Circuit QED Setup Research Articles

Robust Josephson-Kondo screening cloud in circuit quantum electrodynamics

We investigate the entanglement properties of a standard circuit-QED setup that consists of a Cooper pair box coupled to a long chain of Josephson junctions. We calculate the static charge polarization at finite distances along the device. Our calculations reveal a deep connection to the Kondo screening cloud, together with robust correlations that are difficult to measure in a condensed matter context. We also find weak sensitivity of these Kondo signatures to the actual parameters and design of the device, demonstrating the universality of the Josephson entanglement cloud.

Microwave degenerate parametric down-conversion with a single cyclic three-level system in a circuit-QED setup

With the assistance of a single cyclic three-level system, which can be realized by a superconducting flux qubit, we study theoretically the degenerate microwave parametric down-conversion (PDC) in a superconducting transmission line resonator with the fundamental and second harmonic modes involved. By adiabatically eliminating the excited states of the three-level system, we obtain an effective microwave PDC Hamiltonian for the two resonator modes in such a circuit QED system. The corresponding PDC efficiency in our model can be much larger than that in the similar circuit QED system based on a single two-level superconducting qubit [K. Moon and S. M. Girvin, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 95}, 140504 (2005)]. Furthermore, we consider the squeezing and bunching behavior of the fundamental mode resulting from the coherent drive to the second harmonic one.

Non-Markovian qubit dynamics in a circuit-QED setup

We consider a circuit-QED setup that allows the induction and control of non-Markovian dynamics of a qubit. Non-Markovianity is enforced over the qubit by means of its direct coupling to a bosonic mode which is controllably coupled to other qubit-mode system. We show that this configuration can be achieved in a circuit-QED setup consisting of two initially independent superconducting circuits, each formed by one charge qubit and one transmission-line resonator, which are put in interaction by coupling the resonators to a current-biased Josephson junction. We solve this problem exactly and then proceed with a thorough investigation of the emergent non-Markovianity in the dynamics of the qubits. Our study might serve the context for a first experimental assessment of non-Markovianity in a multi-element solid-state device.

Controllable generation of two-mode-entangled states in two-resonator circuit QED with a single gap-tunable superconducting qubit

We study controllable generation of two-mode-entangled states in a circuit QED setup, which consists of two spatially separated superconducting transmission line resonators and a single gap-tunable superconducting qubit. Two sharp coupling sidebands are induced when the artificial atom is suitably driven by a bichromatic microwave field. The two resonators can have squeezing-type interactions with the qubit via the coupling sidebands. If the two resonators are not degenerate, we show that the two resonators can be cooled down into the two-mode squeezed vacuum via dissipation of the qubit. The generation of the two-mode squeezed state is based on a dissipative state-engineering process, which explores the energy relaxation of the qubit as a resource. Moreover, the scheme does not need both the specific preparation of the initial state and the designed special dynamical process of the system. If the resonators are degenerate, we show that entangled coherent states of the resonators can be generated by use of the unitary dynamical evolution process of the system and the state-projection measurement. Moreover, macro entangled coherent states of the resonators with huge photons can in principle be created if the resonators and the qubit have sufficiently long lifetimes. The present scheme has two remarkable features: (1) only a single qubit is used in the generation of the two-mode squeezed state; and (2) the ultrastrong coupling condition and initializing the resonators in coherent states are not required. These make the present scheme more simple and feasible in experimental implementation.

Employing circuit QED to measure non-equilibrium work fluctuations

We study an interferometric method for measuring the statistics of work performed on a driven quantum system, which has been put forward recently (Dorner et al 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 230601, Mazzola et al 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 230602). This method allows the replacement of two projective measurements of the energy of the driven system with qubit tomography of an ancilla that is appropriately coupled to it. We highlight that this method could be employed to obtain the work statistics of closed as well as open driven system, even in the strongly dissipative regime. We then illustrate an implementation of the method in a circuit QED setup, which allows one to experimentally obtain the work statistics of a parametrically driven harmonic oscillator. Our implementation is an extension of the original method, in which two ancilla-qubits are employed and the work statistics are retrieved through two-qubit state tomography. Our simulations demonstrate the experimental feasibility.

