Abstract
We report the first experimental demonstration of quantum synchronization. This is achieved by performing a digital simulation of a single spin-$1$ limit-cycle oscillator on the quantum computers of the IBM Q System. Applying an external signal to the oscillator, we verify typical features of quantum synchronization and demonstrate an interference-based quantum synchronization blockade. Our results show that state-of-the-art noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers are powerful enough to implement realistic dissipative quantum systems. Finally, we discuss limitations of current quantum hardware and define requirements necessary to investigate more complex problems.
Highlights
Synchronization, i.e., the adjustment of the rhythm of a self-sustained oscillation to a weak perturbation, is a universal feature of many complex dynamical systems [1]
Our quantum limit-cycle oscillator is implemented in a single spin-1 system, which was recently introduced as the smallest possible system that can be synchronized [22]
The advantage of this approach is that the nonlinear dissipation required to study quantum synchronization corresponds to engineered single-qubit relaxation, which enables the study of nonlinear oscillators in the quantum regime
Summary
Synchronization, i.e., the adjustment of the rhythm of a self-sustained oscillation to a weak perturbation, is a universal feature of many complex dynamical systems [1]. We use two qubits of a quantum computer to implement the desired spin-1 system while the remaining qubits play the role of the environment sustaining the oscillation. The advantage of this approach is that the nonlinear dissipation required to study quantum synchronization corresponds to engineered single-qubit relaxation, which enables the study of nonlinear oscillators in the quantum regime. With this mapping in place, we perform a digital quantum simulation [23,24] of spin-1 synchronization dynamics on the publicly available few-qubit quantum computers at the IBM Q system [25].
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