from the first qubit group and the first resonant control system. A second resonant control system is coupled, for a third period of time, with the pivot qubit by biasing the second resonant control system to a third frequency, the third frequency representing the energy differential between the lowest two potential energy levels of the pivot qubit. The second resonant control system is capacitively or inductively coupled to the second qubit in the second qubit group. Next, the second qubit group and the second resonant control system are isolated from the pivot qubit. Finally, the method includes coupling, for a fourth period of time, the second resonant control system with the second qubit by biasing the second resonant control system to a fourth frequency, the fourth frequency representing the energy differential between the lowest two potential energy levels of the second qubit.
In accordance with the present invention, a circuit for controlling a qubit includes a superconducting qubit having a qubit frequency between approximately 0.8 GHz and 40 GHz and a resonant control system that is characterized by a resonant frequency. This resonant frequency is a function of an effective capacitance of the resonant control system as well as an effective inductance of the resonant control system. Further, at least one of the effective capacitance and the effective inductance is adjustable so that the resonant frequency of the resonant control system can be tuned to a predetermined resonant frequency. The circuit further includes a superconducting mechanism coherently coupled to the suprconducting qubit and the resonant control system. The superconducting mechanism is used to coherently couple the superconducting qubit and the resonant control system together. In some embodiments, the resonant control system is superconducting.
In some embodiments of the present invention, controlling the coupling or entanglement of the superconducting qubit and the resonant control system can control evolution of the state of the superconducting qubit. For example, when the superconducting qubit and resonant control system are coupled, the state of the superconducting qubit evolves quantum mechanically. In contrast, if the superconducting qubit and resonant control system are de-coupled, the state of the superconducting qubit will not evolve. Evolution of the state of the superconducting qubit involves quantum tunneling between the superconducting qubit basis states, hence evolving as a coherent superposition of the basis states.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the superconducting qubit includes a superconducting system having two energy levels that form the basis states of the superconducting qubit. For example, one superconducting qubit that is useful in some embodiments of the present invention is a Josephson junction qubit. A Josephson junction qubit includes a Josephson junction and a current source for biasing the Josephson junction. See, Martinis et al., “Rabi oscillations in a large Josephson junction qubit”, preprint presented at the American Physical Society (APS) 2002 Annual Meeting, held Jul. 27-31, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference. In some embodiments of the invention, in which the qubit is a Josephson junction qubit, a capacitor is provided in parallel with the Josephson junction and current source.
In other embodiments of the present invention, the superconducting qubit is a charge qubit, a phase qubit, or a flux qubit. For more information on charge qubits and phase qubits, see, for example, Makhlin et al., 2001, “Quantum-State Engineering with Josephson-Junction Devices”, Reviews of Modern Physics, 73:357; Nakamura et al., 1999, Nature, 398:786; Friedman et al., 2000, Nature, 406:43; van der Wal et al., 2000, Science, 290:773, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the resonant control system includes an effective inductance and an effective capacitance. The resonant control system further includes a mechanism for tuning the resonant frequency of the resonant control system. In some embodiments of the present invention, a mechanism for tuning the resonant frequency of the resonant control system includes providing a Josephson junction in parallel with at least one inductor that contributes to the effective inductance of the system, such that providing a bias current across the Josephson junction can tune the effective inductance of the resonant control system, hence tuning the resonant frequency of the resonant control system.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the resonant control system is used to control quantum computation for the superconducting qubit or an array of superconducting qubits (e.g., a quantum register). In some embodiments, the resonant control system is used to mediate entanglements between superconducting qubits in the array of superconducting qubits. In this way, the resonant control system provides scalable, controllable entanglement operations for quantum computing.
An embodiment of the present invention includes a Josephson junction qubit, a resonant control system, and a superconducting mechanism having a capacitance for coupling the Josephson junction qubit and the resonant circuit. A Josephson junction qubit includes a Josephson junction and a current source. In some embodiments of the present invention, the Josephson junction is placed in parallel with a capacitor. In order to perform quantum computation, the potential energy landscape of the Josephson junction is biased so that it has a three-level potential energy well. The current source provides a controllable bias current through the Josephson junction. The bias current through the Josephson junction is useful for creating the three-level potential energy well necessary for quantum computing in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment of the invention, the two lowest energy levels of the potential well of the Josephson junction form the basis states of the Josephson junction qubit while the third energy level is used for measurement purposes. For example, the lowest energy level can represent state |0> and the second energy level can represent state |1>.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a method and structure for allowing superconducting qubits to evolve, where the same structure is also used to couple and hence entangle the quantum states of the superconducting qubits in a controllable manner. Because of this advantageous design, structures in the present invention support quantum computing operations. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a structure for performing quantum computing includes a superconducting qubit, a resonant control system, and a superconducting mechanism having a capacitance for coupling the superconducting qubit and the resonant control system. In some embodiments of the invention, a mechanism for coupling includes providing a coherent link between the superconducting qubit and the resonant control system. In some embodiments of the invention, when the frequency of the resonant control system correlates with the energy difference between the two lowest energy levels of the superconducting qubit, the resonant control system and the superconducting qubit are coupled and behave quantum mechanically. To support this quantum mechanical behavior, the resonant control system and the superconducting qubit must be coherently coupled. That is, they must be coupled in such a way that the wave function of the superconducting qubit does not collapse and lose its quantum mechanical state.
