Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1402.5174 · Physical Review A

Robustness of composite pulses to time-dependent control noise

Chingiz Kabytayev, Todd J. Green, Kaveh Khodjasteh, Michael J. Biercuk, Lorenza Viola, Kenneth R. Brown

Published Jul 14, 2014• 96 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study the performance of composite pulses in the presence of time-varying control noise on a single qubit. These protocols, originally devised only to correct for static, systematic errors, are shown to be robust to time-dependent non-Markovian noise in the control field up to frequencies as high as $\ensuremath{\sim}10%$ of the Rabi frequency. Our study combines a generalized filter-function approach with asymptotic dc-limit calculations to give a simple analytic framework for error analysis applied to a number of composite-pulse sequences relevant to nuclear magnetic resonance as well as quantum information experiments. Results include examination of recently introduced concatenated composite pulses and dynamically corrected gates, demonstrating equivalent first-order suppression of time-dependent fluctuations in amplitude and/or detuning, as appropriate for the sequence in question. Our analytic results agree well with numerical simulations for realistic $1/f$ noise spectra with a roll-off to $1/{f}^{2}$, providing independent validation of our theoretical insights.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.90.012316

Related papers

Quantum control for time-dependent noise

Chingiz Kabytayev

The main obstacles to implementing ideal quantum operations are unwanted interactions of quantum systems with the environment and noise in control fields. This problem can be tackled by methods of quantum control. Among these methods are \ncomposite pulse (CP) sequences which have long been employed in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to mitigate the effects of systematic errors in the control. CP sequences have been initially developed to correct for static but otherwise unknown \nerrors in the amplitude or frequency of the driving field. One of the challenges to the systematic incorporation of these control protocols into practical quantum information systems remains the limited understanding of CP performance in the presence \nof time-dependent noise. Treating the influence of time-dependent noise processes on quantum control operations has been facilitated by recent advances in dynamical \nerror suppression based on open-loop Hamiltonian engineering. These approaches provide a general framework for understanding and mitigating non-Markovian time- \ndependent noise in a finite-dimensional open quantum system. Particularly, arbitrary single-qubit control characteristics may be captured quantitatively in filter-transfer \nfunctions (FF) using methods of spectral overlap in the frequency domain. In this thesis work, we present a systematic study of control pulse sequences in the presence of time-dependent noise. We use a combination of analytic formulations based on FFs and numerical simulations to demonstrate that CPs are able to effectively suppress control errors caused by time-dependent processes possessing realistic noise \npower spectra. We provide a geometric interpretation of CP performance under time-dependent amplitude noise, further linking the FF formalism with known techniques in CP construction. We also develop new optimized pulse sequences that act as notch filters for time-dependent noise. These high-fidelity control protocols effectively sup- \npress errors from the noise sources with sharp features in spectral densities and can be used practically on various quantum architectures. We also present our work \non simulation of randomized benchmarking protocols and CPs that have been used experimentally by our collaborators to measure gate errors.

•May 15, 2015•2 citations

Sixth-order robust gates for quantum control

D. Mc Hugh, Jason Twamley

Composite pulse sequences designed for nuclear magnetic resonance experiments are currently being applied in many quantum information processing technologies. We present an analysis of a family of composite pulse sequences used to address systematic pulse-length errors in the execution of quantum gates. It has been demonstrated by Cummins et al. [Phys. Rev. A 67, 042308 (2003)] that for this family of composite pulse sequences, the fidelity of the resulting unitary operation compared with the ideal unitary operation is $1\ensuremath{-}C{ϵ}^{6}$, where $ϵ$ is the fractional error in the length of the pulse. We derive an exact expression for the sixth-order coefficient $C$ and from this deduce conditions under which this sixth-order dependence is observed. We also present pulse sequences which achieve the same fidelity.

arXiv:quant-ph/0404127•Physical Review A•Jan 19, 2005•13 citations

Concatenated Composite Pulses Compensating Simultaneous Systematic Errors

Masamitsu Bando, Tsubasa Ichikawa, Yasushi Kondo +1 more

In NMR experiments and quantum computation, many pulse (quantum gate) sequences called the composite pulses, were developed to suppress one of two dominant errors; a pulse length error and an off-resonance error. We describe, in this paper, a general prescription to design a single-qubit concatenated composite pulse (CCCP) that is robust against two types of errors simultaneously. To this end, we introduce a new property, which is satisfied by some composite pulses and is sufficient to obtain a CCCP. Then we introduce a general method to design CCCPs with shorter execution time and less number of pulses.

arXiv:1209.4247•Journal of the Physical Society of Japan•Jan 15, 2013•55 citations

