Non-interacting Qubits Research Articles

Dynamically generated decoherence-free subspaces and subsystems on superconducting qubits

Decoherence-free subspaces and subsystems (DFS) preserve quantum information by encoding it into symmetry-protected states unaffected by decoherence. An inherent DFS of a given experimental system may not exist; however, through the use of dynamical decoupling (DD), one can induce symmetries that support DFSs. Here, we provide the first experimental demonstration of DD-generated decoherence-free subsystem logical qubits. Utilizing IBM Quantum superconducting processors, we investigate two and three-qubit DFS codes comprising up to six and seven noninteracting logical qubits, respectively. Through a combination of DD and error detection, we show that DFS logical qubits can achieve up to a 23% improvement in state preservation fidelity over physical qubits subject to DD alone. This constitutes a beyond-breakeven fidelity improvement for DFS-encoded qubits. Our results showcase the potential utility of DFS codes as a pathway toward enhanced computational accuracy via logical encoding on quantum processors.

Correlated qubit coherences stimulated by thermal energy

Abstract Quantum coherence, the ability of a system to be in a quantum superposition of pure states, is a distinct feature of quantum mechanics that has no direct analog in classical mechanics. Quantum states that possess coherence efficiently outperform their classical counterparts in fundamental science and practical applications, including quantum metrology, computation, and simulation. Generation of coherence without the need to employ strong classical drives remains a challenging and not yet experimentally explored task. Beyond individual thermally-induced coherences already proposed for different experiments, correlated quantum coherences of multiple qubits represent a new target. We prove that correlated qubit coherence emerges thermally stimulated from incoherent states in hybrid superconducting and solid-state systems comprising non-interacting qubits coupled only via Dicke-type interaction to a shared thermal mechanical oscillator, exhibits coherences beyond the Tavis–Cummings coupling and, moreover, can be advantageous in quantum sensing.

Faithful quantum teleportation through common and independent qubit-noise configurations and multi-parameter estimation in the output of teleported state

Quantum teleportation allows the transmission of unknown quantum states over arbitrary distances. This paper studies quantum teleportation via two non-interacting qubits coupled to local fields and Ornstein Uhlenbeck noise. We consider two different qubit-noise configurations, i.e., common qubit-noise interactions and independent qubit-noise interactions. We introduce a Gaussian Ornstein Uhlenbeck process to take into account the noisy effects of the local external fields. Furthermore, we address the intrinsic behavior of classical fields toward single- and two-qubit quantum teleportation as a function of various parameters. Additionally, using a quantum estimation theory, we study single- and multi-parameter estimation of the teleported state output for single and two-qubit quantum teleportation scenarios. One important application of this work is obtaining more valuable information in quantum remote sensing.

Quantum memory-assisted entropic uncertainty and entanglement dynamics: two qubits coupled with local fields and Ornstein Uhlenbeck noise

Entropic uncertainty and entanglement are two distinct aspects of quantum mechanical procedures. The estimation of the entropic uncertainty is required for the increased accuracy and, hence, for the enhanced efficacy of quantum information processing tasks. In this regard, we analyze the entropic uncertainty, entropic uncertainty lower bound, and concurrence dynamics in two non-interacting qubits. The exposure of two qubits is studied in two different qubit-noise configurations, namely, common qubit-noise and independent qubit-noise interactions. To include the noisy effects of the local external fields, a Gaussian Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process is considered. We show that the increase in entropic uncertainty gives rise to the disentanglement in the two-qubit Werner state. Depending on the parameters adjustment and the number of environments coupled, different classical environments have varying capacities to induce entropic uncertainty and disentanglement in quantum systems. The entanglement remains vulnerable to the external classical fields; however, by employing the ideal parameter ranges we provided, prolonged entanglement retention while preventing entropic uncertainty growth can be achieved. Besides, we have also analyzed the intrinsic behavior of the classical fields towards two-qubit entanglement with no imperfection with respect to different parameters.

Demonstration of universal control between non-interacting qubits using the Quantum Zeno effect

The Zeno effect occurs in quantum systems when a very strong measurement is applied, which can alter the dynamics in non-trivial ways. Despite being dissipative, the dynamics stay coherent within any degenerate subspaces of the measurement. Here we show that such a measurement can turn a single-qubit operation into a two- or multi-qubit entangling gate, even in a non-interacting system. We demonstrate this gate between two effectively non-interacting transmon qubits. Our Zeno gate works by imparting a geometric phase on the system, conditioned on it lying within a particular non-local subspace. These results show how universality can be generated not only by coherent interactions as is typically employed in quantum information platforms, but also by Zeno measurements.

