Quantum walks represent an excellent testbed for investigating the interplay between unitary coherent and incoherent dissipative processes. Thanks to photonic quantum interferometers of considerable size, experimental studies could be performed, devoted to investigating the consequences of different sorts of realistic noise in these systems. In this work we employ a 20x20 on-chip multimode interferometer to introduce another key aspect in the problem: the presence of edges in the walker lattice, enforcing a confined evolution. We show how noise can disrupt translational symmetry and reshape interference patterns. The non trivial probability distributions obtained along the temporal evolution of the system demonstrate how speed up effects, localization and coherent oscillations are pillar concepts to be fully characterized and understood when applied in realistic quantum dynamics.
Quantum walks represent an excellent testbed for investigating the interplay between unitary coherent and incoherent dissipative processes. Thanks to photonic quantum interferometers of considerable size, experimental studies could be performed, devoted to investigating the consequences of different sorts of realistic noise in these systems. In this work we employ a 20x20 on-chip multimode interferometer to introduce another key aspect in the problem: the presence of edges in the walker lattice, enforcing a confined evolution. We show how noise can disrupt translational symmetry and reshape interference patterns. The non trivial probability distributions obtained along the temporal evolution of the system demonstrate how speed up effects, localization and coherent oscillations are pillar concepts to be fully characterized and understood when applied in realistic quantum dynamics.
Quantum walks (QWs) represent pillars of quantum dynamics and information processing. They provide a powerful framework for simulating quantum transport, designing search algorithms, and enabling universal quantum computation. Several physical platforms have been employed for their implementation, such as trapped atoms and ions, nuclear magnetic resonance systems, and photonic quantum architectures either in bulk optics or waveguide structures and fiber-loop networks. Here we focus on the most promising and versatile approach, that is photonic integrated circuits. In this work, we review how the employment of this versatile experimental platform has allowed to explore several phenomena related to QW-based protocols as, for instance, the evolution in presence of different kinds of noise. In this landscape, to the best of our knowledge, few examples report on the introduction of absorbing centers and their effects on the coherence of the dynamics. Here we present and discuss the results related to absorbing boundaries in QWs obtained through theoretical simulations and experiments conducted with the universal photonic quantum processors realized by Quix Quantum. We analyze how localized absorption along one lattice edge affects the walker dynamics depending on both the leakage probability and the initial injection site. Our results show that the presence of controlled losses modifies interference patterns and coherence, without fully destroying quantum features and providing an effective resource for engineering on-chip QWs and simulating open quantum systems.
Quantum walks (QWs) represent pillars of quantum dynamics and information processing. They provide a powerful framework for simulating quantum transport, designing search algorithms, and enabling universal quantum computation. Several physical platforms have been employed for their implementation, such as trapped atoms and ions, nuclear magnetic resonance systems, and photonic quantum architectures either in bulk optics or waveguide structures and fiber loop networks. Here we focus on the most promising and versatile approach, which is photonic integrated circuits. In this work, we review how the employment of this versatile experimental platform has allowed exploring several phenomena related to QW-based protocols, such as evolution in the presence of different kinds of noise. In this landscape, to the best of our knowledge, few examples report on the introduction of absorbing centers and their effects on the coherence of the dynamics. Here we present and discuss the results related to the absorbing boundaries in QWs, obtained through theoretical simulations and experiments conducted with the universal photonic quantum processors realized by QuiX Quantum. We analyze how localized absorption along one lattice edge affects the walker dynamics, depending on both the leakage probability and the initial injection site. Our results suggest that the presence of controlled losses modifies interference patterns and coherence without fully destroying quantum features and providing an effective resource for engineering on-chip QWs and simulating open quantum systems.