Arbitrary quantum control of qubits in the presence of universal noise

Todd J. Green, Jarrah Sastrawan, Hermann Uys +1 more

Abstract. We address the problem of deriving analytic expressions for calculating universal decoherence-induced errors in qubits undergoing arbitrary, unitary, time-dependent quantum-control protocols. We show that the fidelity of a control operation may be expressed in terms of experimentally relevant spectral characteristics of the noise and of the control, over all Cartesian directions. We formulate control matrices in the time domain to capture the effects of piecewise-constant control, and convert them to generalized Fourier-domain filter functions. These generalized filter functions may be derived for complex temporally modulated control protocols, accounting for susceptibility to rotations of the qubit state vector in three dimensions. Taken together, we show that this framework provides a computationally efficient means to calculate the effects of universal noise on arbitrary quantum control protocols, producing results comparable to those obtained via time-consuming simulations of Bloch vector evolution. As a concrete example, we apply our method to treating the problem of dynamical decoupling incorporating realistic control pulses of arbitrary duration or form, including the replacement of simple pi-pulses with complex dynamically corrected gates. ar

•Aug 17, 2016•105 citations

Concatenated Composite Pulses Compensating Simultaneous Systematic Errors

Masamitsu Bando, Tsubasa Ichikawa, Yasushi Kondo +1 more

In NMR experiments and quantum computation, many pulse (quantum gate) sequences called the composite pulses, were developed to suppress one of two dominant errors; a pulse length error and an off-resonance error. We describe, in this paper, a general prescription to design a single-qubit concatenated composite pulse (CCCP) that is robust against two types of errors simultaneously. To this end, we introduce a new property, which is satisfied by some composite pulses and is sufficient to obtain a CCCP. Then we introduce a general method to design CCCPs with shorter execution time and less number of pulses.

•Aug 17, 2016•20 citations

Composite quantum gates simultaneously compensated for multiple errors

Hristo G. Tonchev, Nikolay V. Vitanov

Systematic control errors remain a primary obstacle to realizing high-fidelity single-qubit gates. We introduce composite pulse sequences that implement X and Hadamard gates while simultaneously compensating amplitude (Rabi-frequency), detuning (frequency), and duration errors. Our construction uses two complementary strategies: (i) derivative-based cancellation of error terms in the full unitary (not just the transition probability), formulated via the Cayley-Klein parametrization, and (ii) direct minimization of the average gate infidelity over prescribed error ranges. We derive symmetric five-pulse solutions with closed-form phases that cancel all first-order terms (including the mixed derivative), and numerically optimize longer sequences -- up to 15 pulses -- to achieve higher-order suppression. We also show that standard ``universal'' five-pulse sequences (U5a/U5b) emerge as simple phase-shifted instances of our symmetric solutions, yielding broad robustness to both detuning and amplitude errors. Finally, we construct variable-area sequences for $R_x(π/2)$, which, up to virtual Z rotations, benchmark the Hadamard gate. Across all families we observe the expected trade-off between sequence length and robustness window, with substantial boosts in fidelity over large error domains.