Demonstration of entanglement and coherence in GHZ-like state when exposed to classical environments with power-law noise

We investigate the dynamics and protection of entanglement and coherence in three non-interacting qubits that are initially prepared as mixed entangled GHZ-like state when coupled with external classical fields. A type of Gaussian noise, namely power-law (PL) noise, controls the external local fields in three different configurations with single, double, and triple noise sources. When influenced by a single PL noise source, the GHZ-class state remains partially entangled and coherent indefinitely, in contrast to the multiple PL noise sources. However, long-term non-local correlations and coherence are still possible in the presence of multiple noise sources. In classical fluctuating environments, the PL noise restricts the entanglement sudden death and birth phenomenon, thereby preventing the conversion of free states to resource states. In addition to the noise phase, parameter optimization in local fields regulates disorders, noise effects, and memory properties. Unlike the bipartite and tripartite W-type states, the GHZ-like state has shown positive traits of preserving entanglement and coherence in the presence of PL noise.

Probing multipartite entanglement, coherence and quantum information preservation under classical Ornstein–Uhlenbeck noise

We address entanglement, coherence, and information protection in a system of four non-interacting qubits coupled with different classical environments, namely: common, bipartite, tripartite, and independent environments described by Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (ORU) noise. We show that quantum information preserved by the four qubit state is more dependent on the coherence than the entanglement using time-dependent entanglement witness, purity, and Shannon entropy. We find these two quantum phenomena directly interrelated and highly vulnerable in environments with ORU noise, resulting in the pure exponential decay of a considerable amount. The current Markovian dynamical map, as well as suppression of the fluctuating character of the environments, are observed to be entirely attributable to the Gaussian nature of the noise. The increasing number of environments are witnessed to speed up the amount of decay. Unlike other noises, the current noise parameter’s flexible range is readily exploitable, ensuring long enough preserved memory properties. The four-qubit GHZ state, besides having a large information storage potential, stands partially entangled and coherent in common environments for an indefinite duration. In addition, we derive computational values for each system-environment interaction, which will help quantum practitioners to optimize the related classical environments.

Spontaneous decay of artificial atoms in a three-qubit system

We study the evolution of qubits amplitudes in a one-dimensional chain consisting of three equidistantly spaced noninteracting qubits embedded in an open waveguide. The study is performed in the frame of single-excitation subspace, where the only qubit in the chain is initially excited. We show that the dynamics of qubits amplitudes crucially depend on the value of $kd$, where $k$ is the wave vector, $d$ is a distance between neighbor qubits. If $kd$ is equal to an integer multiple of $\pi$, then the qubits are excited to a stationary level. In this case, it is the dark states which prevent qubits from decaying to zero even though they do not contribute to the output spectrum of photon emission. For other values of $kd$ the excitations of qubits exhibit the damping oscillations which represent the vacuum Rabi oscillations in a three-qubit system. In this case, the output spectrum of photon radiation is determined by a subradiant state which has the lowest decay rate. We also investigated the case with the frequency of a central qubit being different from that of the edge qubits. In this case, the qibits decay rates can be controlled by the frequency detuning between the central and the edge qubits.

Entropy squeezing for a generalized amplitude damping model

We study the evolution of the squeezing quantified by entropy squeezing in an amplitude damping model consisting of N noninteracting qubits coupled to a common reservoir. We demonstrate that even in the Markovian regime the squeezing of considered qubit system can be effectively protected by selecting the number of qubits in reservoir. Especially, the steady squeezing of a qubit system can be obtained for the Markivan and non-Markovian regimes. The corresponding physical mechanism for enhancing the squeezing is also given. We also compare the differences between the considered amplitude damping model and other two types of amplitude damping models for the conditions of squeezing-protection, and find that although one use different methods to improve the squeezing they can be explained by a unified physical mechanism.

Effects of classical fluctuating environments on decoherence and bipartite quantum correlation dynamics

We address the time evolution of quantum correlations (QCs) such as entanglement, purity, and coherence for a model of two non-interacting qubits initially prepared as a maximally entangled bipartite state. We contrast the comparative potential of the classical fields to preserve these QCs in the noisy and noiseless realms. We also disclose the characteristic dynamical behavior of the QCs of the two-qubit state under the static noise effects originating from the common and different configuration models. We show that there is a direct connection between the fluctuations allowed by an environment and the preservation of QCs. Due to the static noise dephasing effects, the QCs are suppressed, resulting in the separability of the two-qubit entangled state after a finite duration. For bipartite QCs preservation, we show that the common configuration is more resourceful than the different configuration. Furthermore, this protection of the QCs under static noise for large intervals is entirely attributable to the existence of the entanglement sudden death and birth phenomenon. Most importantly, we found the bipartite QCs less fragile than the tripartite ones in comparison under the static noise. In addition, we find the concurrence measure to show more evident revivals of entanglement in comparison.

