The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) encoding of a qubit within an oscillator provides a number of advantages when used in a fault-tolerant architecture for quantum computing, most notably that Gaussian operations suffice to implement all single- and two-qubit Clifford gates. The main drawback of the encoding is that the logical states themselves are challenging to produce. Here we present a method for generating optical GKP-encoded qubits by coupling an atomic ensemble to a squeezed state of light. Particular outcomes of a subsequent spin measurement of the ensemble herald successful generation of the resource state in the optical mode. We analyze the method in terms of the resources required (total spin and amount of squeezing) and the probability of success. We propose a physical implementation using a Faraday-based quantum nondemolition interaction.
The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) encoding of a qubit within an oscillator provides a number of advantages when used in a fault-tolerant architecture for quantum computing, most notably that Gaussian operations suffice to implement all single- and two-qubit Clifford gates. The main drawback of the encoding is that the logical states themselves are challenging to produce. Here we present a method for generating optical GKP-encoded qubits by coupling an atomic ensemble to a squeezed state of light. Particular outcomes of a subsequent spin measurement of the ensemble herald successful generation of the resource state in the optical mode. We analyze the method in terms of the resources required (total spin and amount of squeezing) and the probability of success. We propose a physical implementation using a Faraday-based quantum nondemolition interaction.
Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) qubits, known for their exceptional error-correction capabilities, are highly coveted in quantum computing. However, generating optical GKP qubits has been a significant challenge. Measurement-based methods, where a portion of entangled squeezed vacuum modes are measured with photon number resolving detectors heralding a desired state in the undetected modes, have emerged as leading candidates for optical GKP qubit generation due their minimal resource requirements. While the current measurement-based methods can produce high-quality GKP qubits, they suffer from low success probabilities limiting experimental realization. The heart of the problem lies in the duality of photon number resolving measurements, being both the source of nonlinearity needed to generate quality GKP qubits and the component driving down their probability of successful production. Our method, breeding approximate squeezed coherent state superpositions created by generalized photon subtraction, overcomes this problem by supplementing two photon number resolving measurements with a single high success probability homodyne measurement. This scheme achieves success probabilities $\ensuremath{\ge}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$, two orders of magnitude higher than strictly photon number resolving measurement based methods, while still producing states with high fidelity, possessing error-correction capabilities equivalent to up to a 10 dB squeezed GKP qubit. This breakthrough significantly advances the practical use of the optical GKP qubit encoding.
The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) qubit is a promising ingredient for fault-tolerant quantum computation (FTQC) in optical continuous variables due to its advantage of noise tolerance and scalability. However, one of the main problems in the preparation of the optical GKP qubit is the difficulty in obtaining the nonlinearity. Cross-Kerr interaction is one of the promising candidates for this nonlinearity. There is no existing scheme to use the cross-Kerr interaction to generate the optical GKP qubit for FTQC. In this work, we propose a generation method of the GKP qubit by using a cross-Kerr interaction between a squeezed light and a superposition of Fock states. We numerically show that the GKP qubit with the 10 dB can be generated with mean fidelities of 99.99 and 99.9% at the success probabilities of 2.7 and 4.8%, respectively. Therefore, our method has the potential to generate the optical GKP qubit with a quality required for FTQC when we obtain the sufficient technologies for the preparation of ancillary Fock states and a cross-Kerr interaction.
The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) encoding of a qubit within an oscillator is particularly appealing for fault-tolerant quantum computing with bosons because Gaussian operations on encoded Pauli eigenstates enable Clifford quantum computing with error correction. We show that applying GKP error correction to Gaussian input states, such as vacuum, produces distillable magic states, achieving universality without additional non-Gaussian elements. Fault tolerance is possible with sufficient squeezing and low enough external noise. Thus, Gaussian operations are sufficient for fault-tolerant, universal quantum computing given a supply of GKP-encoded Pauli eigenstates.
Most quantum computation schemes propose encoding qubits in two-level systems. Others exploit the use of an infinite-dimensional system. In "Encoding a qubit in an oscillator" [Phys. Rev. A 64, 012310 (2001)], Gottesman, Kitaev, and Preskill (GKP) combined these approaches when they proposed a fault-tolerant quantum computation scheme in which a qubit is encoded in the continuous position and momentum degrees of freedom of an oscillator. One advantage of this scheme is that it can be performed by use of relatively simple linear optical devices, squeezing, and homodyne detection. However, we lack a practical method to prepare the initial GKP states. Here we propose the generation of an approximate GKP state by using superpositions of optical coherent states (sometimes called "Schrödinger cat states"), squeezing, linear optical devices, and homodyne detection.
Straightforward logical operations contrasting with complex state preparation are the hallmarks of the bosonic encoding proposed by Gottesman, Kitaev, and Preskill (GKP). The recently reported generation and error correction of GKP qubits in trapped ions and superconducting circuits thus holds great promise for the future of quantum computing architectures based on such encoded qubits. However, these experiments rely on error-syndrome detection via an auxiliary physical qubit, whose noise may propagate and corrupt the encoded GKP qubit. We propose a simple module composed of two oscillators and a physical qubit, operated with two experimentally accessible quantum gates and elementary feedback controls to implement an error-corrected GKP qubit protected from such propagating errors. In the idealized setting of periodic GKP states, we develop efficient numerical methods to optimize our protocol parameters and show that errors of the encoded qubit stemming from flips of the physical qubit and diffusion of the oscillators state in phase space may be exponentially suppressed as the noise strength over individual operations is decreased. Our approach circumvents the main roadblock towards fault-tolerant quantum computation with GKP qubits.
Quantum technologies, encompassing communication, computation, and metrology, rely on the generation and control of non-Gaussian states of light. These states enable secure quantum communication, fault-tolerant quantum computation, and precision sensing beyond classical limits, yet their practical realisation remains a major challenge due to reliance on high-photon-number Fock states or strong non-linearities. Here we introduce a unified optical framework that removes this constraint, using only Gaussian inputs, optical parametric amplification, and heralded photon detection. Within a single architecture, we demonstrate the generation of photon-added squeezed states with near unit fidelity, cubic-phase-like states with strong non-linearities and fidelities above 98.5%, and squeezed-cat states exceeding 99% fidelity that can be iteratively bred into GKP grid states surpassing the 9.75 dB fault-tolerance threshold. Operating entirely below 3 dB of input squeezing, the approach provides a scalable, experimentally accessible platform that unites the state resources required for quantum communication, metrology, and computation within one coherent optical framework.