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:2506.03034 · Physical Review Applied

Floquet-engineered fast snap gates in weakly coupled circuit-QED systems

Xinyuan You, Andy C.Y. Li, Tanay Roy, Shaojiang Zhu, Alexander Romanenko, Anna Grassellino, Yao Lu, Srivatsan Chakram

Published Sep 4, 2025• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Superconducting cavities with high quality factors, coupled to a fixed-frequency transmon, provide a state-of-the-art platform for quantum information storage and manipulation. The commonly used selective number-dependent arbitrary phase (SNAP) gate faces significant challenges in ultra-high-coherence cavities, where the weak dispersive shifts necessary for preserving high coherence typically result in prolonged gate times. Here, we propose a protocol to achieve high-fidelity SNAP gates that are orders of magnitude faster than the standard implementation, surpassing the speed limit set by the bare dispersive shift. We achieve this enhancement by dynamically amplifying the dispersive coupling via sideband interactions, followed by quantum optimal control on the Floquet-engineered system. We also present a unified perturbation theory that explains both the gate acceleration and the associated benign drive-induced decoherence, corroborated by Floquet-Markov simulations. These results pave the way for the experimental realization of high-fidelity, selective control of weakly coupled, high-coherence cavities, and expanding the scope of optimal control techniques to a broader class of Floquet quantum systems.

DOI
10.1103/smcc-t465

Related papers

Efficient cavity control with SNAP gates

Thomas Fösel, Stefan Krastanov, Florian Marquardt +1 more

Microwave cavities coupled to superconducting qubits have been demonstrated to be a promising platform for quantum information processing. A major challenge in this setup is to realize universal control over the cavity. A promising approach are selective number-dependent arbitrary phase (SNAP) gates combined with cavity displacements. It has been proven that this is a universal gate set, but a central question remained open so far: how can a given target operation be realized efficiently with a sequence of these operations. In this work, we present a practical scheme to address this problem. It involves a hierarchical strategy to insert new gates into a sequence, followed by a co-optimization of the control parameters, which generates short high-fidelity sequences. For a broad range of experimentally relevant applications, we find that they can be implemented with 3 to 4 SNAP gates, compared to up to 50 with previously known techniques.

arXiv:2004.14256•Apr 29, 2020•10 citations

Fast Sideband Control of a Multimode Cavity Memory with Weak Dispersive Coupling to a Transmon

Jordan Huang, Thomas J. DiNapoli, Gavin Rockwood +9 more

Mitigating ancilla-mediated error channels is a critical challenge in controlling high-quality superconducting cavities using circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED). We address this by weakening the dispersive coupling while demonstrating fast, high-fidelity multimode control through transmon-mediated sideband interactions. We implement transmon-cavity SWAP gates with speeds up to 30 times larger than the bare dispersive coupling. Combined with transmon rotations, this enables universal state preparation in a single mode, though achieving unitary gates and extending control to multiple modes remains a challenge. In this work, we overcome this limitation by introducing two control strategies: (i) a shelving technique that stores populations in sideband-transparent states, and (ii) a method that exploits the dispersive shift to implement photon-number-selective transmon-cavity SWAP gates. We use these protocols to prepare Fock and binomial code states across any of the ten modes of a multimode cavity with millisecond coherence times—serving as a multimode quantum memory. We demonstrate unitaries that encode and decode an arbitrary qubit state from the transmon into corresponding vacuum and Fock state superpositions, as well as entangled NOON states of cavity mode pairs—a scheme extendable to arbitrary multimode Fock encodings in the cavity modes. Furthermore, we implement a new binomial encoding gate that converts arbitrary transmon superpositions into binomial code states in any cavity mode at a rate exceeding the dispersive shifts in our system, achieving an average post-selected state fidelity of 96.3% in a 4 μ s gate time. By using precalibrated transmon and sideband pulses, our work demonstrates multimode control with significantly reduced calibration overhead, enabling efficient unitary operations using sideband interactions in multimode cQED systems.

arXiv:2503.10623•Physical Review X•Jan 22, 2026•4 citations

Eigen-SNAP gate for photonic qubits in a cavity-transmon system

Marcus J. Meschede, Ludwig Mathey

In the pursuit of robust quantum computing, we put forth a platform based on photonic qubits in a circuit-QED environment. Specifically, we propose a versatile two-qubit gate based on two cavities coupled via a transmon, constituting a selective number-dependent phase gate operating on the in-phase eigenmodes of the two cavities, the Eigen-SNAP gate. This gate natively operates in the dispersive coupling regime of the cavities and the transmon, and operates by driving the transmon externally, to imprint desired phases on the number states. As an example for the utility of the Eigen-SNAP gate, we implement a SWAP gate on a system of two logical bosonic qubits encoded in the cavities. Further, we use numerical optimization to determine the optimal implementation of the SWAP . We find that the fidelities of these optimal protocols are only limited by the coherence times of the system's components. These findings pave the way to continuous-variable quantum computing in cavity-transmon systems.

