Abstract : A key step in the construction of quantum computing technologies is the identification and elimination of unwanted sources of noise and its resulting quantum decoherence. In solid state devices, one important source of noise is the fluctuating electric and magnetic fields that come from the device elements themselves. The ultimate source of these fluctuations is the random electric currents that are strongest in the metallic electrodes and leads. This random motion has both thermal and quantum components, though in most devices presently under investigation, the thermal part dominates. In the past, this important physical effect has generally been modeled by picturing the device using an equivalent RC circuit and applying the Nyquist theorem to this circuit. This approach has limitations, since it depends on global quantities, rather than on the detailed geometry and the local electromagnetic properties of the components. Our aim in this research project was to compute the effect from first principles. We considered the underlying physical law (quantum electrodynamics) governing the devices in question. Given the position- and frequency-dependent dielectric function, the electromagnetic noise spectrum can be calculated, and the decohering effect can be deduced. Semiconducting quantum dot and superconducting flux qubits were investigated.
In many quantum computer architectures, the qubits are in close proximity to metallic device elements. Metals have a high density of photon modes, and the fields spill out of the bulk metal because of the evanescent-wave component. Thus thermal and quantum electromagnetic Johnson-type noise from metallic device elements can decohere nearby qubits. In this Rapid Communication we use quantum electrodynamics to compute the strength of this evanescent-wave Johnson noise as a function of distance
z from a metallic half space. Previous treatments have shown unphysical divergences at
z=0. We remedy this by using a proper nonlocal dielectric function. Decoherence rates of local qubits are proportional to the magnitude of electric or magnetic correlation functions evaluated at the qubit position. We present formulas for the decoherence rates. These formulas serve as an important constraint on future device architectures. Comparison with single-electron spin relaxation measurements shows that evanescent-wave Johnson noise may constitute the dominant relaxation mechanism in experiments performed at low magnetic field.
Abstract In many quantum computer architectures, the qubits are in close proximity to metallic device elements. The fluctuating currents in the metal give rise to noisy electromagnetic fields that leak out into the surrounding region. These fields are known as evanescent-wave Johnson noise. The noise can decohere the qubits. We review and update the general theory of this effect for charge qubits subject to electric noise and for spin and magnetic qubits subject to magnetic noise. A mapping of the quantum-mechanical problem onto a problem in classical electrodynamics simplifies the calculations. The focus is on relatively simple geometries in which analytical calculations can be done. Results are presented for the local noise spectral density in the vicinity of cylindrical conductors such as small antennae, noise from objects that can be treated as dipoles, and noise correlation functions for several geometries. We summarize the current state of the comparison of theory with experimental results on decoherence times of qubits. Emphasis is placed on qualitative understanding of the basic concepts and phenomena.
Abstract : This thesis addresses the origin and effect of noise and fluctuations in quantum devices that find applications in quantum information processing. In the first half of the thesis, we consider a phenomenological model of the noise and study its effect on the fidelity of quantum measurements and operations that are essential for quantum computing. We focus primarily on quantum gate operations in phase qubits, detection of microwave photons and the measurement of the Berry curvature. Specifically, we examine the effect of the Ohmic noise on optimally controlled flux-biased phase qubits for one- and two-quadrature microwave pulses and demonstrate that twoquadrature pulses with fixed driving frequency are as robust as variable driving frequency, in the presence of environment. Next, we present a model to analyze the quantum efficiency of a microwave photon detector based on a current-biased Josephson junction and study the effect of decoherence on the detection efficiency of the detector. We also present alternative set-ups for microwave photon detection and provide a systematic method to compute the power absorbed by the detector. We then consider the effect of decoherence on the Berry curvature measurement, which employs a novel non-adiabatic protocol, and show that the curvature is immune to decoherence. In the second half of the thesis, we go beyond the phenomenological models of the noises and perform a detailed study of the microscopic description of the Johnson noise. Here we focus primarily on quantum dot devices. We present a formalism to compute relaxation rates in charge and spin qubits due to evanescent wave Johnson noise (EWJN) from the metallic gates that are in proximity to quantum dots. The EWJN is analyzed for the metallic gates that are characterized by both local and nonlocal dielectric response functions.
