Quantum Computing Processing Research Articles

Quantum Consciousness and Panpsychism: A Solution to the Hard Problem

We analyze the results and implications of the combination of quantum and consciousness. The quantum effect of consciousness is first explored. We show that the consciousness of the observer can help to distinguish the definite states and their quantum superposition, while the usual physical measuring device without consciousness can not do. The result indicates that the causal efficacies of consciousness do exist when considering the basic quantum process. Based on this conclusion, we demonstrate that consciousness is not reducible or emergent, but a new fundamental property of matter. This provides a quantum basis for panpsychism. Furthermore, we argue that the conscious process is one kind of quantum computation process based on the analysis of consciousness time and combination problem. It is shown that a unified theory of matter and consciousness should include two parts: one is the complete quantum evolution of matter state, which includes the definite nonlinear evolution element introduced by consciousness, and the other is the psychophysical principle or corresponding principle between conscious content and matter state. Lastly, some experimental suggestions are presented to confirm the theoretical analysis of the paper.

The role of phases and their interplay in molecular vibrational quantum computing with multiple qubits

Within the scope of molecular quantum computing with vibrational qubits, we analyse the impact of phases that are present during the quantum computation processes. While the phase relation in superposition states and its temporal evolution are crucial to any implementation of quantum computing, we elucidate the special challenge that emerges for phase control of qubits encoded in molecular vibrational eigenstates. Phase correctly prepared superposition states in general exist only for a finite time and with the inherent entanglement in molecular vibrational qubit systems their development displays a complex pattern. We show that the free relative phase evolution in such qubit systems can be utilized for the implementation of quantum phase gates. Moreover, a practical experimental realization of phase correct quantum gates acting on molecular vibrational qubits could be accomplished by a decomposition into laser-induced population transfer and free evolution phase gates. This concept adds to the flexibility in the implementation of quantum gate sequences and algorithms. A modification, where only a reduced number of selected relative phases needs to be adjusted, will make this scheme more robust and versatile. Finally, we also disclose and discuss another key feature for the implementation of phase correct quantum gates, i.e. the dependence of the quantum gate fidelity on the absolute or carrier-envelope phase of the driving femtosecond laserfield.

Dynamical localization and repeated measurements in a quantum computation process.

We study numerically the effects of measurements on dynamical localization in the kicked rotator model simulated on a quantum computer. Contrary to the previous studies, which showed that measurements induce a diffusive probability spreading, our results demonstrate that localization can be preserved for repeated single-qubit measurements. We detect a transition from a localized to a delocalized phase, depending on the system parameters and on the choice of the measured qubit.

Real-Space Mapping of Exciton Wave Functions in a Quantum Dot with Near-Field Optical Imaging Spectroscopy

An exciton confined within a quantum dot acts as a two-level quantum system, and is one of the most promising candidates for quantum computing and quantum information processing. The real-space optical probing of the quantum eigenstates in a single quantum dot and coupled quantum dots should be developed toward the realization of quantum photonic devices, where their wave functions are dynamically controlled by coherent optical techniques. Here we apply near-field photoluminescence imaging spectroscopy with a high spatial resolution of 30 nm to map out the centre-of-mass wave function of an exciton confined in a GaAs quantum dot. The spatial profile of the exciton emission, which reflects the shape of a monolayer-high island, differs from that of biexciton emission, due to different distributions of the polarization field for the exciton and biexciton recombinations.

Numerical simulation of information recovery in quantum computers

Decoherence is the main problem to be solved before quantum computers can be built. To control decoherence, it is possible to use error correction methods, but these methods are themselves noisy quantum computation processes. In this work, we study the ability of Steane's and Shor's fault-tolerant recovering methods, as well as a modification of Steane's ancilla network, to correct errors in qubits. We test a way to measure correctly ancilla's fidelity for these methods, and state the possibility of carrying out an effective error correction through a noisy quantum channel, even using noisy error correction methods.

Issues of nanoelectronics: a possible roadmap.

