Trapped ions are among the most promising candidates for performing quantum information processing tasks. Recently, it was demonstrated how the properties of geometric phases can be used to implement an entangling two-qubit phase gate with significantly reduced operation time while having a built-in resistance against certain types of errors [M. Palmero et al., Phys. Rev. A 95, 022328 (2017)]. We investigate the influence of both quantum and thermal fluctuations on the geometric phase in the Markov regime. We show that additional environmentally induced phases as well as a loss of coherence result from the nonunitary evolution, even at zero temperature. We connect these effects to the associated dynamical and geometrical phases. This suggests a strategy to compensate for the detrimental environmental influences and restore some of the properties of the ideal implementation. Our main result is a strategy for zero temperature to construct forces for the geometric phase gate which compensate for the dissipative effects and leave the produced phase as well as the final motional state identical to the isolated case. We show that the same strategy also helps at finite temperatures. Furthermore, we examine the effects of dissipation on the fidelity and the robustness of a two-qubit phase gate against certain error types.
Trapped ions are among the most promising candidates for performing quantum information processing tasks. Recently, it was demonstrated how the properties of geometric phases can be used to implement an entangling two-qubit phase gate with significantly reduced operation time while having a built-in resistance against certain types of errors [M. Palmero et al., Phys. Rev. A 95, 022328 (2017)]. We investigate the influence of both quantum and thermal fluctuations on the geometric phase in the Markov regime. We show that additional environmentally induced phases as well as a loss of coherence result from the nonunitary evolution, even at zero temperature. We connect these effects to the associated dynamical and geometrical phases. This suggests a strategy to compensate for the detrimental environmental influences and restore some of the properties of the ideal implementation. Our main result is a strategy for zero temperature to construct forces for the geometric phase gate which compensate for the dissipative effects and leave the produced phase as well as the final motional state identical to the isolated case. We show that the same strategy also helps at finite temperatures. Furthermore, we examine the effects of dissipation on the fidelity and the robustness of a two-qubit phase gate against certain error types.
Quantum manipulation based on geometric phases provides a promising way towards robust quantum gates. However, in the current implementation of nonadiabatic geometric phases, operational and/or random errors tend to destruct the conditions that induce geometric phases, thereby smearing their noise-resilient feature. In a recent experiment [Y. Xu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 230503 (2020)], high-fidelity universal geometric quantum gates have been implemented in a superconducting circuit, which are robust to different types of errors under different configurations of the geometric evolution paths. Here, we apply the path-design strategy to explain in detail why both configurations can realize universal quantum gates in a single-loop way. Meanwhile, we purposefully induce our geometric manipulation by selecting the path configuration that is robust against the qubit-frequency-drift-induced error, which is the dominant error source on realistic superconducting circuits and has not been deliberately addressed. Moreover, our proposal can further integrate with the composite scheme to enhance the gate robustness, which is verified by numerical simulations. Therefore, our scheme provides a promising way towards practical realization of high-fidelity and robust nonadiabatic geometric quantum gates.
Geometric phase is a promising element to induce high-fidelity and robust quantum operations due to its built-in noise-resilience feature. Unfortunately, its practical applications are usually circumscribed by requiring complex interactions among multiple levels or qubits and a longer gate time than the corresponding dynamical ones. Here, we propose a general framework of geometric quantum computation with the integration of the time-optimal control technique, where the shortest smooth geometric path is found to realize accelerated geometric quantum gates and thus greatly decreases the gate errors induced by both the decoherence effect and operational imperfections. Meanwhile, we faithfully implement our idea on a scalable platform of a two-dimensional superconducting transmon-qubit lattice, with simple and experimentally accessible interactions. In addition, numerical simulations show that our implemented geometric gates possess higher fidelities and stronger robustness, which outperform the best performance of the corresponding dynamical ones. Therefore, our scheme provides a promising alternative route toward scalable fault-tolerant solid-state quantum computation.