High-fidelity quantum gate operations are essential for achieving scalable quantum circuits. In spin qubit quantum computing systems, metallic gates and antennas that are necessary for qubit operation, initialization, and readout, also cause detrimental effects by enhancing fluctuations of electromagnetic fields. Therefore, evanescent wave Johnson noise (EWJN) caused by near-field thermal and vacuum fluctuations becomes an important unmitigated noise, which induces the decoherence of spin qubits and limits the quantum gate operation fidelity. Here, we first develop a macroscopic quantum electrodynamics theory of EWJN to account for the dynamics of two spin qubits interacting with metallic circuitry. Then we propose a numerical technique based on volume integral equations to quantify EWJN strength in the vicinity of nanofabricated metallic gates with arbitrary geometry. We study the limits to two-spin-qubit gate fidelity from EWJN-induced relaxation processes in two experimentally relevant quantum computing platforms: (a) the silicon quantum dot system and (b) nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. Finally, we introduce a Lindbladian engineering method to optimize the control pulse sequence design and show its enhanced performance over Hamiltonian engineering in mitigating the influence of thermal and vacuum fluctuations. Our work leverages advances in computational electromagnetics, fluctuational electrodynamics, and open quantum systems to suppress the effects of near-field thermal and vacuum fluctuations and reach the limits of two-spin-qubit gate fidelity.
We compute the evanescent-wave Johnson noise (EWJN) in the vacuum half-space above a superconductor, and the resulting relaxation time (
T1) of spin and charge qubits placed at nanometer distances from the surface. The electromagnetic response is described by a single microscopic transverse current-response kernel
Q(q,ω) for a BCS superconductor. This is computed for varying densities of both non-magnetic impurities and magnetic impurities, for arbitrary frequency and temperature and for wave vectors
q≪kF (the Fermi wavevector). When combined with the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and the nonlocal surface impedances of the half-space, this yields the magnetic and electric field noise at any distance
z≫kF−1 from the surface, from which we obtain
T1. Just below
Tc the magnetic noise is enhanced relative to the normal state by the coherence (Hebel-Slichter-type) peak of the dissipative conductivity and drops exponentially at lower temperatures; the electric noise shows no coherence peak. The theory predicts that there is a zero-temperature noise floor induced by magnetic impurities. In the gapless regime produced by pair breaking, the finite subgap density of states
ν(0) yields a temperature-independent noise spectral density and a relaxation rate bounded by
T1−1(T)≤[ν(0)/νF]2T1,N−1(T) for
T≪Tc, with equality in the extreme nonlocal regime. Here
ν(0) and
νF are the superconducting and normal-state densities of states at the Fermi energy, and
T1,N(T) is the relaxation time the same electrode would produce in its normal state at the same temperature.
All metal objects support fluctuating currents that are responsible for evanescent-wave Johnson noise in their vicinity due to both thermal and quantum effects. The noise fields can decohere qubits. It is quantified by the average value of $\mathbf{B}(\mathbit{x},t)\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathbf{B}({\mathbit{x}}^{\ensuremath{'}},{t}^{\ensuremath{'}})$ and its time Fourier transform. We develop the formalism particularly for objects whose dimensions are small compared with the skin depth, which is the appropriate regime for nanoscale devices. This leads to a general and surprisingly simple formula for the two-point noise correlation function of an object of arbitrary shape. This formula has a clear physical interpretation in terms of induced currents in the object, and it can be the basis for straightforward numerical evaluation. We discuss its experimental implications. For a sphere, a solution is given in closed form in terms of a generalized multipole expansion. Plots of the solution illustrate the physical principles involved. We give examples of how the spatial pattern of noise can affect quantum information processing in nearby qubits. The theory implies that if the qubit system is miniaturized to a scale
D, then decoherence rates of qubits scale as
1/D.