arXiv:2503.09292•Physical Review Research•Feb 4, 2026•0 citations

Cavity State Manipulation Using Photon-Number Selective Phase Gates

Reinier Heeres, Brian Vlastakis, Eric C. Holland +5 more

The large available Hilbert space and high coherence of cavity resonators make these systems an interesting resource for storing encoded quantum bits. To perform a quantum gate on this encoded information, however, complex nonlinear operations must be applied to the many levels of the oscillator simultaneously. In this work, we introduce the selective number-dependent arbitrary phase (snap) gate, which imparts a different phase to each Fock-state component using an off-resonantly coupled qubit. We show that the snap gate allows control over the quantum phases by correcting the unwanted phase evolution due to the Kerr effect. Furthermore, by combining the snap gate with oscillator displacements, we create a one-photon Fock state with high fidelity. Using just these two controls, one can construct arbitrary unitary operations, offering a scalable route to performing logical manipulations on oscillator-encoded qubits.

arXiv:1503.01496•Physical Review Letters•Sep 22, 2015•217 citations

Engineering fast high-fidelity quantum operations with constrained interactions

Thales Figueiredo Roque, Aashish A. Clerk, Hugo Ribeiro

Abstract Understanding how to tailor quantum dynamics to achieve the desired evolution is a crucial problem in almost all quantum technologies. Oftentimes an otherwise ideal quantum dynamics is corrupted by unavoidable interactions, and finding ways to mitigate the unwanted effects of such interactions on the dynamics is a very active field of research. Here, we present a very general method for designing high-efficiency control sequences that are fully compatible with experimental constraints on available interactions and their tunability. Our approach relies on the Magnus expansion to find order by order the necessary corrections that result in a high-fidelity operation. In the end finding, the control fields are reduced to solve a set of linear equations. We illustrate our method by applying it to a number of physically relevant problems: the strong-driving limit of a two-level system, fast squeezing in a parametrically driven cavity, the leakage problem in transmon qubit gates, and the acceleration of SNAP gates in a qubit-cavity system.

arXiv:2003.12096•npj Quantum Information•Feb 8, 2021•0 citations

Implementation of quantum gates by Floquet analysis of kicked quantum system

Andrea De Luca, Carola Ciaramelletti, Simone Paganelli

Precise control of multi-qubit architectures remains a critical bottleneck in superconducting quantum processors. In this work, we investigate the synthesis of high-fidelity quantum operations and state transfer protocols within an extended superconducting linear chain, scaling from three to seven sites. Using Floquet theory, we model the periodic drive as a train of delta-like pulses, mapping the quantum control problem onto quasi-energy resonance conditions. Combining the Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff expansion with Floquet spectral decomposition, we analytically identify optimal driving parameters, refined via the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES). In the three-qubit architecture, this enables high-fidelity synthesis of the iSWAP gate. Extending to a seven-site chain, we implement periodic trains of finite-width Gaussian pulses to activate distinct double-excitation transport channels with ultra-short gate durations t_gate (~170 ns). This achieves a clear scale separation from energy-relaxation times (T1) typical of fixed-frequency transmon devices with tunable couplers, such as IBM Quantum hardware. Finally, we benchmark stability under realistic imperfections, revealing a heightened sensitivity to static parameter disorder at the sub-percent level (eta ~ 10^-3) driven by spectral crowding, and discuss how closed-loop topologies could mitigate this constraint. This framework bridges time-periodic control theory and practical quantum gate engineering.

