Schrödinger cat states provide a hardware-efficient platform for bosonic quantum error correction by encoding logical information in protected manifolds of harmonic oscillators. While previous work has demonstrated the dissipative stabilization of multi-mode Schrödinger cat states as robust quantum memories, a framework for universal quantum computation has remained unavailable. Here we extend this approach by introducing a universal gate set for dissipatively stabilized multi-mode cat qubits. Using a chain of Kerr non-linear oscillators coupled through engineered non-local dissipation and an effective low-dimensional description, we show how arbitrary single-qubit control can be achieved through arbitrary rotation around the $X$-axis and $π/2$-rotation around the $Z$-axis. We further show how coupling two such stabilized arrays through just one oscillator on each respective array enables coherent entangling operations through implementation of the $XX(π/2)$ gate. Numerical simulations demonstrate high-fidelity gate dynamics and entanglement generation under realistic parameters. Finally, we analyze the effects of induced and intrinsic photon loss, disorder, and the validity regime of the effective low-dimensional theory. Our results establish dissipatively stabilized multi-mode Schrödinger cat states as a potential architecture for universal bosonic quantum computation.
Schrödinger cat states provide a hardware-efficient platform for bosonic quantum error correction by encoding logical information in protected manifolds of harmonic oscillators. While previous work has demonstrated the dissipative stabilization of multi-mode Schrödinger cat states as robust quantum memories, a framework for universal quantum computation has remained unavailable. Here we extend this approach by introducing a universal gate set for dissipatively stabilized multi-mode cat qubits. Using a chain of Kerr non-linear oscillators coupled through engineered non-local dissipation and an effective low-dimensional description, we show how arbitrary single-qubit control can be achieved through arbitrary rotation around the X-axis and π/2-rotation around the Z-axis. We further show how coupling two such stabilized arrays through just one oscillator on each respective array enables coherent entangling operations through implementation of the XX(π/2) gate. Numerical simulations demonstrate high-fidelity gate dynamics and entanglement generation under realistic parameters. Finally, we analyze the effects of induced and intrinsic photon loss, disorder, and the validity regime of the effective low-dimensional theory. Our results establish dissipatively stabilized multi-mode Schrödinger cat states as a potential architecture for universal bosonic quantum computation.
Non-Gaussian quantum states have been deterministically prepared and autonomously stabilized in single-and two-mode circuit quantum electrodynamics architectures via engineered dissipation.However, it is currently unknown how to scale up this technique to multimode non-Gaussian systems.Here, we upgrade dissipation engineering to collective (normal) modes of nonlinear resonator arrays and show how to stabilize multimode Schrödinger cat states.These states are multiphoton and multimode quantum superpositions of coherent states in a single normal mode delocalized over an arbitrary number of cavities.We consider tailored dissipative coupling between resonators that are parametrically driven and feature an on-site nonlinearity, which is either a Kerr-type nonlinearity or an engineered two-photon loss.For both types of nonlinearity, we find the same exact closed-form solutions for the two-dimensional steady-state manifold spanned by superpositions of multimode Schrödinger cat states.We further show that, in the Zeno limit of strong dissipative coupling, the even-parity multimode cat state can be deterministically prepared from the vacuum.Remarkably, engineered two-photon loss gives rise to a fast relaxation toward the steady state, protecting the state preparation against decoherence due to intrinsic single-photon losses and imperfections in tailored dissipative coupling, which sets in at longer times.The relaxation time is independent of system size making the state preparation scalable.Multimode cat states are naturally endowed with a noise bias that increases exponentially with system size and can thus be exploited for enhanced robust encoding of quantum information.
Quantum computing crucially relies on maintaining quantum coherence for the duration of a calculation. Bosonic quantum error correction protects this coherence by encoding qubits into superpositions of noise-resilient oscillator states. In the case of the Kerr-cat qubit (KCQ), these states derive their stability from being the quasi-degenerate ground states of an engineered Hamiltonian in a driven nonlinear oscillator. KCQs are experimentally compatible with on-chip architectures and high-fidelity operations, making them promising candidates for a scalable bosonic quantum processor. However, their bit-flip time must increase further to fully leverage these advantages. Here, we present direct evidence that the bit-flip time in a KCQ is limited by leakage out of the qubit manifold and experimentally mitigate this process. We coherently control the leakage population and measure it to be > 9%, twelve times higher than in the undriven system. We then cool this population back into the KCQ manifold with engineered dissipation, identify conditions under which this suppresses bit-flips, and demonstrate increased bit-flip times up to 3.6 milliseconds. By employing both Hamiltonian confinement and engineered dissipation, our experiment combines two paradigms for Schrödinger-cat qubit stabilization. Our results elucidate the interplay between these stabilization processes and indicate a path towards fully realizing the potential of these qubits for quantum error correction.
