Kerr parametric oscillators (KPOs) can stabilize the superpositions of coherent states, which can be utilized as qubits, and are promising candidates for realizing hardware-efficient quantum computers. Although elementary gates for universal quantum computation with KPO qubits have been proposed, these gates are usually based on adiabatic operations and thus need long gate times, which result in errors caused by photon loss in KPOs realized by, e.g., superconducting circuits. In this work we accelerate the elementary gates by experimentally feasible control methods, which are based on numerical optimization of pulse shapes for shortcuts to adiabaticity. By numerical simulations, we show that the proposed methods can achieve speedups compared to adiabatic ones by up to six times with high gate fidelities of 99.9%. These methods are thus expected to be useful for quantum computers with KPOs.
Kerr parametric oscillators (KPOs) can stabilize the superpositions of coherent states, which can be utilized as qubits, and are promising candidates for realizing hardware-efficient quantum computers. Although elementary gates for universal quantum computation with KPO qubits have been proposed, these gates are usually based on adiabatic operations and thus need long gate times, which result in errors caused by photon loss in KPOs realized by, e.g., superconducting circuits. In this work we accelerate the elementary gates by experimentally feasible control methods, which are based on numerical optimization of pulse shapes for shortcuts to adiabaticity. By numerical simulations, we show that the proposed methods can achieve speedups compared to adiabatic ones by up to six times with high gate fidelities of 99.9%. These methods are thus expected to be useful for quantum computers with KPOs.
Kerr parametric oscillators (KPOs), two-photon driven Kerr-nonlinear resonators, can stably hold coherent states with opposite-sign amplitudes and are promising devices for quantum computing. Recently, we have theoretically proposed a two-qubit gate Rzz for highly detuned KPOs and called it a conditional-driving gate [Chono et al., Phys. Rev. Res. 4, 043054 (2022)]. In this study, analyzing its superconducting-circuit model and deriving a corresponding static model, we find that an AC-Zeeman shift due to the flux pulse for the gate operation largely affects the gate performance. This effect becomes a more aggravating factor with shorter gate times, leading to an increase in the error rate. We thus propose a method to cancel this undesirable effect. Furthermore, through the use of shortcuts to adiabaticity and the optimization of flux pulses, we numerically demonstrate a conditional-driving gate with average fidelity exceeding 99.9% twice faster than that without the proposed cancellation method and the shortcuts to adiabaticity.
Kerr parametric oscillators (KPOs), which can be implemented with superconducting parametrons possessing large Kerr nonlinearity, have been attracting much attention in terms of their applications to quantum annealing, universal quantum computation, and studies of quantum many-body systems. It is of practical importance for these studies to realize fast and accurate tunable coupling between KPOs in a simple manner. We develop a simple scheme of fast tunable coupling of KPOs with high tunability in speed and amplitude using the fast transitionless rotation of a KPO in the phase space based on the shortcuts to adiabaticity. Our scheme enables rapid switching of the effective coupling between KPOs, and can be implemented with always-on linear coupling between KPOs, by controlling the phase of the pump field and the resonance frequency of the KPO without controlling the amplitude of the pump field nor using additional drive fields and couplers. We apply the coupling scheme to a two-qubit gate, and show that our scheme realizes high gate fidelity compared with a purely adiabatic one, by mitigating undesired nonadiabatic transitions.
A Kerr nonlinear parametric oscillator (KPO) is one of the promising devices used to realize qubits for universal quantum computing. The KPO can stabilize two coherent states with opposite phases, yielding a quantum superposition called a Schr\"odinger cat state. Universal quantum computing with KPOs requires three kinds of quantum gates: Rz,Rx, and Rzz gates. We theoretically propose a two-qubit gate Rzz for highly detuned KPOs. In the proposed scheme, we add a parametric drive for the first KPO. This leads to the Rzz gate based on the driving of the second KPO depending on the first-KPO state, which we call ``conditional driving.'' First, we perform simulations using a conventional KPO Hamiltonian derived from a superconducting-circuit model under some approximations and evaluate the gate fidelity. Next, we also perform numerical simulations of the two-qubit gate using the superconducting-circuit model without the approximations. The simulation results indicate that the conditional-driving gates can be implemented with high fidelity (>99.9) for rotation angles required for universality.
Quantum computers with Kerr-nonlinear parametric oscillators (KPOs) have recently been proposed by the author and others. Quantum computation using KPOs is based on quantum adiabatic bifurcations of the KPOs, which lead to quantum superpositions of coherent states, such as Schrodinger cat states. Therefore, these quantum computers are referred to as "quantum bifurcation machines (QbMs)." QbMs can be used for qauntum adiabatic optimization and universal quantum computation. Superconducting circuits with Josephson junctions, Josephson parametric oscillators (JPOs) in particular, are promising for physical implementation of KPOs. Thus, KPOs and QbMs offer not only a new path toward the realization of quantum bits (qubits) and quantum computers, but also a new application of JPOs. Here we theoretically explain the physics of KPOs and QbMs, comparing them with their dissipative counterparts. Their physical implementations with superconducting circuits are also presented.
A Kerr nonlinear parametric oscillator (KPO) can stabilize a quantum superposition of two coherent states with opposite phases, which can be used as a qubit. In a universal gate set for quantum computation with KPOs, an Rx gate, which interchanges the two coherent states, is relatively hard to perform owing to the stability of the two states. We propose a method for a high-fidelity Rx gate by exciting the KPO outside the qubit space with parity-selective transitions, which can be implemented by only adding a driving field. In this method, the utilization of higher effective excited states leads to a faster Rx gate, rather than states near the qubit space. The proposed method can realize a continuous Rx gate and thus is expected to be useful for, e.g., recently proposed variational quantum algorithms.
Quantum computing promises exponential advantages for simulating quantum systems and solving certain computational problems beyond the reach of classical computers, but the fragility of qubits and the resulting errors present a major challenge for scalable implementations. One promising approach is to engineer qubits whose physical noise processes are intrinsically biased, enabling more efficient quantum error correction. This dissertation investigates quantum computing with superconducting Kerr-cat qubits, a bosonic qubit architecture in which qubit states are encoded in coherent states of a nonlinear oscillator stabilized by a two-photon drive. This stabilization creates an effective double-well pseudo-potential that strongly suppresses bit-flip errors while enabling universal quantum control, leading to a noise-biased qubit. A superconducting device architecture based on SNAIL nonlinear oscillators is developed to realize Kerr-cat qubits with tunable parameters and high coherence, integrating readout resonators, dedicated filters, and microwave control lines for measurement and manipulation. Universal single-qubit gates are implemented using engineered single-photon and two-photon drives to deform the pseudo-potential, and a cat-quadrature readout method is employed to achieve high-fidelity quantum nondemolition measurement. The performance of the qubits is systematically characterized through lifetime measurements and benchmarking protocols, including quantum process tomography, gate set tomography, and dihedral randomized benchmarking, revealing a strongly biased noise structure with high performance. These results establish an experimental framework for the design, control, and characterization of Kerr-cat qubits and demonstrate their potential as hardware-efficient building blocks for scalable fault-tolerant quantum computing.