Experiments in coherent nuclear and electron magnetic resonance and optical spectroscopy correspond to control of quantum-mechanical ensembles, guiding them from initial states to target states by unitary transformations. The control inputs (pulse sequences) that accomplish these unitary transformations should take as little time as possible so as to minimize the effects of relaxation and decoherence, and to optimize the sensitivity of the experiments. Here, we give an efficient synthesis of a class of unitary transformations on a three coupled spin-
21 system with equal Ising coupling strengths. We show a significant time saving compared with conventional methods.
What is the time-optimal way of realizing quantum operations? Here, we show how important instances of this problem can be related to the study of shortest paths on the surface of a sphere under a special metric. Specifically, we provide an efficient synthesis of a controlled NOT (CNOT) gate between qubits coupled indirectly via Ising-type couplings to a third spin. Our implementation of the CNOT gate is more than twice as fast as conventional approaches. The pulse sequences for efficient manipulation of our coupled spin system are obtained by explicit computation of geodesics on a sphere under the special metric. These methods are also used for the efficient synthesis of indirect couplings and of the Toffoli gate. We provide experimental realizations of the presented methods on a linear three-spin chain with Ising couplings.
What is the time-optimal way of realizing quantum operations? Here, we show how important instances of this problem can be related to the study of shortest paths on the surface of a sphere under a special metric. Specifically, we provide an efficient synthesis of a controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate between qubits (spins
21) coupled indirectly via Ising-type couplings to a third spin. Our implementation of the CNOT gate is significantly shorter than conventional approaches. The pulse sequences for efficient manipulation of our coupled spin system are obtained by explicit computation of geodesics on a sphere under the special metric. These methods are also used for the efficient synthesis of indirect couplings and of the Toffoli gate. We provide experimental realizations of the presented methods on a linear three-spin chain with Ising couplings.