quant-pharXiv:2609.02372•Sep 3, 2026•0 citations
Superconducting cavities with high quality factors, coupled to a fixed-frequency transmon, provide a state-of-the-art platform for quantum information storage and manipulation. The commonly used selective number-dependent arbitrary phase (SNAP) gate faces significant challenges in ultra-high-coherence cavities, where the weak dispersive shifts necessary for preserving high coherence typically result in prolonged gate times. Here, we propose a protocol to achieve high-fidelity SNAP gates that are orders of magnitude faster than the standard implementation, surpassing the speed limit set by the bare dispersive shift. We achieve this enhancement by dynamically amplifying the dispersive coupling via sideband interactions, followed by quantum optimal control on the Floquet-engineered system. We also present a unified perturbation theory that explains both the gate acceleration and the associated benign drive-induced decoherence, corroborated by Floquet-Markov simulations. These results pave the way for the experimental realization of high-fidelity, selective control of weakly coupled, high-coherence cavities, and expanding the scope of optimal control techniques to a broader class of Floquet quantum systems.
Microwave cavities coupled to superconducting qubits have been demonstrated to be a promising platform for quantum information processing. A major challenge in this setup is to realize universal control over the cavity. A promising approach are selective number-dependent arbitrary phase (SNAP) gates combined with cavity displacements. It has been proven that this is a universal gate set, but a central question remained open so far: how can a given target operation be realized efficiently with a sequence of these operations. In this work, we present a practical scheme to address this problem. It involves a hierarchical strategy to insert new gates into a sequence, followed by a co-optimization of the control parameters, which generates short high-fidelity sequences. For a broad range of experimentally relevant applications, we find that they can be implemented with 3 to 4 SNAP gates, compared to up to 50 with previously known techniques.
Mitigating ancilla-mediated error channels is a critical challenge in controlling high-quality superconducting cavities using circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED). We address this by weakening the dispersive coupling while demonstrating fast, high-fidelity multimode control through transmon-mediated sideband interactions. We implement transmon-cavity SWAP gates with speeds up to 30 times larger than the bare dispersive coupling. Combined with transmon rotations, this enables universal state preparation in a single mode, though achieving unitary gates and extending control to multiple modes remains a challenge. In this work, we overcome this limitation by introducing two control strategies: (i) a shelving technique that stores populations in sideband-transparent states, and (ii) a method that exploits the dispersive shift to implement photon-number-selective transmon-cavity SWAP gates. We use these protocols to prepare Fock and binomial code states across any of the ten modes of a multimode cavity with millisecond coherence times—serving as a multimode quantum memory. We demonstrate unitaries that encode and decode an arbitrary qubit state from the transmon into corresponding vacuum and Fock state superpositions, as well as entangled NOON states of cavity mode pairs—a scheme extendable to arbitrary multimode Fock encodings in the cavity modes. Furthermore, we implement a new binomial encoding gate that converts arbitrary transmon superpositions into binomial code states in any cavity mode at a rate exceeding the dispersive shifts in our system, achieving an average post-selected state fidelity of 96.3% in a 4 μ s gate time. By using precalibrated transmon and sideband pulses, our work demonstrates multimode control with significantly reduced calibration overhead, enabling efficient unitary operations using sideband interactions in multimode cQED systems.
In the pursuit of robust quantum computing, we put forth a platform based on photonic qubits in a circuit-QED environment. Specifically, we propose a versatile two-qubit gate based on two cavities coupled via a transmon, constituting a selective number-dependent phase gate operating on the in-phase eigenmodes of the two cavities, the Eigen-SNAP gate. This gate natively operates in the dispersive coupling regime of the cavities and the transmon, and operates by driving the transmon externally, to imprint desired phases on the number states. As an example for the utility of the Eigen-SNAP gate, we implement a SWAP gate on a system of two logical bosonic qubits encoded in the cavities. Further, we use numerical optimization to determine the optimal implementation of the SWAP . We find that the fidelities of these optimal protocols are only limited by the coherence times of the system's components. These findings pave the way to continuous-variable quantum computing in cavity-transmon systems.
The large available Hilbert space and high coherence of cavity resonators make these systems an interesting resource for storing encoded quantum bits. To perform a quantum gate on this encoded information, however, complex nonlinear operations must be applied to the many levels of the oscillator simultaneously. In this work, we introduce the selective number-dependent arbitrary phase (snap) gate, which imparts a different phase to each Fock-state component using an off-resonantly coupled qubit. We show that the snap gate allows control over the quantum phases by correcting the unwanted phase evolution due to the Kerr effect. Furthermore, by combining the snap gate with oscillator displacements, we create a one-photon Fock state with high fidelity. Using just these two controls, one can construct arbitrary unitary operations, offering a scalable route to performing logical manipulations on oscillator-encoded qubits.
Abstract Understanding how to tailor quantum dynamics to achieve the desired evolution is a crucial problem in almost all quantum technologies. Oftentimes an otherwise ideal quantum dynamics is corrupted by unavoidable interactions, and finding ways to mitigate the unwanted effects of such interactions on the dynamics is a very active field of research. Here, we present a very general method for designing high-efficiency control sequences that are fully compatible with experimental constraints on available interactions and their tunability. Our approach relies on the Magnus expansion to find order by order the necessary corrections that result in a high-fidelity operation. In the end finding, the control fields are reduced to solve a set of linear equations. We illustrate our method by applying it to a number of physically relevant problems: the strong-driving limit of a two-level system, fast squeezing in a parametrically driven cavity, the leakage problem in transmon qubit gates, and the acceleration of SNAP gates in a qubit-cavity system.
Precise control of multi-qubit architectures remains a critical bottleneck in superconducting quantum processors. In this work, we investigate the synthesis of high-fidelity quantum operations and state transfer protocols within an extended superconducting linear chain, scaling from three to seven sites. Using Floquet theory, we model the periodic drive as a train of delta-like pulses, mapping the quantum control problem onto quasi-energy resonance conditions. Combining the Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff expansion with Floquet spectral decomposition, we analytically identify optimal driving parameters, refined via the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES). In the three-qubit architecture, this enables high-fidelity synthesis of the iSWAP gate. Extending to a seven-site chain, we implement periodic trains of finite-width Gaussian pulses to activate distinct double-excitation transport channels with ultra-short gate durations t_gate (~170 ns). This achieves a clear scale separation from energy-relaxation times (T1) typical of fixed-frequency transmon devices with tunable couplers, such as IBM Quantum hardware. Finally, we benchmark stability under realistic imperfections, revealing a heightened sensitivity to static parameter disorder at the sub-percent level (eta ~ 10^-3) driven by spectral crowding, and discuss how closed-loop topologies could mitigate this constraint. This framework bridges time-periodic control theory and practical quantum gate engineering.