Abstract Quantum superpositions of macroscopically distinct classical states—so-called Schrödinger cat states—are a resource for quantum metrology, quantum communication and quantum computation. In particular, the superpositions of two opposite-phase coherent states in an oscillator encode a qubit protected against phase-flip errors1, 2. However, several challenges have to be overcome for this concept to become a practical way to encode and manipulate error-protected quantum information. The protection must be maintained by stabilizing these highly excited states and, at the same time, the system has to be compatible with fast gates on the encoded qubit and a quantum non-demolition readout of the encoded information. Here we experimentally demonstrate a method for the generation and stabilization of Schrödinger cat states based on the interplay between Kerr nonlinearity and single-mode squeezing1, 3 in a superconducting microwave resonator4. We show an increase in the transverse relaxation time of the stabilized, error-protected qubit of more than one order of magnitude compared with the single-photon Fock-state encoding. We perform all single-qubit gate operations on timescales more than sixty times faster than the shortest coherence time and demonstrate single-shot readout of the protected qubit under stabilization. Our results showcase the combination of fast quantum control and robustness against errors, which is intrinsic to stabilized macroscopic states, as well as the potential of these states as resources in quantum information processing5–8.
We present a systematic study of Schrödinger cat codes constructed from Kerr-type coherent states, including displaced Kerr coherent states and Barut--Girardello Kerr coherent states, each admitting two distinct families determined by the sign of the Kerr nonlinearity. By tuning the Kerr parameter and coherent-state amplitude, these states interpolate between su(2), su(1,1) coherent states, providing a unified and versatile foundation for this type of bosonic quantum error correction. Unlike standard two-component Schrödinger cat codes, where a single photon-loss event induces an uncorrectable bit-flip, the nonlinear phase-space structure of Kerr cat states enables simultaneous detection and correction of both photon-loss and dephasing errors within a unified recovery framework, with optimal recovery operations determined via convex optimization. We demonstrate that Kerr cat encodings significantly outperform conventional cat codes under combined loss and dephasing noise, and that judicious parameter optimization can suppress both error channels to a level that reduces the overhead of additional error correction layers. We further show that Kerr-deformed coherent-state manifolds under engineered two-photon driving emerge as effective steady states of driven-dissipative dynamics, with single-photon decoherence strongly suppressed and leakage outside the protected manifold appearing only as higher-order corrections in the deformation strength. Our extended formalism identifies generalized Kerr Schrödinger cat codes as promising candidates for fault-tolerant bosonic quantum computation in experimental platforms such as nonlinear photonics.
Encoding quantum information onto bosonic systems is a promising route to quantum error correction. In a cat code, this encoding relies on the confinement of the system's dynamics onto the two-dimensional manifold spanned by Schrödinger cats of opposite parity. In dissipative cat qubits, an engineered dissipation scheme combining two-photon drive and loss has been used to autonomously stabilize this manifold, ensuring passive protection against bit-flip errors, regardless of their origin. In Kerr cat qubits, where highly-performing gates can be engineered, two-photon drive and Kerr nonlinearity cooperate to confine the system to a two-fold degenerate ground state manifold spanned by cats of opposite parity. Dissipative, Hamiltonian, and hybrid confinements have been investigated at resonance. Here, we propose a critical cat code, where both two-photon loss and Kerr nonlinearity are present, and the two-photon drive is allowed to be out of resonance. The performance of this code is assessed via the spectral theory of Liouvillians in all configurations, from the purely dissipative to the Kerr limit. We show that large detunings and small, but non-negligible, two-photon loss rates are fundamental to achieve optimal performance. We demonstrate that the competition between nonlinearity and detuning results in a first-order dissipative phase transition, leading to a squeezed vacuum steady state. To achieve the maximal suppression of the logical bit-flip rate requires initializing the system in the metastable state emerging from the first-order transition, and we detail a protocol to do so. Efficiently operating over a broad range of detuning values, the critical cat code is particularly resistant to random frequency shifts characterizing multiple-qubit operations, opening venues for the realization of reliable protocols for scalable and concatenated bosonic qubit architectures.
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.