Spontaneous decay of artificial atoms in a multi-qubit system

We consider a one-dimensional chain of N equidistantly spaced noninteracting qubits embedded in an open waveguide. In the frame of single-excitation subspace, we systematically study the evolution of qubits' amplitudes if the only qubit in the chain was initially excited. We show that the temporal dynamics of qubits' amplitudes crucially depend on the value of kd, where k is the wave vector, d is a distance between neighbor qubits. If kd is equal to an integer multiple of π, then the qubits are excited to a stationary level which scales as N−1. We show that in this case, it is the dark states which prevent qubits from decaying to zero even though they do not contribute to the output spectrum of photon emission. For other values of kd the excitations of qubits have the form of damping oscillations, which represent the vacuum Rabi oscillations in a multi-qubit system. In this case, the output spectrum of photon radiation is defined by a subradiant state with the smallest width.

Maximum-power heat engines and refrigerators in the fast-driving regime

We study the optimization of the performance of arbitrary periodically driven thermal machines. Within the assumption of fast modulation of the driving parameters, we derive the optimal cycle that universally maximizes the extracted power of heat engines, the cooling power of refrigerators, and in general any linear combination of the heat currents. We denote this optimal solution as ``generalized Otto cycle'' since it shares the basic structure with the standard Otto cycle, but it is characterized by a greater number of fast strokes. We bound this number in terms of the dimension of the Hilbert space of the system used as working fluid. The generality of these results allows for a widespread range of applications, such as reducing the computational complexity for numerical approaches, or obtaining the explicit form of the optimal protocols when the system-baths interactions are characterized by a single thermalization scale. In this case, we compare the thermodynamic performance of a collection of optimally driven noninteracting and interacting qubits. Remarkably, for refrigerators the noninteracting qubits perform almost as well as the interacting ones, while in the heat engine case there is a many-body advantage both in the maximum power, and in the efficiency at maximum power. Additionally, we illustrate our general results studying the paradigmatic model of a qutrit-based heat engine. Our results strictly hold in the semiclassical case in which no coherence is generated by the driving, and finally we discuss the noncommuting case.

Tripartite entropic uncertainty in an open system under classical environmental noise

The uncertainty principle is a remarkable and fundamental feature in quantum mechanics that suggests a significant lower bound to predict the results of arbitrary incompatible observables measured on a particle. In this work, we study the dynamics of a tripartite entropic uncertainty bound and quantum fidelity in a three non-interacting qubits model initially prepared in a maximally entangled pure Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger state and then subjected to classical environmental noise in different and common environments. Interestingly, we find that the dynamics of the tripartite uncertainty bound and fidelity are strongly affected by the type of system–environment interaction, and the growth speed of the uncertainty bound is strongly influenced by the disorder of the environment. Explicitly, our results show that the uncertainty bound and fidelity can be improved when the qubits are coupled to the noise in a common environment.

Effects of classical random external field on the dynamics of entanglement in a four-qubit system

We investigate the dynamics of entanglement through negativity and witness operators in a system of four non-interacting qubits driven by a classical phase noisy laser characterized by a classical random external field (CREF). The qubits are initially prepared in the GHZ-type and W-type states and interact with the CREF in two different qubit-field configurations, namely, common environment and independent environments in which the cases of equal and different field phase probabilities are distinguished. We find that entanglement exhibits different decaying behavior, depending on the input states of the qubits, the qubit-field coupling configuration, and field phase probabilities. On the one hand, we demonstrate that the coupling of the qubits in a common environment is an alternative and more efficient strategy to completely shield the system from the detrimental impacts of the decoherence process induced by a CREF, independent of the input state and the field phase probabilities considered. Also, we show that GHZ-type states have strong dynamics under CREF as compared to W-type states. On the other hand, we demonstrate that in the model investigated the system robustness’s can be greatly improved by increasing the number of qubits constituting the system.