Referring again to
The Hamiltonian of circuit 100, which determines evolution of the quantum state of circuit 100, can be represented in the basis {|00>, |01>, |10>, |11>, |20>, |21>}, using standard ket notation. In ket notation, for a state x, “|x>” means the amplitude vector whose elements all have value zero except for the element indexed by x, which has value 1. In practice, the symbol used for x describes only part of the state of the system of interest; seen from the point of view of the whole system it represents an abstraction of all the states of the whole system that have some characteristic of interest (such as certain “bits” of the system's state description having certain values). In such situations, |x> implicitly refers to a state vector of the whole system which has non-zero, equal values whose squares add up to 1 for all elements corresponding to x's being the case, and 0 for all other elements. This notation allows more concise description of local operations that affect only a part of the state of the circuit. Accordingly, the number on the left in the ket expression “{|00>, |01>, 10>, |11>, |20>, |21>}” represents the state or energy level of the superconducting qubit and the number on the right in the ket represents the state of the resonant control system.
The Josephson junction qubit has basis states correlated with the 0, 1, and 2 energy levels. When resonant control system 120 (e.g., 120A, 120B) has a frequency that correlates with the energy difference between the |0> and |1> basis states of the Josephson junction qubit, the coupled basis states |01> and |10> from above are degenerate. Hence, the relevant degenerate entangled states of the coupled system are:
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a superconducting qubit is used for quantum computation by controllably coupling the superconducting qubit with a resonant control system. In some embodiments, the frequency of the tunable resonant control system is tuned to correlate with the energy difference between the basis states of the superconducting qubit. The energy difference between the basis states of the superconducting qubit determines the qubit frequency. From a different perspective, the superconducting qubit frequency is equal to the inverse of its tunneling amplitude. The tunneling amplitude of the superconducting qubit is correlated with the difference between the relevant energy levels in the potential well that describes the superconducting qubit system. In such embodiments, the frequency of the resonant control system is tuned to correlate with the superconducting qubit frequency. The resonant control system correlates with the superconducting qubit frequency when the resonant frequency of the tunable resonant circuit is such that the circuit interacts with the superconducting qubit in a manner permitting quantum evolution of the state of the superconducting qubit. In some embodiments, such correlation requires the resonant control system to be tuned to a resonant frequency that is the same as the superconducting qubit frequency. In other embodiments, such correlation requires the resonant control system to be tuned to a resonant frequency that is an integer multiple of the qubit frequency. In these embodiments, the resonant control system can have at least two modes of operation. In the first mode, the frequency of the resonant control system correlates with the energy difference between the computational basis states of the superconducting qubit. In the second mode, the frequency of the resonant control system does not match the energy difference between the computational basis states of the superconducting qubit.
In other embodiments of the invention, the frequency of the resonant control system correlates with the energy difference between the computational basis states of the superconducting qubit, and a switch is provided to couple and de-couple the resonant control system and the superconducting qubit. Switches useful for controllable coupling of the resonant control system and the superconducting qubit include superconducting single electron transistors (SSETs). The behavior of the SSET is found in P. Joyez et al., 1994, Physical Review Letters 72, p. 11; and Born et al. 2001, IEEE Trans. App. Superconductivity 11, p. 373, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
One aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling a superconducting qubit in a circuit that includes a superconducting qubit, a resonant control system, and a superconducting mechanism. The superconducting mechanism has a capacitance for coupling the resonant control system and the superconducting qubit together. In the method, the resonant control system is tuned to a resonant frequency fi for some duration ti. The resonant frequency fi of the resonant circuit and the duration ti of the coupling are application dependent. In some embodiments, resonant frequency fi correlates with the energy difference between the basis states of the superconducting qubit. In some embodiments of the invention, resonant frequency fi of the resonant control system correlates with the tunneling amplitude Δ of the superconducting qubit as a function of the relationship fi ∝ Δ−1. In some embodiments of the invention, resonant frequency fi is on the order of a Giga-Hertz (GHz). Resonant frequencies useful for the present invention range between approximately 0.8 GHz and 40 GHz. Duration ti of the coupling is application dependent but generally correlates with the tunneling amplitude Δ of the superconducting qubit or the energy difference between the basis states of the superconducting qubit. For example, in some embodiments of the invention, duration ti is approximately π/2, where 2π represents a full period of evolution.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the supeconducting qubit can evolve quantum mechanically when it is coupled to the resonant control system. Further, the state of the superconducting qubit can remain fixed when the resonant control system is not coupled to the superconducting qubit.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a quantum register for controllable entanglement of an array of superconducting qubits. In some embodiments, the array of superconducting qubits comprises two or more superconducting qubits, three or more superconducting qubits, 10 or more superconducting qubits, 50 or more superconducting qubits, between 10 and 100 superconducting qubits, more than 100 superconducting qubits, or less than 1000 superconducting qubits. An embodiment of the present invention provides at least two superconducting qubits, at least one tunable resonant control system, and a superconducting mechanism having a capacitance for coupling at least two of the superconducting qubits to one of the at least one resonant control system.
