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arXiv:1703.06102 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Majorana representation, qutrit Hilbert space and NMR implementation of qutrit gates

Shruti Dogra, Kavita Dorai, Arvind

Published Jan 10, 2018• 15 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We report a study of the Majorana geometrical representation of a qutrit, where a pair of points on a unit sphere represents its quantum states. A canonical form for qutrit states is presented, where every state can be obtained from a one-parameter family of states via SO (3) action. The notion of spin-1 magnetization which is invariant under SO (3) is geometrically interpreted on the Majorana sphere. Furthermore, we describe the action of several quantum gates in the Majorana picture and experimentally implement these gates on a spin-1 system (an NMR qutrit) oriented in a liquid crystalline environment. We study the dynamics of the pair of points representing a qutrit state under various useful quantum operations and connect them to different NMR operations. Finally, using the Gell Mann matrix picture we experimentally implement a scheme for complete qutrit state tomography.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6455/aaa69f

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Abstract We report a study of the Majorana geometrical representation of a qutrit, where a pair of points on a unit sphere represents its quantum states. A canonical form for qutrit states is presented, where every state can be obtained from a one-parameter family of states via SO (3) action. The notion of spin-1 magnetization which is invariant under SO (3) is geometrically interpreted on the Majorana sphere. Furthermore, we describe the action of several quantum gates in the Majorana picture and experimentally implement these gates on a spin-1 system (an NMR qutrit) oriented in a liquid crystalline environment. We study the dynamics of the pair of points representing a qutrit state under various useful quantum operations and connect them to different NMR operations. Finally, using the Gell Mann matrix picture we experimentally implement a scheme for complete qutrit state tomography.
The objective of this project is to use the Majorana description of a spin-1 system to examine many of its properties. In the Majorana approach, an arbitrary pure state of a spin-1 system is represented by a pair of points on the unit sphere, or a pair of unit vectors. An expression is derived for the squared overlap of two states in terms of their Majorana (or M-) vectors and used to work out all the orthogonalities and bases that are possible for the three geometrically distinct types of spin-1 states. Finally, a geometrical construction is given of a set of mutually unbiased bases for a spin-1 system. The applications of this result to problems in quantum information are mentioned.
In the Majorana or stellar representation of quantum states, an arbitrary (pure) state of a spin-1 system is represented by a pair of points on the unit sphere or, equivalently, by a pair of unit vectors. This paper presents an expression for the squared modulus of the inner product of two spin-1 states in terms of their Majorana vectors and uses it to give a geometrical construction of the MUBs and SIC-POVMs of a spin-1 system. The results are not new and duplicate those obtained earlier by other methods, but the Majorana approach nevertheless illuminates them from an unusual point of view. In particular, it reveals the MUBs and SICs as symmetrical collections of vectors in ordinary three-dimensional space, rather than as rays in a projective Hilbert space. While it does not appear feasible to extend this treatment to higher spin systems, the spin-1 case exhibits sufficient subtlety and complexity to be worth spelling out for its pedagogical and historical interest.
The properties of the geometric phases between three quantum states are investigated in a high-dimensional Hilbert space using the Majorana representation of symmetric quantum states. We found that the geometric phases between the three quantum states in an NNN-state quantum system can be represented by $N\ensuremath{-}1$ spherical triangles on the Bloch sphere. The parameter dependence of the geometric phase was analyzed based on this picture. We found that the geometric phase exhibits rich nonlinear behavior in a high-dimensional Hilbert space.
Theoretical Quantum Information Processing (QIP) has matured from the use of qubits to the use of qudits (systems having states >2). Whereas most of the experimental implementations have been performed using qubits, little experimental work has been carried out using qudits as yet. In this paper we demonstrate experimental realization of a qutrit system by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), utilizing deuterium (spin-1) nuclei partially oriented in liquid crystalline phase. Preparation of pseudopure states and implementation of unitary operations are demonstrated in this single-qutrit system, using transition selective pulses.
While the Bloch sphere provides a canonical geometric representation for qubits, its generalization to pure qudit states (d>2d>2d>2) is not unique. This representation can be extended following two different approaches: increasing the number of points, as in the Majorana representation, or using a single point but in a space of larger dimension, as in the generalized Bloch representation. In this work, we compare these representations of pure qudit states by finding explicit analytical relations between them. In particular, a general formula of the Bloch vector in terms of the Majorana points of a given state is provided. We also analyze some suitable extensions of these representations in the case of pure permutation-symmetric two- and three-qubit states, deriving the corresponding relation between them. These analytical results allow us to study, from a geometric point of view, quantum correlations of special classes of two-qubit states.
By the Majorana representation, for any d>1d > 1d>1 there is a one-one correspondence between a quantum state of dimension ddd and d−1d-1d−1 qubits represented as d−1d-1d−1 points in the Bloch sphere. Using the theory of symmetry class of tensors, we present a simple scheme for constructing d−1d-1d−1 points on the Bloch sphere and the corresponding d−1d-1d−1 qubits representing a ddd-dimensional quantum state. Additionally, we demonstrate how the inner product of two ddd-dimensional quantum states can be expressed as a permanent of a matrix related to their (d−1)(d-1)(d−1)-qubit state representations. Extension of the result to mixed states is also considered.