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arXiv:1308.3102 · Physical Review A

Dynamical-decoupling noise spectroscopy at an optimal working point of a qubit

Łukasz Cywiński

Published Oct 6, 2014• 60 citations
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Abstract

I present a theory of environmental noise spectroscopy via dynamical decoupling of a qubit at an optimal working point. Considering a sequence of $n$ pulses and pure dephasing due to quadratic coupling to Gaussian distributed noise $\ensuremath{\xi}(t)$, I use the linked-cluster (cumulant) expansion to calculate the coherence decay. Solutions allowing for reconstruction of spectral density of noise are given. For noise with correlation time shorter than the time scale on which coherence decays, the noise filtered by the dynamical decoupling procedure can be treated as effectively Gaussian at large $n$, and well-established methods of noise spectroscopy can be used to reconstruct the spectrum of ${\ensuremath{\xi}}^{2}(t)$ noise. On the other hand, for noise of dominant low-frequency character $(1/{f}^{\ensuremath{\beta}}$ noise with $\ensuremath{\beta}>1)$, an infinite-order resummation of the cumulant expansion is necessary, and it leads to an analytical formula for coherence decay having a power-law tail at long times. In this case, the coherence at time $t$ depends both on spectral density of $\ensuremath{\xi}(t)$ noise at $\ensuremath{\omega}=n\ensuremath{\pi}/t$, and on the effective low-frequency cutoff of the noise spectrum, which is typically given by the inverse of the data acquisition time. Simulations of decoherence due to purely transverse noise show that the analytical formulas derived in this paper apply in this often encountered case of an optimal working point, provided that the number of pulses is not very large, and that the longitudinal qubit splitting is much larger than the transverse noise amplitude.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.90.042307

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I present a theory of environmental noise spectroscopy via dynamical decoupling of a qubit at an optimal working point. Considering a sequence of nnn pulses and pure dephasing due to quadratic coupling to Gaussian distributed noise \ensuremathξ(t)\ensuremath{\xi}(t)\ensuremathξ(t), I use the linked-cluster (cumulant) expansion to calculate the coherence decay. Solutions allowing for reconstruction of spectral density of noise are given. For noise with correlation time shorter than the time scale on which coherence decays, the noise filtered by the dynamical decoupling procedure can be treated as effectively Gaussian at large nnn, and well-established methods of noise spectroscopy can be used to reconstruct the spectrum of \ensuremathξ2(t){\ensuremath{\xi}}^{2}(t)\ensuremathξ2(t) noise. On the other hand, for noise of dominant low-frequency character (1/f\ensuremathβ(1/{f}^{\ensuremath{\beta}}(1/f\ensuremathβ noise with \ensuremathβ>1)\ensuremath{\beta}>1)\ensuremathβ>1), an infinite-order resummation of the cumulant expansion is necessary, and it leads to an analytical formula for coherence decay having a power-law tail at long times. In this case, the coherence at time ttt depends both on spectral density of \ensuremathξ(t)\ensuremath{\xi}(t)\ensuremathξ(t) noise at \ensuremathω=n\ensuremathπ/t\ensuremath{\omega}=n\ensuremath{\pi}/t\ensuremathω=n\ensuremathπ/t, and on the effective low-frequency cutoff of the noise spectrum, which is typically given by the inverse of the data acquisition time. Simulations of decoherence due to purely transverse noise show that the analytical formulas derived in this paper apply in this often encountered case of an optimal working point, provided that the number of pulses is not very large, and that the longitudinal qubit splitting is much larger than the transverse noise amplitude.
The fundamental assumption of dynamical-decoupling-based noise spectroscopy is that the coherence decay rate of qubit (or qubits) driven with a sequence of many pulses, is well approximated by the environmental noise spectrum spanned on frequency comb defined by the sequence. Here we investigate the precise conditions under which this commonly used spectroscopic approach is quantitatively correct. To this end we focus on two representative examples of spectral densities: the long-tailed Lorentzian, and finite-ranged Gaussian---both expected to be encountered when using the qubit for nanoscale nuclear resonance imaging. We have found that, in contrast to Lorentz spectrum, for which the corrections to the standard spectroscopic formulas can easily be made negligible, the spectra with finite range are more challenging to reconstruct accurately. For Gaussian line shape of environmental spectral density, direct application of the standard dynamical-decoupling-based spectroscopy leads to erroneous attribution of long-tail behavior to the reconstructed spectrum. Fortunately, artifacts such as this, can be completely avoided with the simple extension to standard reconstruction method.
We show theoretically how a correlation of multiple measurements on a qubit undergoing pure dephasing can be expressed as environmental noise filtering. The measurement of such correlations can be used for environmental noise spectroscopy, and the family of noise filters achievable in such a setting is broader than the one achievable with a standard approach, in which dynamical decoupling sequences are used. We illustrate the advantages of this approach by considering the case of a noise spectrum with sharp features at very low frequencies. We also show how appropriately chosen correlations of a few measurements can detect the non-Gaussian character of certain environmental noises, particularly the noise affecting the qubit at the so-called optimal working point.
Many solid-state qubit systems are afflicted by low-frequency noise mechanisms that operate along two perpendicular axes of the Bloch sphere. Depending on the qubit control fields, either noise can be longitudinal or transverse to the quantization axis of the qubit, thus affecting its dynamics in distinct ways, generally contributing to decoherence that goes beyond pure dephasing. Here, we present a theory that provides a unified platform to study dynamics of a qubit subjected to two perpendicular low-frequency noises (assumed to be Gaussian and uncorrelated) under dynamical decoupling pulse sequences. The theory is demonstrated by the commonly encountered case of power law noise spectra, where approximate analytical results can be obtained.
Here we demonstrate how the standard, temporal-only, dynamical-decoupling-based noise spectroscopy method can be extended to also encompass the spatial degree of freedom. This spatiotemporal spectroscopy utilizes a system of multiple qubits arranged in a line that are undergoing pure dephasing due to environmental noise. When the qubits are driven by appropriately coordinated sequences of π pulses the multi-qubit register becomes decoupled from all components of the noise, except for those characterized by frequencies and wavelengths specified by the pulse sequences. This allows for employment of the procedure for reconstruction of the two-dimensional spectral density that quantifies the power distribution among spatial and temporal harmonic components of the noise.
Dynamical decoupling (DD) emerges as a promising tool to suppress decoherence of quantum systems by eliminating the system-environment coupling. We investigate its power in combating pure dephasing of a qubit under random classical noise. Interestingly, the decoherence rate can be viewed as the interplay between noise spectrum and a controllable filter function. More specifically, the filter function is determined by the DD sequence we employed. Here we take Uhrig DD (UDD) as a benchmark sequence to illustrate the filtering process. We find that UDD sequence works as a perfect dynamical filter for low-frequency noise. For spectrum with hard cutoff, UDD increases the performance order by order with linearly increased number of pulses. However, for noise spectrum with soft cutoff, the required pulse number grows exponentially.
A qubit subjected to pure dephasing due to classical Gaussian noise can be turned into a spectrometer of this noise by utilizing its readout under properly chosen dynamical decoupling (DD) sequences to reconstruct the power spectral density of the noise. We review the theory behind this DD-based noise spectroscopy technique, paying special attention to issues that arise when the environmental noise is non-Gaussian and/or it has truly quantum properties. While we focus on the theoretical basis of the method, we connect the discussed concepts with specific experiments, and provide an overview of environmental noise models relevant for solid-state based qubits, including quantum-dot based spin qubits, superconducting qubits, and NV centers in diamond.