An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for entangling a quantum state of a first qubit with a quantum state of a second qubit. The method comprises tuning a resonant control system, which is capacitively or inductively coupled to the first qubit and the second qubit, to a first frequency for a first period of time. This first frequency corresponds to an energy differential between a first potential energy level and a second potential energy level of the first qubit. Then, the resonant control system is adjusted to a second frequency for a second period of time that is sufficient for the resonant control system to entangle with the second superconducting qubit. The second frequency corresponds to an energy differential between a first potential energy level and a second potential energy level of the second qubit. Hence, when the resonant control system is entangled with the second superconducting qubit, the quantum state of the first superconducting qubit is coupled to the state of the second superconducting qubit through quantum mechanical interaction.
Entanglement of the quantum states of superconducting qubits is a completely quantum mechanical operation that has no classical counterpart. In some embodiments of the invention, the entanglement operation leaves the state of the resonant control system unentangled with the states of the first and second qubit.
Some embodiments of the present invention further provide for entangling the states of a first superconducting qubit and a second superconducting qubit in a quantum register by coupling the resonant control system to the first superconducting qubit for a duration t3. The third entanglement removes entanglement of the tunable resonant control system with the superconducting qubits in the entanglement operation. This entanglement operation implements a square root of SWAP logical operation, which is sufficient, along with single qubit operations, to perform quantum computing. For more details on SWAP operations, see Blais, 2001, Physical Review A 64, 022312, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
In some embodiments of the present invention, a resonant control system can be used to provide non-nearest neighbor interactions between superconducting qubits in a quantum register. For example, a resonant control system can be coupled to an nth superconducting qubit in a quantum register for some duration t1, and then the resonant control system can be coupled to an mth superconducting qubit in the quantum register for some duration t2. After the entanglement operation has been performed and the quantum states of the nth and mth superconducting qubits in the quantum register have been entangled, the resonant control system can be used for subsequent operations. In some embodiments, as described in detail above, a third operation can couple the resonant control system to the first superconducting qubit in the quantum register for some duration t3. The durations t1 and t3 are the same, and correlate with a period of π, and the duration t2 correlates with a period of π/2.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides apparatuses and methods for entangling the states of a first qubit and a second qubit by using a parallel LC-circuit (tank circuit). In some embodiments, the tank circuit is a resonant control system that has a potential energy profile that includes a potential energy well. Preferably, the energy levels within the potential energy well are spaced apart on a nonlinear basis. In some embodiments, the resonant control system is a Josephson junction qubit, such as the Josephson junction qubit 110 illustrated in
Resonant control systems, such as Josephson junction qubit 110, have an intrinsic capacitance and inductance and therefore can form anharmonic (nonharmonic) resonators. This makes them suitable candidates for a resonant control system in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. One novel feature of the present invention is the use of resonant control systems, such as Josephson junction qubit 110, to entangle qubits. Such resonant control systems can entangle qubits of the same type. Furthermore, resonant control systems of the present invention can entangle qubits that are not the same type. For example, a resonant control system can be used to interchangeably entangle charge qubits, flux qubits, and phase qubits. In one case, the resonant control circuit is used to mediate operations between different types of qubits in the same system.
In some embodiments of the present invention, a resonant control system is used to stimulate controlled coherent evolution of a superconducting qubit. In particular, in some embodiments, the resonant control circuit includes a capacitively shunted Josephson junction and a mechanism for applying a bias current across the junction. As described above, one example of such a system is the Josephson junction qubit 110 (
The magnitude of Ic depends on the characteristics of the Josephson junction. In some resonant control systems of the present invention, a bias current of about 0.994*Ic or less is used. In other resonant control systems of the present invention, a bias current of about 0.990*Ic or less is used.
In some embodiments of the present invention, a system for controlling evolution of the quantum state of a superconducting qubit includes a superconducting qubit that is capacitively coupled to a resonant control system. The superconducting qubit includes any superconducting qubit in which operations for initializing the qubit, evolving the qubit, and reading out the quantum state of the qubit can be performed. Such qubits include phase qubits and charge qubits. In other embodiments of the present invention, the superconducting qubit is inductively coupled to the resonant control system. Inductive coupling is useful for superconducting qubit embodiments where alternate fabrication methods are necessary. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 10/025,848, entitled “FINGER SQUID QUBIT DEVICE” to Tsalenchouk et al., filed Dec. 17, 2001, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The potential energy profile of the Josephson junction in a resonant control system, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, will now be described. The potential energy profile of the Josephson junction includes non-linearly spaced energy levels within a potential energy well. Further, the probability of escape from this potential energy well due to tunneling under the potential barrier is preferably low. Such a potential energy profile is desirable because escape from the potential energy well results in a potential voltage drop across the Josephson junction that destroys all quantum state information present in the resonant control system. To achieve such a potential energy profile, the resonant control system is preferably biased with a bias current of about 0.994*Ic or less. The value Ic refers to the critical current value of the Josephson junction in the resonant control system.