In this review, we will discuss a possible roadmap in scaling a nanoelectronic device from today's CMOS technology to the ultimate limit when the device fails. In other words, at the limit, CMOS will have a severe short channel effect, significant power dissipation in its quiescent (standby) state, and problems related to other essential characteristics. Efforts to use structures such as the double gate, vertical surround gate, and SOI to improve the gate control have continually been made. Other types of structures using SiGe source/drain, asymmetric Schottky source/drain, and the like will be investigated as viable structures to achieve ultimate CMOS. In reaching its scaling limit, tunneling will be an issue for CMOS. The tunneling current through the gate oxide and between the source and drain will limit the device operation. When tunneling becomes significant, circuits may incorporate tunneling devices with CMOS to further increase the functionality per device count. We will discuss both the top-down and bottom-up approaches in attaining the nanometer scale and eventually the atomic scale. Self-assembly is used as a bottom-up approach. The state of the art is reviewed, and the challenges of the multiple-step processing in using the self-assembly approach are outlined. Another facet of the scaling trend is to decrease the number of electrons in devices, ultimately leading to single electrons. If the size of a single-electron device is scaled in such a way that the Coulomb self-energy is higher than the thermal energy (at room temperature), a single-electron device will be able to operate at room temperature. In principle, the speed of the device will be fast as long as the capacitance of the load is also scaled accordingly. The single-electron device will have a small drive current, and thus the load capacitance, including those of interconnects and fanouts, must be small to achieve a reasonable speed. However, because the increase in the density (and/or functionality) of integrated circuits is the principal driver, the wiring or interconnects will increase and become the bottleneck for the design of future high-density and high-functionality circuits, particularly for single-electron devices. Furthermore, the massive interconnects needed in the architecture used today will result in an increase in load capacitance. Thus for single-electron device circuits, it is critical to have minimal interconnect loads. And new types of architectures with minimal numbers of global interconnects will be needed. Cellular automata, which need only nearest-neighbor interconnects, are discussed as a plausible example. Other architectures such as neural networks are also possible. Examples of signal processing using cellular automata are discussed. Quantum computing and information processing are based on quantum mechanical descriptions of individual particles correlated among each other. A quantum bit or qubit is described as a linear superposition of the wave functions of a two-state system, for example, the spin of a particle. With the interaction of two qubits, they are connected in a "wireless fashion" using wave functions via quantum mechanical interaction, referred to as entanglement. The interconnection by the nonlocality of wave functions affords a massive parallel nature for computing or so-called quantum parallelism. We will describe the potential and solid-state implementations of quantum computing and information, using electron spin and/or nuclear spin in Si and Ge. Group IV elements have a long coherent time and other advantages. The example of using SiGe for g factor engineering will be described.

Decoherence and relevant universality in quantum algorithms via a dynamic theory for quantum measurement

It is well known that environment may decohere a quantum bit (qubit) system immersed in it, making a quantum computation invalid. But the quantitative features of the decoherence seem to depend on both the constitution of the environment and the details of its coupling with the qubit system. In this paper, based on the dynamic approach for quantum measurement developed from the Hepp-Coleman model [K. Hepp, Helv. Phys. Acta 45, 237 (1972)], we generally model the environment as a collection of a large number of subsystems and then consider to what extent and in which way the environment and its coupling with the qubit system may affect a quantum computation process. In the weak-coupling limit, we find that as far as decoherence time is concerned, there is no essential difference between an environment of two-level subsystems and an environment of harmonic oscillators. This implies that there exists some universality independent of specific constitutions of environments. However, it is also shown that this is not true at finite temperature or in the case of strong coupling. So only if the coupling is weak and the temperature low does there exist the possibility of developing a universal scheme of controlling a qubit system such that the decoherence is avoided. The possible effect of environment on the efficiency of a quantum algorithm is also explicitly illustrated through the example of Shor's prime factorization algorithm.

Reversible Logic Synthesis of Fault Tolerant Carry Skip BCD Adder

Reversible logic is emerging as an important research area having its application in diverse fields such as low power CMOS design, digital signal processing, cryptography, quantum computing and optical information processing. This paper presents a new 4*4 parity preserving reversible logic gate, IG. The proposed parity preserving reversible gate can be used to synthesize any arbitrary Boolean function. It allows any fault that affects no more than a single signal readily detectable at the circuit's primary outputs. It is shown that a fault tolerant reversible full adder circuit can be realized using only two IGs. The proposed fault tolerant full adder (FTFA) is used to design other arithmetic logic circuits for which it is used as the fundamental building block. It has also been demonstrated that the proposed design offers less hardware complexity and is efficient in terms of gate count, garbage outputs and constant inputs than the existing counterparts. Keywords: Reversible Logic, Parity Preserving Reversible Gate, IG Gate, FTFA and Carry Skip Logic. doi: 10.3329/jbas.v32i2.2431 Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences Vol.32(2) 2008 234-250

Author and title index

Light and matter can strongly mix together to form hybrid particles called polaritons. In recent years, polaritons in the so-called ultrastrong coupling (USC) regime have attracted much attention from both fundamental and applied points of view. A variety of nonintuitive phenomena and novel ground states with exotic properties have been predicted for systems in the USC regime, some of which have been experimentally realized. In this chapter, we review the current state of this exciting, rapidly developing field, focusing on USC phenomena in engineered semiconductor systems. We start by giving a brief historical survey of the field and describe the motivations to pursue USC studies. We then provide a detailed mathematical description of the existing theoretical models for USC physics, mentioning some of the controversies related to the approximations and assumptions that break down in the USC regime. Furthermore, we describe some of the groundbreaking experiments that have been conducted recently in diverse semiconductor-based platforms such as intraband transitions, plasmon–phonon polaritons, exciton polaritons, magnon polaritons, and magnon–magnon coupled systems, highlighting the new physics revealed. Finally, we discuss some of the technological applications that are expected to be enabled by USC, especially in connection with modern information technologies such as quantum computing and quantum information processing.