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arXiv:2607.24946

Numerical Modeling of Quasiparticle-Induced Dissipation in Fluxonium Qubits

Kate Azar, Max Hays, Kyle Serniak

quant-phcond-mat.mes-hallSubmitted Jul 27, 2026• Announced Jul 29, 2026• 0 citations• Revised Sep 8, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Jul 27, 2026v2 · Sep 8, 2026
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Abstract

Nonequilibrium quasiparticles (QPs) generated by stray infrared and ionizing radiation can limit the performance of superconducting quantum processors and present challenges for quantum error correction schemes. Models of QP-induced energy relaxation commonly assume that the characteristic energy of the QPs and the qubit transition energy are both small relative to the superconducting gap. Under these assumptions, certain qubits such as the fluxonium would exhibit protection against QP-induced dissipation at specific bias points. Here, we show that this is not necessarily the case, numerically analyzing the predicted rate of QP-induced dissipation in fluxonium qubits for different QP energy distributions and for QPs created via photon-assisted tunneling processes. We find that accounting for small numerical factors, existing theoretical models predict sensitivity to QP-induced errors at bias points previously thought to be protected. We find that inclusion of asymmetry in the superconducting gap energy across the junction can reintroduce suppression of QP-induced relaxation, as expected. Additionally, for QPs created by photon-assisted tunneling, we predict that $T_1$ protection will only occur for a specific energy of pair-breaking radiation. This understanding of fluxonium sensitivity to QP-induced dissipation informs the development of fluxonium-based processors and future QP-mitigation strategies.