The geometric phase stands as a foundational concept in quantum physics, revealing deep connections between geometric structures and quantum dynamical evolution. Unlike dynamical phases, geometric phases exhibit intrinsic resilience to certain types of perturbation, making them particularly valuable for quantum information processing, where maintaining coherent quantum operations is essential. This article provides a review of geometric phases in the context of universal quantum gate construction, i.e., the geometric quantum computation (GQC), with special attention to recent progress in nonadiabatic implementations that enhance gate fidelity and/or operational robustness. We first review a unified theoretical framework that can encompass all existing nonadiabatic GQC approaches, then systematically examine the design principles of nonadiabatic geometric gates with a particular focus on how optimal control techniques can be leveraged to improve the accuracy and noise resistance. In addition, we conducted detailed numerical comparisons of various nonadiabatic GQC protocols, offering a quantitative assessment of their respective performance characteristics and practical limitations. Through this focused investigation, our aim is to provide researchers with both fundamental insights and practical guidance for advancing geometric approaches in quantum computing.
Abstract Universal logic gates for two quantum bits (qubits) form an essential ingredient of quantum computation. Dynamical gates have been proposed1, 2 in the context of trapped ions; however, geometric phase gates (which change only the phase of the physical qubits) offer potential practical advantages because they have higher intrinsic resistance to certain small errors and might enable faster gate implementation. Here we demonstrate a universal geometric π-phase gate between two beryllium ion-qubits, based on coherent displacements induced by an optical dipole force. The displacements depend on the internal atomic states; the motional state of the ions is unimportant provided that they remain in the regime in which the force can be considered constant over the extent of each ion's wave packet. By combining the gate with single-qubit rotations, we have prepared ions in an entangled Bell state with 97% fidelity—about six times better than in a previous experiment3 demonstrating a universal gate between two ion-qubits. The particular properties of the gate make it attractive for a multiplexed trap architecture4, 5 that would enable scaling to large numbers of ion-qubits.
Practical and robust control of the complex phases of qubit superposition states is necessary for high-fidelity quantum gates. Here we experimentally demonstrate such control in a trapped ultracold 40 Ca + ion, where the phase of qubit ground state is modified by optical driving to an excited state. Using a third spectator quantum level as reference, we experimentally measure the phases generated on the ground state amplitude by different driving schemes. While geometric phases exhibit intrinsic robustness to systematic control errors due to their dependence on global geometric properties (e.g., Berry curvature) rather than dynamical details, their resilience to decoherence remains a topic requiring critical clarification. In this work, we show that geometric phases are not in general immune to environment-induced decoherence, and their practical robustness, including to decoherence, depends on active error-suppression strategies. We implement different driving schemes and find that minimizing excited state decay is more decisive for their robustness on decoherence than whether the phase is of a geometric or dynamical character. This work established and demonstrated a new control strategy that mitigates decoherence effects in geometric/complex phase systems, compensating for their susceptibility to decoherence. We experimentally benchmark four phase-imprinting protocols under a tunable engineered dissipation channel and controlled systematic errors in a single trapped-ion qubit. Our central quantitative finding is that the sensitivity to decoherence is governed by the time-integrated excited-state population, rather than by whether the accumulated phase is labeled geometric or dynamical.
A fundamental challenge of quantum computation is being able to scale up a large number of high fidelity quantum gates while noise and error are affecting the gate’s physical control parameters. This dissertation focuses on the fidelity of single-qubit quantum gates constructed by a change in quantum geometric phase, while the control parameters are affected by random noise and systematic error. A unified model of geometric quantum computation is developed, in which a qubit state is controlled by a composite Hamiltonian, resulting in a multiple-segment rotation of the quantum state and allowing characterization of evolution paths depending on the associated geometric and dynamic phase. The fidelity of the quantum gates in the presence of different noise error is compared for pu rely geometric, hybrid (having both geometric and dynamic phase), and conventional dynamic quantum gates built on single Hamiltonians. Results showed hybrid quantum gates had the highest fidelities, followed by geometric gates, and conventional dynamic gates had the lowest fidelities. In addition, there was indication in some cases higher fidelities result from gates created from a larger number of segments in the quantum state rotation. These results can be understood by the relation of the control parameters with the evolution path geometry. By translating between control parameters, our model can be applied to different systems for quantum computation, including: the laser manipulation of a two-level atom, laser manipulation of trapped ions, nuclear magnetic resonance, polarization states of photons, superconducting qubits in cavity QED, and quantum dots.