The main obstacles to implementing ideal quantum operations are unwanted interactions of quantum systems with the environment and noise in control fields. This problem can be tackled by methods of quantum control. Among these methods are \ncomposite pulse (CP) sequences which have long been employed in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to mitigate the effects of systematic errors in the control. CP sequences have been initially developed to correct for static but otherwise unknown \nerrors in the amplitude or frequency of the driving field. One of the challenges to the systematic incorporation of these control protocols into practical quantum information systems remains the limited understanding of CP performance in the presence \nof time-dependent noise. Treating the influence of time-dependent noise processes on quantum control operations has been facilitated by recent advances in dynamical \nerror suppression based on open-loop Hamiltonian engineering. These approaches provide a general framework for understanding and mitigating non-Markovian time- \ndependent noise in a finite-dimensional open quantum system. Particularly, arbitrary single-qubit control characteristics may be captured quantitatively in filter-transfer \nfunctions (FF) using methods of spectral overlap in the frequency domain. In this thesis work, we present a systematic study of control pulse sequences in the presence of time-dependent noise. We use a combination of analytic formulations based on FFs and numerical simulations to demonstrate that CPs are able to effectively suppress control errors caused by time-dependent processes possessing realistic noise \npower spectra. We provide a geometric interpretation of CP performance under time-dependent amplitude noise, further linking the FF formalism with known techniques in CP construction. We also develop new optimized pulse sequences that act as notch filters for time-dependent noise. These high-fidelity control protocols effectively sup- \npress errors from the noise sources with sharp features in spectral densities and can be used practically on various quantum architectures. We also present our work \non simulation of randomized benchmarking protocols and CPs that have been used experimentally by our collaborators to measure gate errors.
The main obstacles to implementing ideal quantum operations are unwanted interactions of quantum systems with the environment and noise in control fields. This problem can be tackled by methods of quantum control. Among these methods are \ncomposite pulse (CP) sequences which have long been employed in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to mitigate the effects of systematic errors in the control. CP sequences have been initially developed to correct for static but otherwise unknown \nerrors in the amplitude or frequency of the driving field. One of the challenges to the systematic incorporation of these control protocols into practical quantum information systems remains the limited understanding of CP performance in the presence \nof time-dependent noise. Treating the influence of time-dependent noise processes on quantum control operations has been facilitated by recent advances in dynamical \nerror suppression based on open-loop Hamiltonian engineering. These approaches provide a general framework for understanding and mitigating non-Markovian time- \ndependent noise in a finite-dimensional open quantum system. Particularly, arbitrary single-qubit control characteristics may be captured quantitatively in filter-transfer \nfunctions (FF) using methods of spectral overlap in the frequency domain. In this thesis work, we present a systematic study of control pulse sequences in the presence of time-dependent noise. We use a combination of analytic formulations based on FFs and numerical simulations to demonstrate that CPs are able to effectively suppress control errors caused by time-dependent processes possessing realistic noise \npower spectra. We provide a geometric interpretation of CP performance under time-dependent amplitude noise, further linking the FF formalism with known techniques in CP construction. We also develop new optimized pulse sequences that act as notch filters for time-dependent noise. These high-fidelity control protocols effectively sup- \npress errors from the noise sources with sharp features in spectral densities and can be used practically on various quantum architectures. We also present our work \non simulation of randomized benchmarking protocols and CPs that have been used experimentally by our collaborators to measure gate errors.
We study the performance of composite pulses in the presence of time-varying control noise on a single qubit. These protocols, originally devised only to correct for static, systematic errors, are shown to be robust to time-dependent non-Markovian noise in the control field up to frequencies as high as $\ensuremath{\sim}10%$ of the Rabi frequency. Our study combines a generalized filter-function approach with asymptotic dc-limit calculations to give a simple analytic framework for error analysis applied to a number of composite-pulse sequences relevant to nuclear magnetic resonance as well as quantum information experiments. Results include examination of recently introduced concatenated composite pulses and dynamically corrected gates, demonstrating equivalent first-order suppression of time-dependent fluctuations in amplitude and/or detuning, as appropriate for the sequence in question. Our analytic results agree well with numerical simulations for realistic 1/f noise spectra with a roll-off to 1/f2, providing independent validation of our theoretical insights.