We study the noisy dynamics of periodically driven, discrete-step quantum walks in a one-dimensional photonic lattice. We find that in the bulk, temporal noise that is constant within a Floquet period leads to decoherence-free momentum subspaces, whereas fully random noise destroys coherence in a few time steps. When considering topological edge states, we observe decoherence no matter the type of temporal noise. To explain these results, we derive a non-perturbative master equation to describe the system's dynamics. We experimentally confirm our findings in a time multiplexed photonic lattice implemented in a double-fiber ring setup subject to laser pulse input states, in which we engineer different types of temporal noise.
We report on our latest findings on photonic Quantum Walks (QW) of entangled particles in several quantum transport regimes as for instance in photonic Bloch lattices or disordered lattices. Furthermore, the discrete fractional Fourier transform of quantum states is presented in the context of QWs. The propagation of a classical single walker on a random graph is an important field in statistics and can be applied on many domains in nature reaching from a foraging animals over Brownian molecular motion towards the evolution of lead changes in competitive team sports. Its quantum mechanical counterpart, the Quantum Walk (QW), features genuine quantum objects to walk on a random graph and hence, leading to non-classical quantum interference, in particular when considering two or more walkers. Their great potential lies i.a. in their ability to exponentially speed up a multitude of algorithms, as for instance the data bank search algorithm from L. Grover. In this regard, photonic lattices of evanescently coupled waveguides represent an ideal platform to study QW dynamics, since they feature advantages in stability, robustness and miniaturization. Our waveguide lattices were fabricated by means the direct laser inscription technique. In doing so, three dimensional waveguide geometries are realizable, enabling the implementation of various QW graphs. Along these lines, we study QWs of entangled photon pairs in disordered lattices. There we observe Anderson co-localization, meaning that neither the individual photons nor the pair localizes, rather their distance does. It turns out that both photons tend to bunch as they will be found together in the same lattice site, implying that their original correlation remains while performing a QW in a disordered lattice. Further, we investigate QWs of non-local two-photon EPR-states in Bloch-lattices. The experimental results reveal the strong dependence of the correlation output statistics (bosonic-, anyonicor fermionic-like) on the input states' symmetry. Finally, the discrete fractional Fourier transform of quantum states is realized through a discrete QW lattice. The results demonstrate the enormous potential of waveguide lattices in the field of quantum photonics and give rise to further investigations like the Fourier suppression law.
Augmenting the unitary transformation which generates a quantum walk by a generalized phase gate G is a symmetry for both noisy and noiseless quantum walk on a line, in the sense that it leaves the position probability distribution invariant. However, this symmetry breaks down in the case of a quantum walk on an n cycle, and hence can be regarded as a probe of the walk topology. Noise, modeled here as phase flip and generalized amplitude damping channels, tends to restore the symmetry because it classicalizes the walk. However, symmetry restoration happens even in the regime where the walker is not entirely classical, because noise also has the effect of desensitizing the operation G to the walk topology. We discuss methods for physical implementation, and talk about the wider implications to condensed matter systems.
Quantum walks, in virtue of the coherent superposition and quantum interference, have exponential superiority over their classical counterpart in applications of quantum searching and quantum simulation. The quantum-enhanced power is highly related to the state space of quantum walks, which can be expanded by enlarging the photon number and/or the dimensions of the evolution network, but the former is considerably challenging due to probabilistic generation of single photons and multiplicative loss. We demonstrate a two-dimensional continuous-time quantum walk by using the external geometry of photonic waveguide arrays, rather than the inner degree of freedoms of photons. Using femtosecond laser direct writing, we construct a large-scale three-dimensional structure that forms a two-dimensional lattice with up to 49 × 49 nodes on a photonic chip. We demonstrate spatial two-dimensional quantum walks using heralded single photons and single photon-level imaging. We analyze the quantum transport properties via observing the ballistic evolution pattern and the variance profile, which agree well with simulation results. We further reveal the transient nature that is the unique feature for quantum walks of beyond one dimension. An architecture that allows a quantum walk to freely evolve in all directions and at a large scale, combining with defect and disorder control, may bring up powerful and versatile quantum walk machines for classically intractable problems.