Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2408.00975

Long-lived metastable-qubit memory

Xiaoyang Shi, Jasmine Sinanan-Singh, Kyle DeBry, Susanna Todaro, Isaac L. Chuang, John Chiaverini

Published Aug 2, 2024• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Coherent storage of quantum information is crucial to many quantum technologies. Long coherence times have been demonstrated in trapped-ion qubits, typically using the hyperfine levels within the ground state of a single ion. However, recent research suggests qubits encoded in metastable states could provide architectural benefits for quantum information processing, such as the possibility of effective dual-species operation in a single-species system and erasure-error conversion for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Here we demonstrate long-lived encoding of a quantum state in the metastable states of a trapped ion. By sympathetically cooling with another ion of the same species and constantly monitoring for erasure errors, we demonstrate a coherence time of 136(42) seconds with a qubit encoded in the metastable $5D_{5/2}$ state of a single $^{137}$Ba$^+$ ion. In agreement with a model based on empirical results from dynamical-decoupling-based noise spectroscopy, we find that dephasing of the metastable levels is the dominant source of error once erasure errors are removed.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2408.00975

Related papers

Long-lived metastable-qubit memory

Xiaoyang Shi, Jasmine Sinanan-Singh, Kyle DeBry +3 more

The authors demonstrate an experimental realization of a long-lived quantum memory using the optical-frequency--metastable-state--ground-state architecture in a trapped ion, where the qubit is stored in the metastable states while an ancillary ion is used for sympathetic cooling. A dynamical decoupling sequence and leakage detection are employed to extend the coherence time to approximately four times the natural lifetime of the metastable state.

Physical Review A•Feb 18, 2025•15 citations

Long-Time Storage of a Qubit Encoded in Decoherence-Free Subspace Using a Dual-Type Quantum Memory

Y.-L. Xu, Lihan Zhang, C. Zhang +14 more

A quantum memory is an essential element for quantum computation, quantum networks, and quantum metrology. Previously, a single-qubit quantum memory with a coherence time of about an hour has been realized in a dual-species setup where a coolant ion provides sympathetic cooling for a memory ion of a different species. However, the frequent random position hopping between the ions in the room-temperature trap limits the technique to be applicable only to single-qubit storage. Here, we report a multi-ion quantum memory in a cryogenic trap based on the dual-type scheme and demonstrate a coherence time above two hours for a qubit encoded in the decoherence-free subspace, i.e., two-ion entangled states, after correcting the dominant leakage error. Our scheme alleviates the necessity of an ultrastable frequency reference for the stored qubit, and it has a preferable scalability owing to the same mass of the metastable-state memory ions and the ground-state coolant ion.

Physical Review Letters•Oct 28, 2025•6 citations

Long-time storage of a decoherence-free subspace logical qubit in a dual-type quantum memory

You Lin Xu, Lei Zhang, Chao Zhang +14 more

A quantum memory is an essential element for quantum computation, quantum network and quantum metrology. Previously, a single-qubit quantum memory with a coherence time of about an hour has been realized in a dual-species setup where a coolant ion provides sympathetic cooling for a memory ion of different species. However, the frequent random position hopping between the ions in the room-temperature trap limits the technique there only applicable to single-qubit storage. Here we report a multi-ion quantum memory in a cryogenic trap based on the dual-type scheme, and demonstrate a coherence time above two hours for a logical qubit encoded in the decoherence-free subspace, i.e. two-ion entangled states, after correcting the dominant leakage error. Our scheme alleviates the necessity of an ultra-stable frequency reference for the stored qubit, and has a preferable scalability owing to the same mass of the metastable-state memory ions and the ground-state coolant ion.

arXiv:2507.13320•Jul 17, 2025•0 citations

High-fidelity entanglement of metastable trapped-ion qubits with integrated erasure conversion