Abstract. We address the problem of deriving analytic expressions for calculating universal decoherence-induced errors in qubits undergoing arbitrary, unitary, time-dependent quantum-control protocols. We show that the fidelity of a control operation may be expressed in terms of experimentally relevant spectral characteristics of the noise and of the control, over all Cartesian directions. We formulate control matrices in the time domain to capture the effects of piecewise-constant control, and convert them to generalized Fourier-domain filter functions. These generalized filter functions may be derived for complex temporally modulated control protocols, accounting for susceptibility to rotations of the qubit state vector in three dimensions. Taken together, we show that this framework provides a computationally efficient means to calculate the effects of universal noise on arbitrary quantum control protocols, producing results comparable to those obtained via time-consuming simulations of Bloch vector evolution. As a concrete example, we apply our method to treating the problem of dynamical decoupling incorporating realistic control pulses of arbitrary duration or form, including the replacement of simple pi-pulses with complex dynamically corrected gates. ar
We present novel techniques for modelling and mitigating the effects of time-dependent noise created by interactions between a quantum system and its environment, and by errors in applied controls. Our scope encompasses quantum storage and nontrivial QIP tasks in both single- and multi-qubit systems, with a particular focus on control operations applied to trapped-ion qubits. The work begins with the introduction of a computationally efficient approach to characterizing the impact of time-dependent noise in single-qubit systems, in terms of the spectral characteristics of the noise and a set of generalized control filter functions. In conjunction with brute-force numerical simulation, we show that this novel analytical technique can used to model the evolution of a noisy single-qubit system subject to an arbitrary piecewise-constant control sequence, and to accurately predict the effects of experimentally engineered noise in single-qubit trapped ion systems. We also obtain a number of new and important results that extend the range of utility of state-preserving dynamical decoupling control sequences. These device-independent results provide a means to create a practically useful high-fidelity, long-time quantum memory in both single- and multi-qubit systems. We go on to explain how, given the freedom to arbitrarily and quasi-instantaneously change the phase of the interaction between a system of qubits and a finite collection of oscillators, frequency-specific phase modulation protocols can be implemented that decouple the qubits from targeted oscillator modes at pre-determined times. This technique can be used to generate fast, high-fidelity multi-qubit entangling operations in, for example, ion trap QIP devices.
We study a novel class of open-loop control protocols constructed to perform arbitrary nontrivial single-qubit logic operations robust against time-dependent non-Markovian noise. Amplitude and phase modulation protocols are crafted leveraging insights from functional synthesis and the basis set of Walsh functions. We employ the experimentally validated generalized filter-transfer function formalism in order to find optimized control protocols for target operations in SU(2) by defining a cost function for the filter-transfer function to be minimized through the applied modulation. Our work details the various techniques by which we define and then optimize the filter-synthesis process in the Walsh basis, including the definition of specific analytic design rules which serve to efficiently constrain the available synthesis space. This approach yields modulated-gate constructions consisting of chains of discrete pulse-segments of arbitrary form, whose modulation envelopes possess intrinsic compatibility with digital logic and clocking. We derive novel families of Walsh-modulated noise filters designed to suppress dephasing and coherent amplitude-damping noise, and describe how well-known sequences derived in NMR also fall within the Walsh-synthesis framework. Finally, our work considers the effects of realistic experimental constraints such as limited modulation bandwidth on achievable filter performance.
We study a novel class of open-loop control protocols constructed to perform arbitrary nontrivial single-qubit logic operations robust against time-dependent non-Markovian noise. Amplitude and phase modulation protocols are crafted leveraging insights from functional synthesis and the basis set of Walsh functions. We employ the experimentally validated generalized filter-transfer function formalism in order to find optimized control protocols for target operations in SU(2) by defining a cost function for the filter-transfer function to be minimized through the applied modulation. Our work details the various techniques by which we define and then optimize the filter-synthesis process in the Walsh basis, including the definition of specific analytic design rules which serve to efficiently constrain the available synthesis space. This approach yields modulated-gate constructions consisting of chains of discrete pulse-segments of arbitrary form, whose modulation envelopes possess intrinsic compatibility with digital logic and clocking. We derive novel families of Walsh-modulated noise filters designed to suppress dephasing and coherent amplitude-damping noise, and describe how well-known sequences derived in NMR also fall within the Walsh-synthesis framework. Finally, our work considers the effects of realistic experimental constraints such as limited modulation bandwidth on achievable filter performance.
We address the problem of deriving analytic expressions for calculating universal decoherence-induced errors in qubits undergoing arbitrary, unitary, time-dependent quantum control protocols. We show that the fidelity of a control operation may be expressed in terms of experimentally relevant spectral characteristics of the noise and of the control, over all Cartesian directions. We formulate control matrices in the time domain to capture the effects of piecewise-constant control, and convert them to generalized Fourier-domain filter functions. These generalized filter functions may be derived for complex temporally modulated control protocols, accounting for susceptibility to rotations of the qubit state vector in three dimensions. Taken together, we show that this framework provides a computationally efficient means to calculate the effects of universal noise on arbitrary quantum control protocols, producing results comparable with those obtained via time-consuming simulations of Bloch vector evolution. As a concrete example, we apply our method to treating the problem of dynamical decoupling incorporating realistic control pulses of arbitrary duration or form, including the replacement of simple π -pulses with complex dynamically corrected gates.