A Josephson junction qubit used in quantum computing preferably has the potential energy profile illustrated in
Since qubit readout depends on measuring a voltage state, a system having the potential energy profile illustrated in
It is known in the art that controlled entanglement of quantum states of Josephson junction qubits is difficult when there is no intermediate mechanism for mediating the entanglement operation. Yet it is precisely this form of entanglement that is needed in order to build quantum computing devices that fully exploit the power of quantum computations. The problem of entangling qubits becomes more difficult when the qubits that are to be entangled are not the same type (e.g. phase qubit versus charge qubit). In such situations, an intermediate mechanism is typically needed. The present invention provides novel ways for entangling qubits using the resonant control system described above. That is, some embodiments of the present invention use the resonant control system as an intermediate mechanism. The resonant control system can be used both in a homogenous environment, where qubits of the same type are entangled, and a heterogeneous environment where different types of qubits are entangled. Thus, the intermediate mechanism allows for quantum heteroregisters in which different types of superconducting qubits are entangled. As used herein, a heteroregister is a plurality of qubits, wherein at least one qubit in the plurality of qubits is different than another qubit in the plurality of qubits and wherein each qubit in the plurality of qubits can be entangled with another qubit in the plurality of qubits. Thus, an advantage of heteroregisters is the ability to entangle different types of superconducting qubits, such as charge qubits, flux qubits, and phase qubits. For a review of various types of qubits, see Makhlin et al., 2001, “Quantum-State Engineering with Josephson-Junction Devices”, Reviews of Modern Physics, 73:357, as well as U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 10/025,848, entitled “FINGER SQUID QUBIT DEVICE”, to Tsalenchouk et al., filed Dec. 17, 2001, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
The characteristics of the resonant control system, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention, will now be described. In some embodiments, the resonant control system includes a Josephson junction and a current source for driving a bias current across the Josephson junction as described in detail above. Referring to
Readout device 650 includes junction 653, a current source 651, a ground 652, and a voltmeter 654. Junction 653 plays the role of changing the behavior of qubit 610 to the nonhysteretic, overdamped mode. In some less preferred embodiments, junction 653 is a shunt resistor made of normal metal. In other embodiments junction 653 is a Josephson junction with a large normal conductance and small resistance Methods for providing current source 651 are well known in the art. Current source 651 can be controlled from room temperature equipment using appropriate low-temperature filters.
Methods for providing voltmeter 654 are well known in the art. In some embodiments of the invention, the leads connecting to voltmeter 654 can pass through a cold amplifier to be sampled at room temperature.
Methods for fabricating superconducting charge qubit 610 are well known in the art. See, e.g., Vion et al., 2002, Science 296, p. 886, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Grounding mechanism 652 is capacitively isolated from readout device 650 by capacitor 671-1 and capacitor 671-2. In one embodiment, coherent control of the state of qubit 610 is achieved by application of a microwave signal directly to mesoscopic island region 670. The microwave signal has a frequency v01 that corresponds to the energy level separation between the |0> and |1> basis states of the qubit (e.g. the lowest two potential energy levels of the qubit in the potential energy profile of the qubit). As described in detail above for a different system, a microwave signal with the appropriate frequency causes transitions between the basis states of the qubit, hence providing manipulation of the qubit state. For more information on this phenomenon, see Yu et al., Science 296, p. 889-891, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In
Referring to
Using circuit 600, the quantum state of charge qubit 610 can be entangled with the state of resonant control system 620. In some embodiments, ground 630q is capacitively isolated from resonant control system 620.
Circuit 600 (
Bus 990 is capacitively coupled to qubits 610-1 through 610-N by respective capacitors 611-E-1 through 611-E-N (only capacitor 611-E-m and capacitor 611-E-n is shown in
The structure of a device 700 which includes a resonant control system 920 has been disclosed (
First, the resonant control system 920, is tuned to a frequency ω12 for a first period of time t1. The frequency ω12 is the energy differential between a first potential energy level and a second potential energy level (e.g., the lowest two potential energy levels) of a first qubit 610. Resonant control system 920 is tuned to the energy differential ω12 by adjusting the bias current provided by current source 921-1 (
When resonant control system 920 is tuned to frequency ω12, the energy differential between the lowest two potential energy states in the resonant control system 920 is the same as the energy differential between a first potential energy level and a second potential energy level (e.g., the lowest two potential energy levels) of first qubit 610. The length of time ti is application dependent. In some embodiments, t1 is one millisecond or less. In other embodiments, t1 is one microsecond or less. In still other embodiments, t1 is one hundred nanoseconds or less. In yet other embodiments, t1 is ten nanoseconds or less. In some embodiments, time period t1 is a function of the length of a time period t2 described below. In any event, the length of time that resonant control system 920 is tuned to a frequency ω12 is sufficiently long to entangle the quantum state of resonant control system 920 with the quantum state of the first qubit 610.