Comments
9 pages, 4 figures

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Nonequilibrium quasiparticles (QPs) generated by stray infrared and ionizing radiation can limit the performance of superconducting quantum processors and present challenges for quantum error correction schemes. Models of QP-induced energy relaxation commonly assume that the characteristic energy of the QPs and the qubit transition energy are both small relative to the superconducting gap. Under these assumptions, certain qubits such as the fluxonium would exhibit protection against QP-induced dissipation at specific bias points. Here, we show that this is not necessarily the case, numerically analyzing the predicted rate of QP-induced dissipation in fluxonium qubits for different QP energy distributions and for QPs created via photon-assisted tunneling processes. We find that accounting for small numerical factors, existing theoretical models predict sensitivity to QP-induced errors at bias points previously thought to be protected. We find that inclusion of asymmetry in the superconducting gap energy across the junction can reintroduce suppression of QP-induced relaxation, as expected. Additionally, for QPs created by photon-assisted tunneling, we predict that T1T_1T1​ protection will only occur for a specific energy of pair-breaking radiation. This understanding of fluxonium sensitivity to QP-induced dissipation informs the development of fluxonium-based processors and future QP-mitigation strategies.
Superconducting qubits based on Josephson junctions have emerged as a leading hardware platform in the quest to realize large-scale quantum computers. However, qubit decoherence remains a major hurdle on the path toward fault-tolerant quantum computing. In particular, excess quasiparticle (QP) excitations constitute a significant source of dissipation in superconducting quantum devices. The empirically observed QP density in these systems is orders of magnitude larger than that predicted by Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory. Moreover, QP poisoning due to high-energy particle impacts can cause correlated errors that simultaneously affect multiple qubits, thereby impeding quantum error correction. Although QP-induced decoherence has been extensively studied in widely implemented transmon qubits, its impact on fluxonium qubits, a leading alternative architecture, remains far less explored. In this thesis, we investigate energy relaxation in fluxonium qubits induced by controlled QP poisoning using an on-chip Josephson injector junction that generates Cooper-pair-breaking phonons and photons. We separately measure the relaxation and excitation rates, instead of the conventional energy relaxation time. For specific injection parameters, we observe an apparent reversal of the rates, with the excitation rate exceeding the relaxation rate. We further measure the rates as a function of external flux to disentangle the effects of QP tunneling across the small junction and the junction array superinductor. Across all measured samples, differing in qubit spectra and injection conditions, we infer roughly an order of magnitude higher QP density at the small junction than in the array junctions. Our findings advance the understanding of QP-induced decoherence in fluxonium qubits and provide insight for reconciling discrepancies in reported bounds on QP densities, potentially enabling the development of QP mitigation strategies tailored to fluxonium qubits.
Quasiparticles are a prominent decoherence source in superconducting qubits, but their effects are notoriously difficult to isolate in fluxonium. Unlike the transmon, fluxonium is insensitive to offset charge, precluding charge-parity detection of quasiparticle tunneling. We address this challenge by measuring the excitation and de-excitation rates in a fluxonium qubit under controlled on-chip quasiparticle injection and isolating the quasiparticle-induced contribution by subtracting the background transition rates. We show that to accurately model the external magnetic flux dependence of the quasiparticle-induced transition rates, it is necessary to account for the superconducting gap asymmetry across the Josephson junctions. A comparison between theory and experiment constrains the relative quasiparticle densities in the small junction and the junction array and helps explain previously reported discrepancies between the bounds on the quasiparticle densities inferred for these two circuit elements.
The performance of various superconducting devices operating at ultra-low temperatures is impaired by the presence of non-equilibrium quasiparticles. Inelastic quasiparticle (QP) tunneling across Josephson junctions in superconducting qubits results in decoherence and spurious excitations and, notably, can trigger correlated errors that severely impede quantum error correction. In this work, we use "gap engineering" to suppress the tunneling of low-energy quasiparticles in Al-based transmon qubits, a leading building block for superconducting quantum processors. By implementing potential barriers for QP, we strongly suppress QP tunneling across the junction and preserve charge parity for over 10310^3103 seconds. The suppression of QP tunneling also results in a reduction in the qubit energy relaxation rates. The demonstrated approach to gap engineering can be easily implemented in all Al-based circuits with Josephson junctions.
Fluxonium superconducting qubits have demonstrated long coherence times and high single- and two-qubit gate fidelities, making them a favorable building block for superconducting quantum processors. We investigate the dominant limitations to fluxonium qubit energy relaxation time T1T_1T1​ using a set of eight planar, aluminum-on-silicon qubits. We find that a circuit-based model for capacitive dielectric loss best captures the frequency dependence of T1T_1T1​, which we analyze within both a two-level and a six-level energy relaxation model. We convert the measured T1T_1T1​ into an effective capacitive quality factor QCeffQ_\mathrm{C}^{\mathrm{eff}}QCeff​ to compare qubits on equal footing, accounting for independently estimated contributions from 1/f1/f1/f flux noise and radiative loss to the control and readout circuitry. We apply this methodology to compare qubits from two fabrication processes: a baseline process and one that applies a fluorine-based wet treatment prior to Josephson junction deposition. We resolve a small improvement of (13.8 ±\pm± 8.4)%)\%)% in the process mean QCeffQ_\mathrm{C}^{\mathrm{eff}}QCeff​, indicating that the fluorine treatment may have reduced loss from the metal-substrate interface, but did not address the primary source of loss in these fluxonium qubits.
One of the roadblocks toward the implementation of a fault-tolerant superconducting quantum processor is impacts of ionizing radiation with the qubit substrate. Such impacts temporarily elevate the density of quasiparticles (QPs) across the device, leading to correlated qubit error bursts. The most damaging errors, T 1 errors, stem from QP tunneling across the qubit Josephson junctions (JJs). Recently, we demonstrated [M. McEwen, K. Miao, , ] that this type of error can be strongly suppressed by engineering the profile of superconducting gap at the JJs in a way that prevents QP tunneling. In this work, we identify a new type of impact-induced correlated error that persists in the presence of gap engineering. We observe that impacts shift the frequencies of the affected qubits, and thus lead to correlated phase errors. The frequency shifts are systematically negative, reach values up to 3 MHz, and last for ∼ 1 ms . We provide evidence that the shifts originate from QP-qubit interactions in the JJ region. Further, we demonstrate that the shift-induced phase errors can be detrimental to the performance of quantum error correction protocols.
Superconducting quantum circuits underpin large-scale quantum processors and are increasingly interfaced with optical systems, yet they are vulnerable to quasiparticle poisoning from high-energy radiation and optical fields. Gap engineering of Josephson junctions suppresses quasiparticle-induced relaxation, but quasiparticles near the junction can still shift the qubit frequency and cause phase errors. Here, we extend gap engineering beyond the junction using a flux-tunable transmon with a gold-on-niobium ground plane and island and strongly gap-engineered aluminum junctions designed to keep quasiparticles away from the junction leads. Compared with an all-aluminum transmon with nominally identical junctions, we demonstrate that the niobium device withstands more than an order of magnitude higher near-infrared optical power before excess relaxation appears. The Nb transmon shows no resolvable quasiparticle-induced frequency shift over the same power range. At the same time, we observe that dephasing and state-preparation-and-measurement infidelity increase with optical power even while relaxation remains protected. These results suggest that engineering the quasiparticle energy landscape beyond the junction can substantially increase qubit resilience, not only to radiation-induced error bursts, but also to nearby optical fields.