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arXiv:2212.13335 · Physical Review Research

Non-Gaussian-state generation with time-gated photon detection

Tatsuki Sonoyama, Kazuma Takahashi, Baramee Charoensombutamon, Sachiko Takasu, K. Hattori, Daiji Fukuda, Kosuke Fukui, Kan Takase, Warit Asavanant, Jun–ichi Yoshikawa, Mamoru Endo, Akira Furusawa

Published Sep 5, 2023• 11 citations

Abstract

Non-Gaussian states of light, which are essential in fault-tolerant and universal optical quantum computation, are typically generated by a heralding scheme using photon detectors. Recently, it has been theoretically shown that the large timing jitter of the photon detectors deteriorates the purity of the generated non-Gaussian states [T. Sonoyama et al., Phys. Rev. A 105, 043714 (2022)]. Here, we circumvent this problem by time-gated photon detection and generate non-Gaussian states with Wigner negativity using continuous-wave light. We use a fast optical switch for time gating to effectively improve the timing jitter of a photon-number-resolving detector based on a transition edge sensor from 50 ns to 10 ns. As a result, we generate non-Gaussian states with Wigner negativity of \ensuremath{-}$0.011\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.004$ $(\ensuremath{\hbar}=1)$, which cannot be observed without the time-gated photon detection method. These results confirm the effect of the timing jitter on non-Gaussian state generation experimentally for the first time. The proposed time-gated photon detection method would be useful for high-purity non-Gaussian state preparation in optical quantum information processing.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevresearch.5.033156

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Non-Gaussian states of light, which are essential in fault-tolerant and universal optical quantum computation, are typically generated by a heralding scheme using photon detectors. Recently, it has been theoretically shown that the large timing jitter of the photon detectors deteriorates the purity of the generated non-Gaussian states [T. Sonoyama et al., Phys. Rev. A 105, 043714 (2022)]. Here, we circumvent this problem by time-gated photon detection and generate non-Gaussian states with Wigner negativity using continuous-wave light. We use a fast optical switch for time gating to effectively improve the timing jitter of a photon-number-resolving detector based on a transition edge sensor from 50 ns to 10 ns. As a result, we generate non-Gaussian states with Wigner negativity of \ensuremath{-}

0.011\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.004

(\ensuremath{\hbar}=1)

, which cannot be observed without the time-gated photon detection method. These results confirm the effect of the timing jitter on non-Gaussian state generation experimentally for the first time. The proposed time-gated photon detection method would be useful for high-purity non-Gaussian state preparation in optical quantum information processing.

Quantum state preparation is important for quantum information processing. In particular, in optical quantum computing with continuous variables, non-Gaussian states are needed for universal operation and error correction. Optical non-Gaussian states are usually generated by heralding schemes using photon detectors. In previous experiments, the temporal resolution of the photon detectors was sufficiently high relative to the time width of the quantum state, so that the conventional theory of non-Gaussian state preparation treated the detector's temporal resolution as negligible. However, when using various photon detectors, including photon-number-resolving detectors, the temporal resolution is non-negligible. In this paper, we extend the conventional theory of quantum state preparation using photon detectors to the finite-temporal-resolution regime, analyze the cases of single-photon and two-photon preparation as examples, and find that the generated states are characterized by the dimensionless parameter

B

, defined as the product of the temporal resolution of the detectors $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}t$ and the bandwidth of the light source $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}f$. Based on the results, $B\ensuremath{\sim}0.1$ is required to keep the purity and fidelity of the generated quantum states high.

In the field of continuous-variable quantum information processing, non-Gaussian states with negative values of the Wigner function are crucial for the development of a fault-tolerant universal quantum computer. While several non-Gaussian states have been generated experimentally, none have been created using ultrashort optical wave packets, which are necessary for high-speed quantum computation, in the telecommunication wavelength band where mature optical communication technology is available. In this paper, we present the generation of non-Gaussian states on wave packets with a short 8-ps duration in the 1545.32 nm telecommunication wavelength band using photon subtraction up to three photons. We used a low-loss, quasi-single spatial mode waveguide optical parametric amplifier, a superconducting transition edge sensor, and a phase-locked pulsed homodyne measurement system to observe negative values of the Wigner function without loss correction up to three-photon subtraction. These results can be extended to the generation of more complicated non-Gaussian states and are a key technology in the pursuit of high-speed optical quantum computation.

Continuous-variable quantum computing (CVQC) boasts, by way of quantum optics, one of the largest scalability potentials of all quantum computing platforms. In order to enable universal CVQC, i.e., exponential speedup as well as fault tolerance, one requires quantum resources (states and/or gates) with a non-Gaussian Wigner function. We present several state preparation techniques, using photon-number-resolving detection, that enable the generation of resource states such as GKP or binomial error encodings.

Non-Gaussian states are essential resources for universal, fault-tolerant optical quantum computing, but their generation rate remains limited by low heralding probabilities and operation in nanosecond temporal modes. Here, we demonstrate multi-photon generalized photon subtraction in picosecond optical wave packets, establishing the state-generation capability required for high-rate operation by addressing the temporal-mode bottleneck that has constrained the achievable rate. Two interfering ultrashort squeezed vacua are heralded by photon-number-resolving detection with a high-speed transition-edge sensor and characterized by pulsed homodyne detection matched to 10-ps temporal modes at a 5-MHz pump repetition rate. We reconstruct Wigner functions without loss correction that exhibit up to four distinct negative regions for four-photon heralding, together with an effective cat-state amplitude of

α_{\mathrm{eff}} = 1.69

. This amplitude approaches the range of practical relevance for fault-tolerant cat-code architectures and for adaptive breeding toward logical-qubit generation, while the picosecond temporal mode establishes a platform compatible with high-rate, scalable time-multiplexed photonic architectures.