Next, resonant control system 920 is tuned to a second frequency ω12′ for a second period of time t2 by adjusting bias current 621-1. The frequency ω12′ represents the energy differential between a first potential energy level and a second potential energy level (e.g., the lowest two potential energy levels) of a second qubit 610. The length of time t2 is application dependent. In some embodiments, t2 is one millisecond or less. In other embodiments, t2 is one microsecond or less. In still other embodiments, t2 is one hundred nanoseconds or less. In yet other embodiments, t2 is ten nanoseconds or less. In some embodiments, time period t2 is a function of the length of a time period t1. In any event, the length of time that resonant control system 920 is tuned to a frequency ω12′ is sufficiently long to entangle the quantum state of resonant control system 920 with the quantum state of the second qubit 610. As a result, the quantum state of the first and second qubits become entangled. This entangled state is stored in both the first and second qubits and resonant control system 920.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the method includes a third step in which resonant control system 920 is tuned to the first frequency ω12 for time period t1. In such embodiments, time periods t1 and t2 correlate with the π and π/2 period evolutions. This results in a π1−π/2−π2 pulse sequence. The pulse π1 corresponds to one half of the period (2π1) of the system consisting of the resonant control system 920 and the first qubit 610 when they are entangled. The pulse π/2 corresponds to one quarter of the period (2π) of the system consisting of the resonant control system 920 and the second qubit 610 when they are entangled. The pulse π2 corresponds to one half of the period (2π2) of the system consisting of the resonant control system 920 and the first qubit 610 when they are entangled. This pulse sequence performs a quantum (SWAP)1/2 operation, leaving the first and second qubits 610 entangled while the resonant control system 920 is not entangled with either qubit. The time periods t1 and t2 that correlate with π and π/2 period evolutions depend on the physical characteristics of the resonant control system 920 and the first and second qubits 610. Typically, however, the entire operation is performed in nanoseconds. For more details on SWAP operations, see Blais, 2001, Physical Review A 64, 022312, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
It will be appreciated that there are limits to how large bus 990 (
In
A quantum register 800 that includes multiple qubit groups 802 has been disclosed (
In step 1000, a first qubit 610 in a first group 802 is coupled to a first resonant control system 920 for a time period t1000. In one embodiment, first qubit 610 is coupled to the first resonant control system 920 by biasing resonant control system 920 to a frequency ω12 that represents the energy differential between a first potential energy level and a second potential energy level (e.g., the lowest two potential energy levels) of first qubit 610. During step 1000, first qubit group 802 is isolated from other qubit groups 802 by opening all switches 991 that connect first qubit group 802 to other qubit groups 802. The length of time t1000 is application dependent. In some embodiments, t1000 is one microsecond or less. In other embodiments, t1000 is one hundred nanoseconds or less. In still other embodiments, t1000 is ten nanoseconds or less. In any event, the length of time that first resonant control system 920 is tuned to a frequency ω12 is sufficiently long to entangle the quantum state of the first resonant control system 920 with the quantum state of first qubit 610.
In step 1002, a switch 991 between the first qubit group 802 and a region 990-P that adjoins a second qubit group 802 is closed. Closure of switch 991 allows first resonant control system 920 to couple to a first pivot qubit 610-p. To achieve this coupling, resonant control system 920 is biased to a frequency ω12 that represents the energy differential between a first potential energy level and a second potential energy level (e.g., the lowest two potential energy levels) of pivot qubit 610. This coupling is allowed to continue for a time period t1002. The length of time t1002 is application dependent. In some embodiments, t1002 is one microsecond or less. In other embodiments, t1002 is one hundred nanoseconds or less. In still other embodiments, t1002 is ten nanoseconds or less. In any event, the length of time t1002 is sufficient to couple the quantum state of first resonant control system 920 with the quantum state of first pivot qubit 610-p.
After time period t1002, switch 991 is opened. During step 1002, a second switch 991 that electrically connects first pivot qubit 610-p to a second qubit group 802 is in an open state, thereby isolating the first pivot qubit 610-p from the second resonant control system 920 associated with a second qubit group 802.
In step 1004 the switch 991 (991-2) that connects region 990-P to the second group 802 is closed. This allows the first pivot qubit 610-p to couple with the second resonant control system 920 associated with the second qubit group 802. To achieve this coupling, the resonant control system 920 is biased to a frequency ω that represents the energy differential between a first potential energy level and a second potential energy level (e.g., the lowest two potential energy levels) of pivot qubit 610. This coupling is allowed to continue for a time period t1004. The length of time t1004 is application dependent. In some embodiments, t1004 is one microsecond or less. In other embodiments, t1004 is one hundred nanoseconds or less. In still other embodiments, t1004 is ten nanoseconds or less. In any event, the length of time t1004 is sufficient to entangle the quantum state of first pivot qubit 610-P with second resonant control system 920.
In step 1006, the second switch 991 is opened, thereby isolating second group 802 from first pivot qubit 610-P.