Steady-state entanglement of two superconducting qubits engineered by dissipation

We present a scheme for the dissipative preparation of an entangled steady state of two superconducting qubits in a circuit QED setup. Combining resonator photon loss, a dissipative process already present in the setup, with an effective two-photon microwave drive, we engineer an effective decay mechanism which prepares a maximally entangled state of the two qubits. This state is then maintained as the steady state of the driven, dissipative evolution. The performance of the dissipative state preparation protocol is studied analytically and verified numerically. In view of the experimental implementation of the presented scheme we investigate the effects of potential experimental imperfections and show that our scheme is robust to small deviations in the parameters. We find that high fidelities with the target state can be achieved both with state-of-the-art 3D, as well as with the more commonly used 2D transmons. The promising results of our study thus open a route for the demonstration of an entangled steady state in circuit QED.

Detecting non-Abelian geometric phase in circuit QED

We propose a scheme for detecting noncommutative feature of the non-Abelian geometric phase in circuit QED, which involves three transmon qubits capacitively coupled to an one-dimensional transmission line resonator. By controlling the external magnetic flux of the transmon qubits, we can obtain an effective tripod interaction of our circuit QED setup. The noncommutative feature of the non-Abelian geometric phase is manifested that for an initial state undergo two specific loops in different order will result in different final states. Our numerical calculations show that this difference can be unambiguously detected in the proposed system.

Quantum-control approach to realizing a Toffoli gate in circuit QED

We study the realization of a Toffoli gate with superconducting qubits in a circuit-QED setup using quantum-control methods. Starting with optimized piecewise-constant control fields acting on all qubits and typical strengths of XY-type coupling between the qubits, we demonstrate that the optimal gate fidelities are affected only slightly by a "low-pass" filtering of these fields with the typical cutoff frequencies of microwave driving. Restricting ourselves to the range of control-field amplitudes for which the leakage to the non-computational states of a physical qubit is heavily suppressed, we theoretically predict that in the absence of decoherence and leakage, within 75 ns a Toffoli gate can be realized with intrinsic fidelities higher than 90%, while fidelities above 99% can be reached in about 140 ns.

One-step multiqubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state generation in a circuit QED system

We propose a one-step scheme to generate GHZ states for superconducting flux qubits or charge qubits in a circuit QED setup. The GHZ state can be produced within the coherence time of the multi-qubit system. Our scheme is independent of the initial state of the transmission line resonator and works in the presence of higher harmonic modes. Our analysis also shows that the scheme is robust to various operation errors and environmental noise.

Photodetection of propagating quantum microwaves in circuit QED

We develop the theory of a metamaterial composed of an array of discrete quantum absorbers inside a one-dimensional waveguide that implements a high-efficiency microwave photon detector. A basic design consists of a few metastable superconducting nanocircuits spread inside and coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide in a circuit QED setup. The arrival of a propagating quantum microwave field induces an irreversible change in the population of the internal levels of the absorbers, due to a selective absorption of photon excitations. This design is studied using a formal but simple quantum field theory, which allows us to evaluate the single-photon absorption efficiency for one and many absorber setups. As an example, we consider a particular design that combines a coplanar coaxial waveguide with superconducting phase qubits, a natural but not exclusive playground for experimental implementations. This work and a possible experimental realization may stimulate the possible arrival of ‘all-optical’ quantum information processing with propagating quantum microwaves, where a microwave photodetector could play a key role.

Two-resonator circuit quantum electrodynamics: A superconducting quantum switch

We introduce a systematic formalism for two-resonator circuit QED, where two on-chip microwave resonators are simultaneously coupled to one superconducting qubit. Within this framework, we demonstrate that the qubit can function as a quantum switch between the two resonators, which are assumed to be originally independent. In this three-circuit network, the qubit mediates a geometric second-order circuit interaction between the otherwise decoupled resonators. In the dispersive regime, it also gives rise to a dynamic second-order perturbative interaction. The geometric and dynamic coupling strengths can be tuned to be equal, thus permitting to switch on and off the interaction between the two resonators via a qubit population inversion or a shifting of the qubit operation point. We also show that our quantum switch represents a flexible architecture for the manipulation and generation of nonclassical microwave field states as well as the creation of controlled multipartite entanglement in circuit QED. In addition, we clarify the role played by the geometric interaction, which constitutes a fundamental property characteristic of superconducting quantum circuits without a counterpart in quantum-optical systems. We develop a detailed theory of the geometric second-order coupling by means of circuit transformations for superconducting charge and flux qubits. Furthermore, we show the robustness of the quantum switch operation with respect to decoherence mechanisms. Finally, we propose a realistic design for a two-resonator circuit QED setup based on a flux qubit and estimate all the related parameters. In this manner, we show that this setup can be used to implement a superconducting quantum switch with available technology.