We propose a fast scheme to generate Schr\"odinger cat states in a superconducting resonator using a continuously driven qubit without resorting to the dispersive regime, two-photon drives, or engineered two-photon dissipation. We provide analysis for when the qubit is on and off resonance from the drive. We extend our analysis to account for a third level in a weakly anharmonic qutrit. We also discuss the case of a strongly anharmonic qutrit. Throughout the paper, we corroborate our analytical results with numerical simulations in the presence of energy relaxation and dephasing of the qubit and resonator using realistic experimental parameters.
We propose a fast scheme to generate Schr"odinger cat states in a superconducting resonator using a continuously driven qubit without resorting to the dispersive regime, two-photon drives, or engineered two-photon dissipation. We provide analysis for when the qubit is on and off resonance from the drive. We extend our analysis to account for a third level in a weakly anharmonic qutrit. We also discuss the case of a strongly anharmonic qutrit. Throughout the paper, we corroborate our analytical results with numerical simulations in the presence of energy relaxation and dephasing of the qubit and resonator using realistic experimental parameters.
We present an efficient approach for dissipative generation of quantum superposition states in the microwave resonator, which is coupled to a superconducting qubit. We investigate the situation where the inversion symmetry of potential energy of the qubit is broken, and the strong two-photon nonlinear coupling between qubit and resonator can be realized via the transverse and longitudinal couplings. According to the two-photon dissipation and driving process, the dissipation of a qubit can be utilized to steer the microwave field into a quantum superposition of distinct coherent states, i.e., the Schr\"odinger cat state. In addition, we also extend the method to produce an entangled coherent state of two spatially separated resonators. Our scheme is based on quantum reservoir engineering and turns detrimental noise into a resource, which makes it feasible in experimental implementation. The present result may have potential applications in the field of quantum information processing with circuit QED systems.
Superconducting circuits provide an architecture upon which cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) can be implemented at microwave frequencies in a highly tunable environment. Known as circuit QED, these systems can achieve larger nonlinearities, stronger coupling and greater controllability than can be achieved in cavity QED, all in a customisable, solid state device, making this technology an exciting test bed for both quantum optics and quantum information processing. These new parameter regimes open up new avenues for quantum technology, while also allowing older quantum optics results to finally be tested. In particular is is now possible to experimentally produce nonclassical states, such as squeezed and Schr\\"odinger cat states, relatively simply in these devices. Using open quantum systems methods, in this thesis we investigate four problems which involve the use of nonclassical states in circuit QED. First we investigate the effects of a Kerr nonlinearity on the ability to preserve transported squeezed states in a superconducting cavity, and whether this setup permits us to generate, and perform tomography, of a highly squeezed field using a qubit, with possible applications in the characterisation of sources of squeezed microwaves. Second, we present a novel scheme for the amplification of cat states using a coupled qubit and external microwave drives, inspired by the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. This scheme differs from similar techniques in circuit QED in that it is deterministic and therefore compatible with a protocol for stabilising cat states without the need for complex dissipation engineering. Next we use solutions of Fokker-Planck equations to study the exact steady-state response of two nonlinear systems: a transmon qubit coupled to a readout resonator, where we find good agreement with experiments and see simultaneous bistability of the cavity and transmon; and a parametrically driven nonlinear resonator, where we compare the classical and quantum phases of the system and discuss applications in the generation of squeezed states and stabilisation of cat states. Finally, we investigate the use of two different types of superconducting qubits in a single experiment, seeing that this enables engineering of the self- and cross-Kerr effects in a line of cavities. This could provide a valuable means of entangling cavity states, in addition to a resource for quantum simulation.
Stark shift on a superconducting qubit in circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED) has been used to construct universal quantum entangling gates on superconducting resonators in previous works. It is a second-order coupling effect between the resonator and the qubit in the dispersive regime, which leads to a slow state-selective rotation on the qubit. Here, we present two proposals to construct the fast universal quantum gates on superconducting resonators in a microwave-photon quantum processor composed of multiple superconducting resonators coupled to a superconducting transmon qutrit, that is, the controlled-phase (c-phase) gate on two microwave-photon resonators and the controlled-controlled phase (cc-phase) gates on three resonators, resorting to quantum resonance operations, without any drive field. Compared with previous works, our universal quantum gates have the higher fidelities and shorter operation times in theory. The numerical simulation shows that the fidelity of our c-phase gate is 99.57% within about 38.1 ns and that of our cc-phase gate is 99.25% within about 73.3 ns.
We present a theoretical treatment for the dissipative two-resonator circuit quantum electrodynamics setup referred to as quantum switch. There, switchable coupling between two superconducting resonators is mediated by a superconducting qubit operating in the dispersive regime, where the qubit transition frequency is far detuned from those of the resonators. We derive an effective Hamiltonian for the quantum switch beyond the rotating-wave approximation and provide a detailed study of the dissipative dynamics. As a central finding, we derive analytically how the qubit affects the quantum switch even if the qubit has no dynamics, and we estimate the strength of this influence. The analytical results are corroborated by numerical calculations, where coherent oscillations between the resonators, the decay of coherent and Fock states, and the decay of resonator-resonator entanglement are studied. Finally, we suggest an experimental protocol for extracting the damping constants of qubit and resonators by measuring the quadratures of the resonator fields.
In this paper, we present an experimentally feasible protocol to generate the cat states in the microwave resonator coupled to a superconducting qubit. The setup employs a detuned, time-dependent parametric drive to squeeze the resonator mode so that an adjustable qubit-resonator coupling strength can be obtained. Therefore, based on the transitionless tracking algorithm, we can design control pulses to generate the qubit-resonator entangled states with high fidelity in the laboratory frame. Then, the even and odd cat states can be further obtained by performing measurement on the superconducting qubit. Compared to the scheme [Chen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 023602 (2021)], the present protocol is realized in the regime of weak parametric drive. In the case, squeezing-induced noise can be reduced so that the fidelity of the generated state can be improved. Numerical simulations indicate that the present protocol is well executed under experimentally available parameters. Thus, the protocol is feasible with the present state of the art in microwave superconducting circuits.
Perfect deterministic amplification of arbitrary quantum states is prohibited by quantum mechanics, but determinism can be achieved by compromising between fidelity and amplification power. We propose a dynamical scheme for deterministically amplifying photonic Schrödinger cat states, which show great promise as a tool for quantum information processing. Our protocol is designed for strongly coupled circuit quantum electrodynamics and utilizes artificial atomic states and external microwave controls to engineer a set of optimal state transfers and achieve high fidelity amplification. We compare analytical results with full simulations of the open, driven Jaynes–Cummings model, using realistic device parameters for state of the art superconducting circuits. Amplification with a fidelity of 0.9 can be achieved for sizable cat states in the presence of cavity and atomic-level decoherence. This tool could be applied to practical continuous-variable information processing for the purification and stabilization of cat states in the presence of photon losses.