Abstract Over the last 20 years quantum walks (QWs) have gained increasing interest in the field of quantum information science and processing. In contrast to classical walkers, quantum objects exhibit intrinsic properties like non-locality and non-classical many-particle correlations, which renders QWs a versatile tool for quantum simulation and computation as well as for a deeper understanding of genuine quantum mechanics. Since they are highly controllable and hardly interact with their environment, photons seem to be ideally suited quantum walkers. In order to study and exploit photonic QWs, lattice structures that allow low loss coherent evolution of quantum states are demanded. Such requirements are perfectly met by integrated optical waveguide devices that additionally allow a substantial miniaturization of experimental settings. Moreover, by utilizing the femtosecond direct laser writing technique three-dimensional waveguide structures are capable of analyzing QWs also on higher dimensional geometries. In this context, advances and findings of photonic QWs are discussed in this review. Various concepts and experimental results are presented covering, such as different quantum transport regimes, the Boson sampling problem, and the discrete fractional quantum Fourier transform.
Abstract Over the last 20 years quantum walks (QWs) have gained increasing interest in the field of quantum information science and processing. In contrast to classical walkers, quantum objects exhibit intrinsic properties like non-locality and non-classical many-particle correlations, which renders QWs a versatile tool for quantum simulation and computation as well as for a deeper understanding of genuine quantum mechanics. Since they are highly controllable and hardly interact with their environment, photons seem to be ideally suited quantum walkers. In order to study and exploit photonic QWs, lattice structures that allow low loss coherent evolution of quantum states are demanded. Such requirements are perfectly met by integrated optical waveguide devices that additionally allow a substantial miniaturization of experimental settings. Moreover, by utilizing the femtosecond direct laser writing technique three-dimensional waveguide structures are capable of analyzing QWs also on higher dimensional geometries. In this context, advances and findings of photonic QWs are discussed in this review. Various concepts and experimental results are presented covering, such as different quantum transport regimes, the Boson sampling problem, and the discrete fractional quantum Fourier transform.
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.
Abstract Quantum walks (QWs) are one of the fundamental concepts in quantum information science, being an essential component for various new applications. Implementing QWs using integrated photonic waveguide lattices allows for realizing long evolution times, for exploring novel lattice geometries, and even for controllable coupling to the environment. This tutorial gives an introduction to the field of on-chip QWs of single photons and photon pairs featuring non-classical two-photon correlations.
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.
Quantum walks in an elaborately designed graph, is a powerful tool simulating physical and topological phenomena, constructing analog quantum algorithms and realizing universal quantum computing. Integrated photonics technology has emerged as a versatile platform to implement various quantum information tasks and a promising candidate to perform large-scale quantum walks. Both extending physical dimensions and involving more particles will increase the complexity of the evolving systems and the desired quantum resources. Pioneer works have demonstrated single particle walking on two-dimensional (2D) lattices and multiple walkers interfering on a one-dimensional structure. However, 2D multi-particle quantum walk, genuinely being not classically simulatable, has been a vacancy for nearly ten years. Here, we present a genuine 2D quantum walk with correlated photons on a triangular photonic lattice, which can be mapped to a state space up to 37X37 dimensions. This breaks through the physically restriction of single-particle evolution, which can encode information in a large space and constitute high-dimensional graphs indeed beneficial to quantum information processing. A site-by-site addressing between the chip facet and the 2D fanout interface enables an observation of over 600 non-classical interferences simultaneously, violating a classical limit up to 57 standard deviations. Our platform offers a promising prospect for multi-photon quantum walks in a large-scale 2D arrangement, paving the way for practical quantum simulation and quantum computation beyond classical regime.
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.