Generating spatially entangled itinerant photons with waveguide quantum electrodynamics
Bharath Kannan, D. L. Campbell, F. Vasconcelos, Roni Winik, David K. Kim, Morten Kjærgaard, Philip Krantz, Alexander J. Melville, Bethany M. Niedzielski, Jonilyn Yoder, Terry P. Orlando, Simon Gustavsson, William D. Oliver
Realizing a fully connected network of quantum processors requires the ability to distribute quantum entanglement. For distant processing nodes, this can be achieved by generating, routing, and capturing spatially entangled itinerant photons. In this work, we demonstrate the deterministic generation of such photons using superconducting transmon qubits that are directly coupled to a waveguide. In particular, we generate two-photon N00N states and show that the state and spatial entanglement of the emitted photons are tunable via the qubit frequencies. Using quadrature amplitude detection, we reconstruct the moments and correlations of the photonic modes and demonstrate state preparation fidelities of 84%. Our results provide a path toward realizing quantum communication and teleportation protocols using itinerant photons generated by quantum interference within a waveguide quantum electrodynamics architecture.
Realizing a fully connected network of quantum processors requires the ability to distribute quantum entanglement. For distant processing nodes, this can be achieved by generating, routing, and capturing spatially entangled itinerant photons. In this work, we demonstrate the deterministic generation of such photons using superconducting transmon qubits that are directly coupled to a waveguide. In particular, we generate two-photon N00N states and show that the state and spatial entanglement of the emitted photons are tunable via the qubit frequencies. Using quadrature amplitude detection, we reconstruct the moments and correlations of the photonic modes and demonstrate state preparation fidelities of 84%. Our results provide a path toward realizing quantum communication and teleportation protocols using itinerant photons generated by quantum interference within a waveguide quantum electrodynamics architecture.
The exchange of quantum information among nodes in a quantum network is one of the main challenges in modern technologies. Superconducting waveguide QED networks hold great potential for realizing distributed quantum computation, where distinct nodes communicate via itinerant single photons. Yet, different frequencies among the nodes restrict their applicability and limit scalability. Here we derive the controls required to shape single photons arbitrarily detuned with respect to their natural frequency, allowing thus for an on-demand and deterministic exchange of quantum information among frequency detuned nodes. We provide a theoretical framework, analyzing the properties of the controls for typical photon shapes, identifying operation regimes amenable for experimental realization. We then show how these controls enable frequency-selective quantum state transfer among non-resonant and distant nodes of a realistic network. In addition, we also provide a simple extension for remote entanglement generation between these nodes. The suitability and high-fidelity of these protocols is supported by numerical simulations, highlighting the novel networking possibilities unlocked when shaping frequency-tunable single photons.
Experiments utilizing quantum optics have progressed rapidly in last few decades, particularly in the context of quantum computation, simulation, and communication. Early work in this field focused on implementations of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED), where atoms, either natural or artificial, are strongly coupled to the confined photonic modes of cavities. However, in recent years, achieving strong coupling between atoms and itinerant photons has also gained significant interest for its applications in quantum networking. To this end, many atomic platforms are attempting to realize the waveguide QED architecture: atoms that interact with the continua of propagating photonic modes within a waveguide. In this thesis, we realize the strong-coupling regime of a waveguide QED architecture by coupling superconducting artificial atoms, typically operated as qubits, to one-dimensional transmission lines. We first demonstrate that superconducting qubits in a waveguide QED system can be used as high-quality quantum emitters. We then leverage the quantum interference between the simultaneous emission from multiple qubits in order to generate non-classical, spatially entangled, and directional itinerant microwave photons. These types of photons are particularly useful for remote entanglement and quantum communication protocols. Finally, we demonstrate that superconducting qubits can be engineered to enter novel regimes of light-matter interactions that are difficult, or even impossible, to achieve in other atomic platforms. In particular, we realize the giant-atom regime of waveguide QED, where the atom can no longer be treated as a point-like object. We use our giant atoms to implement tunable atom-waveguide couplings, as well as decoherence-free waveguide-mediated interactions between multiple atoms.
The architectural principle of modularity enables the construction of complex systems from simpler components, each responsible for a particular function. The quantum computer is an intricate system comprising fragile, error-prone parts known as qubits. Entanglement distribution across a network of non-local processing modules facilitates robust and extensible quantum computation. In modular quantum architectures, photons are natural quantum information carriers which propagate through interconnects between processing nodes. In this thesis, we engineer a quantum interconnect between superconducting modules underpinned by the physics of waveguide Quantum Electrodynamics (wQED). First, we realize a multi-qubit module that exploits quantum interference to emit microwave photons into a waveguide with a specified propagation direction. Next, we construct the quantum interconnect by coupling two modules to a common waveguide and demonstrate directional (chiral) photon emission and absorption. Finally, using this chiral quantum interconnect, we generate remote entanglement, establishing a key resource for distributed quantum computation in an all-to-all network architecture.
The tunable interaction between stationary quantum bits and propagating modes of light allows for the encoding of quantum information in the state of itinerant photons. This ability fulfills a central requirement for quantum networking, enabling quantum state transfer between distant quantum devices. Conventionally, a symmetric envelope of the photon wavepacket is used for such purposes. Yet, the use of alternative \textit{temporal modes} enables multiple applications in waveguide quantum electrodynamics that remain unexplored experimentally. Here, we use superconducting quantum circuits to generate individual itinerant microwave photons shaped in three mutually orthogonal temporal modes. We transfer the created photons across a 30-m cryogenic link, showing that the orthogonality allows us to decide at the receiver which mode to absorb, reflecting the other two with a selectivity ratio of 40. This experimental capability extends the microwave-frequency quantum communication toolbox, enabling a new photonic degree of freedom.
Multidimensional cluster states are a key resource for robust quantum communication, measurement-based quantum computing and quantum metrology. Here, we present a device capable of emitting large-scale entangled microwave photonic states in a two dimensional ladder structure. The device consists of a pair of coupled superconducting transmon qubits which are each tuneably coupled to a common output waveguide. This architecture permits entanglement between each transmon and a deterministically emitted photonic qubit. By interleaving two-qubit gates with controlled photon emission, we generate 2 × n grids of time- and frequency-multiplexed cluster states of itinerant microwave photons. We generate states with fidelities above 0.50 for up to eight qubits and, in addition, observe nonzero localizable entanglement for states of up to 16 qubits. We expect the device architecture to be capable of generating a wide range of other tensor network states such as tree graph states, repeater states or the ground state of the toric code, and to be readily scalable to generate larger and higher dimensional states. Cluster states are a key resource in quantum technologies, but generation of large-scale 2D cluster states faces several difficulties. Here, the authors show how to generate a 2 × n ladder-like cluster state via sequential emission of time- and frequency multiplexed photonic qubits from a transmon-based device.