In step 1008, the second resonant control system 920 is coupled to a desired second qubit 610. This is accomplished by tuning the second resonant control system 920 to a frequency ω34 for some time period t1008. The frequency ω34 represents the energy differential between a first potential energy level and a second potential energy level of the second qubit (e.g., the lowest two potential energy levels) of the desired second qubit 610. The length of time t1008 is application dependent. In some embodiments, t1008 is one microsecond or less. In other embodiments, t1008 is one hundred nanoseconds or less. In still other embodiments, t1008 is ten nanoseconds or less. In any event, the length of time that the second resonant control system 920 is tuned to a frequency ω34 is sufficiently long to entangle the quantum state of second resonant control system 920 with the quantum state of the desired second qubit 610.
If the second qubit 610 is not found in the second group 802, then steps 1002 through 1006 can be repeated until the desired qubit group 802 is reached. In some embodiments, resonant control system 920 includes the current-biased Josephson junction described in detail above in conjunction with
It will be appreciated that the steps 1000 through 1008 will leave resonant control system 920 in an entangled state. However, in the case where resonant control system 920 has a Josephson junction, entangled resonant control systems 920 can be unentangled by driving a current pulse that exceeds the critical Josephson current of the Josephson junction through the system. In some embodiments, the π−π/2−π pulse sequence can be used to disentangle the resonant control circuit from the qubits. For example, an additional step 1003 includes coupling the first resonant control circuit 920 to the first qubit 610 for a duration t1000. Step 1003 can be performed before or after the first switch 991 (991-1) has been opened. After performing step 1003, the first resonant control circuit 920 will not be entangled with the other qubits in the operation, i.e., the first qubit 610 and the first pivot qubit 610-P. Further, a step 1009 can be performed that includes coupling the second resonant control circuit to the first pivot qubit 610-P for a duration t1004. In the present example, step 1009 must be performed with the second switch 991 (991-2) closed.
It will be further appreciated that, in a preferred embodiment, the respective energy differentials between the lowest two potential energy levels of each qubit in a given group 802 (
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus and method for entangling the states of a first qubit and a second qubit by tuning a parallel LC-circuit (tank circuit), which is in electrical communication with the qubits, to the energy differential ΔE between the ground state of the first qubit and the ground state of the second qubit for a period of time. When tuned to energy differential ΔE, the tank circuitry is able to entangle the quantum states of the first and second qubits.
In one example in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, a first and second qubit are placed in a state where the energy difference between the respective ground state of the first and second qubits correlates with a predetermined frequency. Tank circuitry that is in electrical communication with the first and second qubit is then tuned to this predetermined frequency. When the tank circuit is tuned to this predetermined frequency, the first and second qubits become entangled. Thus, in summary, a method for coupling qubits in accordance with this aspect of the invention includes (1) tuning the ground state energy difference between the two qubits to correlate with a predetermined frequency, and (2) tuning a tank circuit to the predetermined frequency for a period of time t.
Circuitry, systems, and methods for evolving a qubit and optionally entangling multiple qubits have been described. In these circuitry and methods, it has been emphasized that there is no limitation on the type of qubits that can be used. In fact, the present invention encompasses circuits in which different types of qubits are entangled.
Generally speaking, the qubits used in the systems and methods of the present invention can be grouped into two classes: (i) qubits that are described by a native interaction Hamiltonian that includes an off diagonal interaction term (e.g., the superconducting qubit 610 of
The dynamics of qubits of the first class, qubits that are described by a native interaction Hamiltonian that includes an off diagonal interaction term (e.g., Josephson junction qubits), are considered first using system 600 as an illustration (
where q represents qubit 610, b represents control system 620, and γ is a coefficient that depends on some physical parameters of system 600. The σxq term in Equation (A) is the off-diagonal term for the qubit. It relates to the qubit dynamics, where σx is represented by the matrix
Next, the dynamics of qubits of the second class, qubits that are described by a native interaction Hamiltonian that does not include an off-diagonal interaction term (e.g., charge qubits, phase qubits, flux qubits) are considered using system 600 (
where the entanglement term
is diagonal for the qubit. The σ2 term is represented by the matrix
which has only diagonal elements.
In the present invention, in order to utilize the qubit-qubit entanglement operation described in detail above (for the system described in
The native interaction Hamiltonian of the second class of qubits does not include an off-diagonal interaction term. Accordingly, qubits of the second class, in their native state, do not support the entanglement methods described above between (a) a qubit and resonant control system capacitively or inductively coupled with the qubit or (b) a qubit that is capacitively or inductively coupled with a bus that is in turn coupled with a resonant control system. However, the present invention provides novel methods for recoupling the interaction Hamiltonian Hzy for systems that include qubits of the second class described above (e.g., charge qubits). In the invention, novel methods are used to recouple the general interaction Hamiltonian Hzy for such systems in order to implement off-diagonal interactions between the qubit and the bus or resonant control system, thereby allowing for optimal entanglement of qubits of the second class.
