Measurement-induced Back-action Research Articles

Cavity-enhanced single-shot readout of a quantum dot spin within 3 nanoseconds

Rapid, high-fidelity single-shot readout of quantum states is a ubiquitous requirement in quantum information technologies. For emitters with a spin-preserving optical transition, spin readout can be achieved by driving the transition with a laser and detecting the emitted photons. The speed and fidelity of this approach is typically limited by low photon collection rates and measurement back-action. Here we use an open microcavity to enhance the optical readout signal from a semiconductor quantum dot spin state, largely overcoming these limitations. We achieve single-shot readout of an electron spin in only 3 nanoseconds with a fidelity of (95.2 ± 0.7)%, and observe quantum jumps using repeated single-shot measurements. Owing to the speed of our readout, errors resulting from measurement-induced back-action have minimal impact. Our work reduces the spin readout-time well below both the achievable spin relaxation and dephasing times in semiconductor quantum dots, opening up new possibilities for their use in quantum technologies.

Noisy monitored quantum dynamics of ergodic multi-qubit systems

I employ random-matrix methods to set up and solve statistical models of noisy nonunitary dynamics that appear in the context of monitored quantum systems. The models cover a range of scenarios combining random dynamics and measurements of variable strength of one or several qubits. The combined dynamics drive the system into states whose statistics reflect the competition of randomizing unitary evolution and the measurement-induced backaction collapsing the state. These effects are mediated by entanglement, as I describe in detail by analytical results. For the paradigmatic case of monitoring via a single designated qubit, this reveals a simple statistical mechanism, in which the monitoring conditions the state of the monitored qubit, which then imposes statistical constraints on the remaining quantities of the system. For the case of monitoring several qubits with prescribed strength, the developed formalism allows one to set up the statistical description and solve it numerically. Finally, I also compare the analytical results to the monitored dynamics of a quantum kicked top, revealing two regimes where the statistical model either describes the full stationary dynamics, or resolves time scales during particular parts of the evolution.

Modeling and Control of Quantum Measurement-Induced Backaction in Double Quantum Dots

Quantum measurements disturb the quantum system being measured, and this is known as measurement-induced backaction. In this work, we consider a double quantum dot monitored by a nearby quantum point contact where the measurement-induced backaction plays an important role. Taking advantage of the quantum master equation approach, we calculate the tunnelling current, and propose a simple feedbackcontrol law to realize and stabilize the tunnelling current. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations show that the feedback control law can make the current quickly convergent to the desired value.

5-mg suspended mirror driven by measurement-induced backaction

Quantum mechanics predicts superposition of position states even for macroscopic objects. Recently, the use of a quasi-freely suspended mirror combined with laser was proposed to prepare such states, by M\"uller-Ebhardt et al. [Phys.Rev.Lett.100, 013601 (2008)]. One of the key milestones towards this goal is the preparation of the mechanical oscillator mainly driven by quantum back-action, which identifies the connection between the object and quantumness of the light. Here, we describe development of a suspended 5-mg mirror driven by quantum back-action larger than thermal fluctuating force by a factor of 1.4$\pm$0.2 at 325 Hz,which is confirmed by using a triangular optical cavity.

Single-shot quantum state estimation via a continuous measurement in the strong backaction regime

We study quantum tomography based on a stochastic continuous-time measurement record obtained from a probe field collectively interacting with an ensemble of identically prepared systems. In comparison to previous studies, we consider here the case in which the measurement-induced backaction has a nonnegligible effect on the dynamical evolution of the ensemble. We formulate a maximum likelihood estimate for the initial quantum state given only a single instance of the continuous diffusive measurement record. We apply our estimator to the simplest problem -- state tomography of a single pure qubit, which, during the course of the measurement, is also subjected to dynamical control. We identify a regime where the many-body system is well approximated at all times by a separable pure spin coherent state, whose Bloch vector undergoes a conditional stochastic evolution. We simulate the results of our estimator and show that we can achieve close to the upper bound of fidelity set by the optimal POVM. This estimate is compared to, and significantly outperforms, an equivalent estimator that ignores measurement backaction.

Quantum back-action in measurements of zero-point mechanical oscillations

Measurement-induced back action, a direct consequence of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, is the defining feature of quantum measurements. We use quantum measurement theory to analyze the recent experiment of Safavi-Naeini et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 108}, 033602 (2012)], and show that results of this experiment not only characterize the zero-point fluctuation of a near-ground-state nanomechanical oscillator, but also demonstrate the existence of quantum back-action noise --- through correlations that exist between sensing noise and back-action noise. These correlations arise from the quantum coherence between the mechanical oscillator and the measuring device, which build up during the measurement process, and are key to improving sensitivities beyond the Standard Quantum Limit.

