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arXiv:1910.02487 · Physical Review A

Optimality of feedback control for qubit purification under inefficient measurement

Yu-Xiao Jiang, X. Wang, Leigh S. Martin, K. Birgitta Whaley

Published Aug 13, 2020• 8 citations
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Abstract

A quantum system may be purified, i.e., projected into a pure state, faster if one applies feedback operations during the measurement process. However, the existing results suggest that such an enhancement is only possible when the measurement efficiency exceeds 0.5, which is difficult to achieve experimentally. We address the task of finding the global optimal feedback control for purifying a single qubit in the presence of measurement inefficiency. We use the Bloch vector length, a more physical and practical quantity than purity, to assess the quality of the state, and employ a backward-iteration algorithm to find the globally optimal strategy. Our results show that a speedup is available for quantum efficiencies well below 0.5, which opens the possibility of experimental implementation in existing systems.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.102.022612

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This paper discusses the use of continuous weak measurement and quantum feedback for the rapid purification of the quantum state of a model solid state qubit: a superconducting Cooper pair box. The feedback algorithm uses Jacobs' rapid purification protocol, which starts with a completely mixed state and applies controls to rotate the qubit Bloch vector onto the plane orthogonal to the measurement axis. This rotation maximises the rate of increase of the average purity of the state but can require large changes in the control fields to produce the required rotation. Since solid state qubits have finite controls and feedback channels have limited bandwidth, such rotations may not be practical. This paper applies Jacobs' protocol to the Cooper pair box with realistic control fields.
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