quant-pharXiv:2604.21594•Apr 24, 2026•0 citations
We study the performance of composite pulses in the presence of time-varying control noise on a single qubit. These protocols, originally devised only to correct for static, systematic errors, are shown to be robust to time-dependent non-Markovian noise in the control field up to frequencies as high as \ensuremath∼10\ensuremath{\sim}10%\ensuremath∼10 of the Rabi frequency. Our study combines a generalized filter-function approach with asymptotic dc-limit calculations to give a simple analytic framework for error analysis applied to a number of composite-pulse sequences relevant to nuclear magnetic resonance as well as quantum information experiments. Results include examination of recently introduced concatenated composite pulses and dynamically corrected gates, demonstrating equivalent first-order suppression of time-dependent fluctuations in amplitude and/or detuning, as appropriate for the sequence in question. Our analytic results agree well with numerical simulations for realistic 1/f1/f1/f noise spectra with a roll-off to 1/f21/{f}^{2}1/f2, providing independent validation of our theoretical insights.
The main obstacles to implementing ideal quantum operations are unwanted interactions of quantum systems with the environment and noise in control fields. This problem can be tackled by methods of quantum control. Among these methods are \ncomposite pulse (CP) sequences which have long been employed in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to mitigate the effects of systematic errors in the control. CP sequences have been initially developed to correct for static but otherwise unknown \nerrors in the amplitude or frequency of the driving field. One of the challenges to the systematic incorporation of these control protocols into practical quantum information systems remains the limited understanding of CP performance in the presence \nof time-dependent noise. Treating the influence of time-dependent noise processes on quantum control operations has been facilitated by recent advances in dynamical \nerror suppression based on open-loop Hamiltonian engineering. These approaches provide a general framework for understanding and mitigating non-Markovian time- \ndependent noise in a finite-dimensional open quantum system. Particularly, arbitrary single-qubit control characteristics may be captured quantitatively in filter-transfer \nfunctions (FF) using methods of spectral overlap in the frequency domain. In this thesis work, we present a systematic study of control pulse sequences in the presence of time-dependent noise. We use a combination of analytic formulations based on FFs and numerical simulations to demonstrate that CPs are able to effectively suppress control errors caused by time-dependent processes possessing realistic noise \npower spectra. We provide a geometric interpretation of CP performance under time-dependent amplitude noise, further linking the FF formalism with known techniques in CP construction. We also develop new optimized pulse sequences that act as notch filters for time-dependent noise. These high-fidelity control protocols effectively sup- \npress errors from the noise sources with sharp features in spectral densities and can be used practically on various quantum architectures. We also present our work \non simulation of randomized benchmarking protocols and CPs that have been used experimentally by our collaborators to measure gate errors.
Composite pulse sequences designed for nuclear magnetic resonance experiments are currently being applied in many quantum information processing technologies. We present an analysis of a family of composite pulse sequences used to address systematic pulse-length errors in the execution of quantum gates. It has been demonstrated by Cummins et al. [Phys. Rev. A 67, 042308 (2003)] that for this family of composite pulse sequences, the fidelity of the resulting unitary operation compared with the ideal unitary operation is $1\ensuremath{-}C{ϵ}^{6}$, where ϵϵϵ is the fractional error in the length of the pulse. We derive an exact expression for the sixth-order coefficient CCC and from this deduce conditions under which this sixth-order dependence is observed. We also present pulse sequences which achieve the same fidelity.
In NMR experiments and quantum computation, many pulse (quantum gate) sequences called the composite pulses, were developed to suppress one of two dominant errors; a pulse length error and an off-resonance error. We describe, in this paper, a general prescription to design a single-qubit concatenated composite pulse (CCCP) that is robust against two types of errors simultaneously. To this end, we introduce a new property, which is satisfied by some composite pulses and is sufficient to obtain a CCCP. Then we introduce a general method to design CCCPs with shorter execution time and less number of pulses.
Abstract. We address the problem of deriving analytic expressions for calculating universal decoherence-induced errors in qubits undergoing arbitrary, unitary, time-dependent quantum-control protocols. We show that the fidelity of a control operation may be expressed in terms of experimentally relevant spectral characteristics of the noise and of the control, over all Cartesian directions. We formulate control matrices in the time domain to capture the effects of piecewise-constant control, and convert them to generalized Fourier-domain filter functions. These generalized filter functions may be derived for complex temporally modulated control protocols, accounting for susceptibility to rotations of the qubit state vector in three dimensions. Taken together, we show that this framework provides a computationally efficient means to calculate the effects of universal noise on arbitrary quantum control protocols, producing results comparable to those obtained via time-consuming simulations of Bloch vector evolution. As a concrete example, we apply our method to treating the problem of dynamical decoupling incorporating realistic control pulses of arbitrary duration or form, including the replacement of simple pi-pulses with complex dynamically corrected gates. ar
In NMR experiments and quantum computation, many pulse (quantum gate) sequences called the composite pulses, were developed to suppress one of two dominant errors; a pulse length error and an off-resonance error. We describe, in this paper, a general prescription to design a single-qubit concatenated composite pulse (CCCP) that is robust against two types of errors simultaneously. To this end, we introduce a new property, which is satisfied by some composite pulses and is sufficient to obtain a CCCP. Then we introduce a general method to design CCCPs with shorter execution time and less number of pulses.
Systematic control errors remain a primary obstacle to realizing high-fidelity single-qubit gates. We introduce composite pulse sequences that implement X and Hadamard gates while simultaneously compensating amplitude (Rabi-frequency), detuning (frequency), and duration errors. Our construction uses two complementary strategies: (i) derivative-based cancellation of error terms in the full unitary (not just the transition probability), formulated via the Cayley-Klein parametrization, and (ii) direct minimization of the average gate infidelity over prescribed error ranges. We derive symmetric five-pulse solutions with closed-form phases that cancel all first-order terms (including the mixed derivative), and numerically optimize longer sequences -- up to 15 pulses -- to achieve higher-order suppression. We also show that standard ``universal'' five-pulse sequences (U5a/U5b) emerge as simple phase-shifted instances of our symmetric solutions, yielding broad robustness to both detuning and amplitude errors. Finally, we construct variable-area sequences for Rx(π/2)R_x(π/2)Rx​(π/2), which, up to virtual Z rotations, benchmark the Hadamard gate. Across all families we observe the expected trade-off between sequence length and robustness window, with substantial boosts in fidelity over large error domains.