Nonclassical quantum states are the pivotal features of a quantum system that differs from its classical counterpart. However, the generation and coherent control of quantum states in a macroscopic spin system remain an outstanding challenge. Here we experimentally demonstrate the quantum control of a single magnon in a macroscopic spin system (i.e., 1 mm-diameter yttrium-iron-garnet sphere) coupled to a superconducting qubit via a microwave cavity. By tuning the qubit frequency in situ via the Autler-Townes effect, we manipulate this single magnon to generate its nonclassical quantum states, including the single-magnon state and the superposition of single-magnon state and vacuum (zero magnon) state. Moreover, we confirm the deterministic generation of these nonclassical states by Wigner tomography. Our experiment offers the first reported deterministic generation of the nonclassical quantum states in a macroscopic spin system and paves a way to explore its promising applications in quantum engineering.
Nonclassical quantum states are the pivotal features of a quantum system that differs from its classical counterpart. However, the generation and coherent control of quantum states in a macroscopic spin system remain an outstanding challenge. Here we experimentally demonstrate the quantum control of a single magnon in a macroscopic spin system (i.e., 1 mm-diameter yttrium-iron-garnet sphere) coupled to a superconducting qubit via a microwave cavity. By tuning the qubit frequency in situ via the Autler-Townes effect, we manipulate this single magnon to generate its nonclassical quantum states, including the single-magnon state and the superposition of single-magnon state and vacuum (zero magnon) state. Moreover, we confirm the deterministic generation of these nonclassical states by Wigner tomography. Our experiment offers the first reported deterministic generation of the nonclassical quantum states in a macroscopic spin system and paves a way to explore its promising applications in quantum engineering.
Squeezed states, crucial for quantum metrology and emerging quantum technologies, have been demonstrated in various platforms, but quantum squeezing of magnons in macroscopic spin systems remains elusive. Here we report the experimental observation of quantum-level magnon squeezing in a millimeter-scale yttrium iron garnet (YIG) sphere. By engineering a strong dispersive magnon-superconducting qubit coupling via a microwave cavity, we implement a significant self-Kerr nonlinearity to generate squeezed magnon states with their mean magnon number less than one. Harnessing a magnon-assisted Raman process, we perform Wigner tomography, revealing quadrature variances of ∼0.8 (∼1.0~dB squeezing) relative to the vacuum. These results lay the groundwork for quantum nonlinear magnonics and promise potential applications in quantum metrology.
Hybrid systems based on magnons in ferromagnetic materials, such as yttrium iron garnet, have achieved remarkable development in the last decade. These include the coupling of magnons to microwave and optical photons, superconducting qubits, phonons, spins, the center-of-mass motion of a ferromagnet, etc. Here, we review both the experimental and theoretical progress in this field, focusing on the generation of magnonic quantum states and their applications in a broad range of fields. Since the strong coupling is a prerequisite for achieving coherent quantum control of magnons and preparing magnonic quantum states, we start by introducing representative strong-coupling experiments in cavity magnonics, then review a series of protocols for creating various magnonic quantum states, such as Fock, cat, squeezed, and entangled states, and discuss their potential applications in macroscopic quantum studies, quantum information science, quantum sensing, magnonic quantum devices, dark matter detection, and so on. Finally, we summarize the review and give an outlook for the future study of quantum magnonics.
We propose a scheme for preparing magnon squeezed states in a hybrid cavity-magnon-qubit system. The system consists of a microwave cavity that simultaneously couples to a magnon mode of a macroscopic yttrium-iron-garnet sphere via the magnetic-dipole interaction and to a transmon-type superconducting qubit via the electric-dipole interaction. By far detuning from the magnon-qubit system, the microwave cavity is adiabatically eliminated. The magnon mode and the qubit then get effectively coupled via the mediation of virtual photons of the microwave cavity. We show that by driving the qubit with two microwave fields and by appropriately choosing the drive frequencies and strengths, magnonic parametric amplification can be realized, which leads to magnon quadrature squeezing with the noise below vacuum fluctuation. We provide optimal conditions for achieving magnon squeezing, and moderate squeezing can be obtained using currently available parameters. The generated squeezed states are of a magnon mode involving more than 1018 spins and thus macroscopic quantum states. This work may find promising applications in quantum information processing and high-precision measurements based on magnons and in the study of macroscopic quantum states.
The cavity-magnon-qubit system has recently been demonstrated as a new platform for preparing macroscopic quantum states in magnonic systems. Here, we propose to prepare a two-mode magnonic cat state, which is also a non-Gaussian entangled state, based on this practical system involving two yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) spheres and a superconducting qubit coupled to a common microwave cavity. By adiabatically eliminating the cavity and resonantly driving the qubit, an effective magnon-qubit conditional-displacement interaction is achieved. Further working in the magnon-magnon strong-coupling regime and considering two identical magnon frequencies and coupling strengths to the cavity, two hybridized magnon modes are formed, of which the bright mode is prepared in a cat state after a projective measurement on the qubit, while the dark mode remains in its initial vacuum state. Such a state corresponds to a two-mode cat state of two original magnon modes, which share strong non-Gaussian entanglement. We also discuss practical dissipation and dephasing effects on the cat state. The results indicate that strong nonclassicality and non-Gaussian entanglement are present in the two-mode cat state using fully feasible parameters.
Quantum magnonics based on yttrium iron garnet (YIG) spheres provides a new arena for observing macroscopic quantum states. Here, we propose to prepare two kinds of non-Gaussian magnonic states by adding a single magnon to two Gaussian states, namely, coherent and thermal states. We adopt an optomagnonic system of a YIG sphere and use fast optical pulses to weakly activate the magnon-induced Stokes scattering. Conditioned on the detection of a polarized single photon, a single magnon can be added to an initial Gaussian state. We use a microwave cavity to prepare an initial magnon coherent state and finally read out the generated single-magnon added coherent or thermal state. Both the non-Gaussian states of a magnon mode in a large YIG sphere are macroscopic quantum states, which exhibit many nonclassical properties, such as sub-Poissonian statistics, quadrature squeezing, and a negative Wigner function. Further, both states show a smooth transition from a quantum state to a classical state with the change of the coherent or thermal magnon excitations and thus can be used for the fundamental study of the quantum-to-classical transition.
The cavity-mediated coupling between magnons in an yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) sphere and a superconducting qubit has recently been demonstrated as a new platform for preparing macroscopic quantum states. Here, based on this system, we propose to entangle two magnon modes in two YIG spheres by driving the qubit with a two-tone field and by appropriately choosing the frequencies and strengths of the two driving fields. We show that strong entanglement can be achieved with fully feasible parameters. We further provide a detection scheme for experimentally verifying the entanglement. Our results indicate that macroscopic entanglement between two magnon modes in two millimeter-sized YIG spheres, involving more than 1018 spins, can be realized using currently available parameters, which finds promising applications in fundamental studies, such as macroscopic quantum mechanics and the test of unconventional decoherence theories.