Using the methods of the present invention, any qubit where single quantum qubit gates can be applied can be entangled with a resonant control system even in the case where the qubit is described by a native interaction Hamiltonian that includes only a diagonal interaction term (e.g., qubits of the second class). In one embodiment, this is achieved by applying a Hadamard gate, denoted H, to qubits of the second class before and after tuning a capacitively or inductively coupled resonant control system to a frequency that corresponds to the energy differential between the basis states of the qubit. Such an embodiment takes advantage of the phenomenon that the quantum computing equalities HσxH=σz and Hσ2H=σx recouples a native interaction Hamiltonian that includes a diagonal interaction term to result in an interaction Hamiltonian that includes an off-diagonal interaction term between the qubit and the bus.
Single qubit gates, such as the Hadamard gate, NOT, and CNOT, are described in references such as Makhlin et al., 2001, Rev. Mod. Phys. 73, p. 357, and the references therein, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. More specifically, single qubit gates are discussed in Appendix B of Makhlin et al. The Hadamard gate can be described in matrix form as
and is typically realized by a combination of the σx and σz single qubit operations. More specifically, application of a σz qubit operation for a time ta, followed by application of a σx qubit operation for a time tb, followed by a σz qubit operation for a time tc will achieve a Hadamard gate, where ta, tb, and tc depend on the state of the qubit. For any type of qubit of the second class above (e.g., qubits that are described by an interaction Hamiltonian that has a diagonal interaction term, such as charge qubits, phase qubits, and flux qubits), the single qubit operations σx and σz depend on the specific type of qubit. For example, for the charge qubit described in Makhlin et al., the σx qubit operation is realized by application of flux Φ to the qubit and the σz gate is realized by controlling the charge n of the qubit. These qubit operations are applied for some duration t that correlates with the phase on the state of the charge qubit. The charge n of the qubit can be controlled by changing the gate voltage of the qubit. Thus, in one embodiment, a Hadamard gate is achieved by changing the gate voltage for a time ta to the qubit, applying a flux for a time tb, and changing the gate voltage for a time tc.
Application of a Hadamard gate, before and after tuning a capacitively or inductively coupled resonant control system (e.g., creating the sequence H Hzy H) results in the interaction Hamiltonian:
where the interaction term is now off-diagonal (e.g., includes σx). Therefore, by application of a Hadamard gate before and after coupling a qubit, the present invention realizes universal quantum computation using several different types of qubits, including charge qubits, phase qubits, and flux qubits.
One aspect of the present invention provides a method for coupling a system comprising a superconducting qubit and a resonant control circuit. In this system, an interaction term of the native interaction Hamiltonian that describes an interaction between the superconducting qubit and the resonant control circuit has a diagonal component. In some embodiments, the resonant control circuit is characterized by an inductance and a capacitance. In some instances, the inductance is tunable.
In the method, a recoupling operation is applied a first time to the superconducting qubit. Next, the resonant control circuit is tuned, for an amount of time, so that the resonant frequency of the superconducting qubit and the resonant frequency of the resonant control circuit match (e.g. a plurality of quantum states of the resonant control circuit are respectively entangled with a corresponding plurality of quantum states of the superconducting qubit). In some embodiments the resonant frequency of the resonant control circuit matches the resonant frequency of the superconducting qubit when the energy differential between a first potential energy state and a second potential energy state in the superconducting qubit is the same as, or a multiple thereof of, the energy differential between a first potential energy state and a second potential energy state in the resonant control circuit. In various embodiments, the resonant control circuit and the superconducting qubit are entangled for one millisecond or less, one microsecond or less or one hundred nanoseconds or less.
In some embodiments, the tuning comprises setting an energy spacing between a first energy level and a second energy level of the resonant control circuit so that they correspond to an energy level spacing between a first energy level and a second energy level of the superconducting qubit. In some embodiments, the energy spacing of the resonant control circuit is effected by changing a bias current associated with the resonant control circuit. In some embodiments, the resonant control circuit comprises a current-biased Josephson junction and the tuning comprises changing a current across the current-biased Josephson junction. In some embodiments, such a current is changed by 1 micro-Ampere or less or 100 nanoAmperes or less.
Finally the recoupling operation is applied a second time to the superconducting qubit, thereby transforming the interaction term of the Hamiltonian to have only off-diagonal components. Such an embodiment takes advantage of the phenomenon that the quantum computing equalities HσxH=σz and HσzH=σx recouples a native interaction Hamiltonian that includes a diagonal interaction term to result in an interaction Hamiltonian that includes an off-diagonal interaction term between the qubit and the bus.
In some embodiments, the first and second recoupling operation each comprise application of a Hadamard gate on the superconducting qubit. In some embodiments, the Hadamard gate comprises the sequence Z(π/2)-X(π/2)-Z(π/2), where X(π/2) is a single qubit θ operation and Z(π/2) is a single qubit σz operation, and the σx operation and the σz operation are each applied over a phase evolution of π/2. X(θ) and Z(θ) refer to quantum computing rotation operators, and each one represents an evolution by the parameter θ of the quantum state of the respective qubit they are applied to. The rotation operators are well known in the art. See, for example, Nielsen and Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 174.