A. Quinn, G. J. Gregory, I. D. Moore +6 more

Today's most advanced ion trap quantum computers have significant overhead due to the need for dual-species operation. Looking ahead, logical qubit register sizes will be limited by the encoding rate needed to correct generic Pauli errors. We address both of these issues by establishing high-fidelity control of metastable qubits, a key component of \textit{omg} or dual-type architectures, which enables converting a significant fraction of gate errors to erasures. We first implement an erasure conversion scheme which enables detection of $\sim 94\%$ of spontaneous Raman scattering errors during logic gates and nearly all errors from qubit decay. Second, we perform a two-ion geometric phase gate using far-detuned (-44\,THz) stimulated Raman transitions to produce an entangled state with a raw Bell state fidelity of 97.73\% and a SPAM-corrected Bell state fidelity of 98.61\%. When subtracting erasure errors, this fidelity becomes 99.16\%. These results, along with projections based on our detailed error budget, demonstrate metastable trapped-ion qubits as a platform for low-overhead, fault-tolerant quantum computing.

arXiv:2411.12727•Physical Review A•Mar 17, 2026•1 citation

Quantum Error Correction with Metastable States of Trapped Ions Using Erasure Conversion

Mingyu Kang, Wesley C. Campbell, Kenneth R. Brown

Erasures, or errors with known locations, are a more favorable type of error for quantum error-correcting codes than Pauli errors.Converting physical noise into erasures can significantly improve the performance of quantum error correction.Here, we apply the idea of performing erasure conversion by encoding qubits into metastable atomic states, proposed by Wu, Kolkowitz, Puri, and Thompson [Nat.Comm.13, 4657 (2022)], to trapped ions.We suggest an erasure-conversion scheme for metastable trapped-ion qubits and develop a detailed model of various types of errors.We then compare the logical performance of ground and metastable qubits on the surface code under various physical constraints and conclude that metastable qubits may outperform ground qubits when the achievable laser power is higher for metastable qubits.

arXiv:2210.15024•PRX Quantum•Jun 30, 2023•75 citations

Beyond-Ten-Hour Coherence in a Decoherence-Free Trapped-Ion Clock Qubit

Jiahao Pi, Xiangjia Liu, Junle Cao +8 more

Quantum systems promise to revolutionize information processing science and technology [1-3]. The preservation of quantum coherence, the defining property of qubits, fundamentally constrains the performance of quantum information processing with quantum memories [4]. While trapped atomic ions theoretically support million-year coherence based on spontaneous emission [5-7], experimental demonstrations have reached far less, only about an hour [8-13]. Here we combine clock-state qubits with decoherence-free subspace (DFS) encoding to achieve coherence exceeding ten hours. Using correlation-based phase tracking in 171Yb+ ion pairs sympathetically cooled by 138Ba+ ion, we demonstrate this without magnetic shielding or enhanced microwave phase stabilization that previously limited coherence times. DFS encoding references the qubit phase to the inter-ion energy difference to reject microwave phase noise and common-mode magnetic fluctuations, while clock states provide environmental insensitivity. Throughout measurements extended to 1600 seconds, we observe minimal coherence decay, with exponential fits yielding a coherence time of (3.77 +/- 1.09) x 10^4 seconds. Our results establish DFS encoding as a form of passive error correction that eliminates technical noise constraints, unlocking the million-year coherence potential of atomic ions for scalable quantum information processing.