Bragg spectroscopic interferometer and quantum measurement-induced correlations in atomic Bose–Einstein condensates

We theoretically analyse the Bragg spectroscopic interferometer of two spatially separated atomic Bose–Einstein condensates that was experimentally realized by Saba et al (2005 Science307 1945) by continuously monitoring the relative phase evolution. Even though atoms in the light-stimulated Bragg scattering interact with intense coherent laser beams, we show that the phase is created by quantum measurement-induced backaction on the homodyne photocurrent of the lasers, opening the possibilities for quantum-enhanced interferometric schemes. We identify two regimes of phase evolution: a running phase regime observed in the experiment of Saba et al, which is sensitive to an energy offset and suitable for an interferometer, and a trapped phase regime, which can be insensitive to the applied forces and detrimental to interferometric applications.

Ancilla-driven quantum computation with twisted graph states

We introduce a new paradigm for quantum computing called Ancilla-Driven Quantum Computation (ADQC) which combines aspects of the quantum circuit (Deutsch, 1989 [1]) and the one-way model (Raussendorf and Briegel, 2001 [2]) to overcome some of the challenging issues in building large-scale quantum computers. Instead of directly manipulating each qubit to perform universal quantum logic gates or measurements, ADQC uses a fixed two-qubit interaction to couple the memory register of a quantum computer to an ancilla qubit. By measuring the ancilla, the measurement-induced back-action on the system performs the desired logical operations.We characterise all two-qubit interactions which couple any ancilla qubit with any memory qubit, while satisfying certain desirable conditions. We require these interactions to implement unitary, stepwise deterministic and universal evolution. Moreover, it should be possible to standardise the computation, that is, applying all global operations at the beginning. We prove there are only two such classes of interactions characterised in terms of the non-local part of the interaction operator. This leads to the definition of a new entanglement resource called twisted graph states generated from non-commuting operators. The ADQC model is formalised in an algebraic framework similar to the Measurement Calculus (Danos et al., 2007 [8]). Furthermore, we present the notion of causal flow for twisted graph states, based on the stabiliser formalism, to characterise the determinism. Finally we demonstrate a compositional embedding between ADQC and both the one-way and circuit models which will allow us to transfer recently developed theory and toolkits of measurement-based quantum computing directly into ADQC.

Control-free control: Manipulating a quantum system using only a limited set of measurements

We present and discuss different protocols for preparing an arbitrary quantum state of a qubit using only a restricted set of measurements, with no unitary operations at all. We show that an arbitrary state can indeed be prepared, provided that the available measurements satisfy certain requirements. Our results shed light on the role that measurement-induced back-action plays in quantum feedback control and the extent to which this back-action can be exploited in quantum-control protocols.

Nonlinear quantum dynamics of two BEC modes dispersively coupled by an optical cavity

We derive a quantum master equation for a single mode excitation of a Bose-Einstein condensate by a high-finesse optical cavity. This system is formally analogous to a broad class of opto-mechanical systems comprising vibrating mirrors and resonator modes coupled by radiation pressure. The presented equation accounts for the dissipative part of the dynamics due to the coupling of a driven, lossy optical mode of a resonator. This allows for exploring the quantum limit of opto-mechanical systems in the presence of dissipation in a classically bistable regime. We find that the measurement-induced back-action noise impedes the observation of quantum tunneling and leads to a non-exponential dephasing of coherent matter wave oscillations.

Twisted Graph States for Ancilla-driven Universal Quantum Computation

We introduce a new paradigm for quantum computing called Ancilla-Driven Quantum Computation (ADQC) which combines aspects both of the quantum circuit [D. Deutsch. Quantum computational networks. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond A, 425, 1989] and the one-way model [R. Raussendorf and H. J. Briegel. A one-way quantum computer. Physical Review Letters, 86, 2001] to overcome challenging issues in building large-scale quantum computers. Instead of directly manipulating each qubit to perform universal quantum logic gates or measurements, ADQC uses a fixed two-qubit interaction to couple the memory register of a quantum computer to an ancilla qubit. By measuring the ancilla, the measurement-induced back-action on the system performs the desired logical operations. The underlying mathematical model is based on a new entanglement resource called twisted graph states generated from non-commuting operators, leading to a surprisingly powerful structure for parallel computation compared to graph states obtained from commuting generators. [M. Hein, J. Eisert, and H.J. Briegel. Multi-party entanglement in graph states. Physical Review A, 69, 2004. quant-ph/0307130]. The ADQC model is formalised in an algebraic framework similar to the Measurement Calculus [V. Danos, E. Kashefi, and P. Panangaden. The measurement calculus. Journal of ACM, 2007]. Furthermore, we present the notion of causal flow for twisted graph states, based on the stabiliser formalism, to characterise the determinism. Finally we demonstrate compositional embedding between ADQC and both the one-way and circuit models which will allow us to transfer recently developed theory and toolkits of measurement-based quantum computing and quantum circuit models directly into ADQC.