Dissipative state transfer and Maxwell's demon in single quantum trajectories: Excitation transfer between two noninteracting qubits via unbalanced dissipation rates

We introduce a protocol to transfer excitations between two noninteracting qubits via purely dissipative processes (i.e., in the Lindblad master equation there is no coherent interaction between the qubits). The fundamental ingredients are the presence of collective (i.e. nonlocal) dissipation and unbalanced local dissipation rates (the qubits dissipate at different rates). The resulting quantum trajectories show that the measurement backaction changes the system wave function and induces a passage of the excitation from one qubit to the other. While similar phenomena have been witnessed for a non-Markovian environment, here the dissipative quantum state transfer is induced by an update of the observer knowledge of the wave function in the presence of a Markovian (memoryless) environment -- this is a single quantum trajectory effect. Beyond single quantum trajectories and postselection, such an effect can be observed by histogramming the quantum jumps along several realizations at different times. By investigating the effect of the temperature in the presence of unbalanced local dissipation, we demonstrate that, if appropriately switched on and off, the collective dissipator can act as a Maxwell's demon. These effects are a generalized measure equivalent to the standard projective measure description of quantum teleportation and Maxwell's demon. They can be witnessed in state-of-the-art setups given the extreme experimental control in, e.g., superconducting qubits or Rydberg atoms.

Energetic cost of Hamiltonian quantum gates

Landauer's principle laid the main foundation for the development of modern thermodynamics of information. However, in its original inception the principle relies on semiformal arguments and dissipative dynamics. Hence, if and how Landauer's principle applies to unitary quantum computing is less than obvious. Here, we prove an inequality bounding the change of Shannon information encoded in the logical quantum states by quantifying the energetic cost of Hamiltonian gate operations. The utility of this bound is demonstrated by outlining how it can be applied to identify energetically optimal quantum gates in theory and experiment. The analysis is concluded by discussing the energetic cost of quantum error correcting codes with non-interacting qubits, such as Shor's code.

Non-Markovianity as a resource for quantum correlation teleportation

Quantum teleportation of the quantum correlated states via noisy channels is investigated. The noisy channels are realized by a couple of two-level atoms (qubits) embedded in a zero-temperature bosonic bath. The entanglement of the channels is provided by the interqubit interaction and/or through the memory of the environment. Especially for the case of noninteracting qubits, the resource of the teleportation can be supplied by the entangled state of the channel, which is provided by information backflow in the non-Markovian regime of the evolution. More non-Markovianity of the dynamics generates a higher amount of induced entanglement and hence enhances the quality of the quantum correlation teleportation process. When the degree of non-Markovianity of dynamics is sufficiently high, quantum teleportation, which is superior to classical communication, is achievable.

Bipartite entanglement of decohered mixed states generated from maximally entangled cluster states

In this work, we investigate the bipartite entanglement of decohered mixed states generated from maximally entangled cluster states of [Formula: see text] qubits physical system. We introduce the disconnected cluster states for an ensemble of [Formula: see text] non-interacting qubits and we give the corresponding separable density matrices. The maximally entangled states can be generated from disconnected cluster states, by assuming that the dynamics of the multi-qubit system is governed by a quadratic Hamiltonian of Ising type. When exposed to a local noisy interaction with the environment, the multi-qubit system evolves from its initial pure maximally entangled state to a decohered mixed state. The decohered mixed states generated from bipartite, tripartite and multipartite maximally entangled cluster states are explicitly expressed and their bipartite entanglements are investigated.

Tripartite quantum discord dynamics in qubits driven by the joint influence of distinct classical noises

We investigate the dynamics of quantum discord in a system of three non-interacting qubits, initially entangled in a Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger state, in the presence of mixed classical environments. Precisely, the joint impacts of a static noise (SN) and a random telegraphic noise (RTN) are probed, by combining them in two different ways: independent and bipartite system–environment coupling. For both cases, one marginal system is coupled with an environment (say $$E_1$$ ), and the remaining subsystems are coupled either locally or not with a second environment ( $$E_2$$ ), and vice versa. We show that quantum discord is more fragile in independent environments than in bipartite ones no matter the Markovianity of the dynamical process, and may exhibit sudden death and revival phenomena. A static noise is more fatal to the survival of quantum discord than a RTN, and its shielding effects are more pronounced as the number of subsystems under its effects increases. The opposite is found for a RTN, where discord robustness is enhanced as the number of affected subsystems increases.

A quantum beat of quantum discord induced by the number of qubits in non-Markovian environments

We investigate the protection of the quantum discord of two qubits, individually originated by two generalized amplitude-damping models. Here, each generalized amplitude-damping model consists of N non-interacting qubits interacting with a common zero-temperature reservoir. First, for initial states with extended Werner-like states, we find that the robust quantum discord of two qubits against decoherence can be obtained by controlling the number of qubits in the reservoir. More interestingly, we find that a quantum beat for quantum discord can occur when both the number of qubits in each reservoir is large and when the number of qubits have a tiny difference, even in the resonant case. Our results shed new light on the protection of quantum discord by means of a quantum-reservoir engineering approach in quantum-information processing.