quant-pharXiv:2603.19631•Mar 23, 2026•0 citations
Coherent storage of quantum information is crucial to many quantum technologies. Long coherence times have been demonstrated in trapped-ion qubits, typically using the hyperfine levels within the ground state of a single ion. However, recent research suggests qubits encoded in metastable states could provide architectural benefits for quantum information processing, such as the possibility of effective dual-species operation in a single-species system and erasure-error conversion for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Here we demonstrate long-lived encoding of a quantum state in the metastable states of a trapped ion. By sympathetically cooling with another ion of the same species and constantly monitoring for erasure errors, we demonstrate a coherence time of 136(42) seconds with a qubit encoded in the metastable 5D5/25D_{5/2}5D5/2​ state of a single 137^{137}137Ba+^++ ion. In agreement with a model based on empirical results from dynamical-decoupling-based noise spectroscopy, we find that dephasing of the metastable levels is the dominant source of error once erasure errors are removed.
A quantum memory is an essential element for quantum computation, quantum networks, and quantum metrology. Previously, a single-qubit quantum memory with a coherence time of about an hour has been realized in a dual-species setup where a coolant ion provides sympathetic cooling for a memory ion of a different species. However, the frequent random position hopping between the ions in the room-temperature trap limits the technique to be applicable only to single-qubit storage. Here, we report a multi-ion quantum memory in a cryogenic trap based on the dual-type scheme and demonstrate a coherence time above two hours for a qubit encoded in the decoherence-free subspace, i.e., two-ion entangled states, after correcting the dominant leakage error. Our scheme alleviates the necessity of an ultrastable frequency reference for the stored qubit, and it has a preferable scalability owing to the same mass of the metastable-state memory ions and the ground-state coolant ion.
A quantum memory is an essential element for quantum computation, quantum network and quantum metrology. Previously, a single-qubit quantum memory with a coherence time of about an hour has been realized in a dual-species setup where a coolant ion provides sympathetic cooling for a memory ion of different species. However, the frequent random position hopping between the ions in the room-temperature trap limits the technique there only applicable to single-qubit storage. Here we report a multi-ion quantum memory in a cryogenic trap based on the dual-type scheme, and demonstrate a coherence time above two hours for a logical qubit encoded in the decoherence-free subspace, i.e. two-ion entangled states, after correcting the dominant leakage error. Our scheme alleviates the necessity of an ultra-stable frequency reference for the stored qubit, and has a preferable scalability owing to the same mass of the metastable-state memory ions and the ground-state coolant ion.
Today's most advanced ion trap quantum computers have significant overhead due to the need for dual-species operation. Looking ahead, logical qubit register sizes will be limited by the encoding rate needed to correct generic Pauli errors. We address both of these issues by establishing high-fidelity control of metastable qubits, a key component of \textit{omg} or dual-type architectures, which enables converting a significant fraction of gate errors to erasures. We first implement an erasure conversion scheme which enables detection of ∼94%\sim 94\%∼94% of spontaneous Raman scattering errors during logic gates and nearly all errors from qubit decay. Second, we perform a two-ion geometric phase gate using far-detuned (-44\,THz) stimulated Raman transitions to produce an entangled state with a raw Bell state fidelity of 97.73\% and a SPAM-corrected Bell state fidelity of 98.61\%. When subtracting erasure errors, this fidelity becomes 99.16\%. These results, along with projections based on our detailed error budget, demonstrate metastable trapped-ion qubits as a platform for low-overhead, fault-tolerant quantum computing.
Erasures, or errors with known locations, are a more favorable type of error for quantum error-correcting codes than Pauli errors.Converting physical noise into erasures can significantly improve the performance of quantum error correction.Here, we apply the idea of performing erasure conversion by encoding qubits into metastable atomic states, proposed by Wu, Kolkowitz, Puri, and Thompson [Nat.Comm.13, 4657 (2022)], to trapped ions.We suggest an erasure-conversion scheme for metastable trapped-ion qubits and develop a detailed model of various types of errors.We then compare the logical performance of ground and metastable qubits on the surface code under various physical constraints and conclude that metastable qubits may outperform ground qubits when the achievable laser power is higher for metastable qubits.
Quantum systems promise to revolutionize information processing science and technology [1-3]. The preservation of quantum coherence, the defining property of qubits, fundamentally constrains the performance of quantum information processing with quantum memories [4]. While trapped atomic ions theoretically support million-year coherence based on spontaneous emission [5-7], experimental demonstrations have reached far less, only about an hour [8-13]. Here we combine clock-state qubits with decoherence-free subspace (DFS) encoding to achieve coherence exceeding ten hours. Using correlation-based phase tracking in 171Yb+ ion pairs sympathetically cooled by 138Ba+ ion, we demonstrate this without magnetic shielding or enhanced microwave phase stabilization that previously limited coherence times. DFS encoding references the qubit phase to the inter-ion energy difference to reject microwave phase noise and common-mode magnetic fluctuations, while clock states provide environmental insensitivity. Throughout measurements extended to 1600 seconds, we observe minimal coherence decay, with exponential fits yielding a coherence time of (3.77 +/- 1.09) x 10^4 seconds. Our results establish DFS encoding as a form of passive error correction that eliminates technical noise constraints, unlocking the million-year coherence potential of atomic ions for scalable quantum information processing.