One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for coupling a qubit to a bus that is in communication with a resonant control system. The qubits in this embodiment of the invention do not have a native interaction Hamiltonian that is characterized by an all off diagonal interaction term. In the method, a first quantum gate is applied to the qubit. The qubit is then coupled with the bus. Then, a second quantum gate is applied to the qubit. In an embodiment of the present invention, the first and second quantum gate is a Hadamard gate. In this way, improved entanglement between the qubit and the resonant control system is achieved.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for entangling a state of a first qubit and a state of a second qubit in a system comprising (i) the first qubit, (ii) the second qubit, and (iii) a resonant control circuit. In this system, the first qubit, the second qubit, and the resonant control circuit are each respectively coupled to a bus. Further, an interaction term of a native interaction Hamiltonian that describes an interaction between at least one of the first qubit and the second qubit with the resonant control circuit has a diagonal component.
First recoupling operation. The method in accordance with this aspect of the invention begins with the application of a recoupling operation to at least one of the first qubit and the second qubit.
First tuning operation. Next, the resonant control circuit is tuned, for a first amount of time, so that a resonant frequency of the first qubit and a resonant frequency of the resonant control circuit match. The resonant frequency of the first qubit and the resonant frequency of the resonant control circuit match when, during this first amount of time, a plurality of quantum states of the first qubit is respectively entangled with a corresponding plurality of quantum states of the resonant control circuit.
Second tuning operation. The resonant control circuit is then tuned, for a second amount of time, so that a resonant frequency of the second qubit and a resonant frequency of the resonant control circuit match. The resonant frequency of the second qubit and the resonant frequency of the resonant control circuit match when a plurality of quantum states of the second qubit is respectively entangled with a corresponding plurality of quantum states of the resonant control circuit during the second amount of time.
Second recoupling operation. Finally, the recoupling operation is reapplied to the at least one of the first qubit and the second qubit. The two recoupling operation steps transform the interaction term between the respective qubit and bus so that it has only off-diagonal components. In some embodiments, the method has the additional step of tuning, for a third amount of time, the resonant control circuit so that a resonant frequency of the first qubit and a resonant frequency of the resonant control circuit match. If the first qubit was involved with the recoupling operation, then this embodiment can be performed before the second recoupling operation is applied to the first qubit.
In some embodiments in accordance with this aspect of the invention, the first qubit is capacitively coupled to the bus and the second qubit is capacitively coupled to the bus. In some embodiments, the resonant control circuit is in electrical communication with the bus. In some embodiments, the recoupling operation comprises implementing a Hadamard gate on the at least one of the first qubit and the second qubit. In some instances, the Hadamard gate comprises the sequence Z(π/2)-X(π/2)-Z(π/2), wherein X(π/2) is a single qubit σx operation and Z(π/2) is a single qubit σz operation, and each σx operation is applied over a phase evolution of π/2 and the σz operation is applied over a phase evolution of π/2.
In some embodiments in accordance with this aspect of the invention, the first tuning step comprises setting a first energy spacing between a first energy level and a second energy level of the resonant control circuit so that they are approximately equal to a second energy spacing between a first energy level and a second energy level of the first qubit. In some instance, this is accomplished by changing a bias current associated with the resonant control circuit.
In some embodiments in accordance with this aspect of the invention, the second tuning step comprises setting the first energy spacing so that it is approximately equal to a third energy spacing between a first energy level and a second energy level of the second qubit. In some instances, this is accomplished by changing a bias current associated with the resonant control circuit.
In some embodiments, the resonant control circuit is characterized by an inductance and a capacitance. In some instances, the inductance is tunable. In some embodiments, the resonant control circuit comprises a current-biased Josephson junction and the first tuning and the second tuning comprises changing a current bias across the current-biased Josephson junction. Very little change in the current-bias is required. For example, in some embodiments, the current-biased Josephson junction is changed by 1 micro-Ampere or less during the first or second tuning. In another example, the current-biased Josephson junction is changed by by 100 nanoAmperes or less during the first or second tuning.
While the present invention has been described with reference to a few specific embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications can occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and for all purposes to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/374,261 filed Apr. 20, 2002; U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/385,123 filed May 31, 2002; and U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/395,704 filed Jul. 12, 2002, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application is related to the following applications: U.S. application Ser. No. 09/452,749 entitled “Permanent Readout Superconducting Qubit” filed Dec. 1, 1999; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/872,495 entitled “Quantum Processing System And Method For A Superconducting Phase Qubit” filed Jun. 1, 2001; U.S. application Ser. No. 0/025,848 entitled “Finger Squid Qubit Device” filed Dec. 17, 2001; U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/341,794, entitled “Characterization And Measurement of Superconducting Structures” filed Dec. 18, 2001; U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/349,663, entitled “Two Junction Phase Qubit” filed Jan. 15, 2002; U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/383,597 entitled “Resonant Controlled Qubit System” filed Apr. 20, 2002, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60374261 | Apr 2002 | US | |
| 60385123 | May 2002 | US | |
| 60395704 | Jul 2002 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10419024 | Apr 2003 | US |
| Child | 10798737 | Mar 2004 | US |
