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Characterization and Automation of Quantum Electronics for Qubit-based Dark Matter Detector

Michael Zaidel

Published Aug 4, 2020• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The hypothetical axion particle is not only a potential solution to the strong CP problem of quantum chromodynamics but also is a compelling cold dark matter candidate. Searching for axions requires sensitivity that is achievable only with superconducting qubits and other quantum-noise limited devices. This work focuses on the characterization of one such device, a Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier (TWPA). This was accomplished through developing techniques for remote control and operation of various electronics and the TWPA used in qubit-based dark matter searches.

DOI
10.2172/1648532

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The hypothetical axion particle is not only a potential solution to the strong CP problem of quantum chromodynamics but also is a compelling cold dark matter candidate. Searching for axions requires sensitivity that is achievable only with superconducting qubits and other quantum-noise limited devices. This work focuses on the characterization of one such device, a Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier (TWPA). This was accomplished through developing techniques for remote control and operation of various electronics and the TWPA used in qubit-based dark matter searches.
The axion, a pseudoscalar particle originally introduced by Peccei, Quinn, Weinberg, and Wilczek to solve the "strong CP problem", is a well motivated dark-matter candidate with a mass lying in a broad range from peV to few meV. The last decade witnessed an increasing interest in axions and axion-like particles with many theoretical works published and many new experimental proposals. A major challenge for cosmological-axion discovery is the detection of the faint signal expected in detectors with power as low as a fraction of yoctowatt corresponding to a single microwave photon per minute. Early experiments used GaAs field-effect-transistors as well as pioneering technology such as Rydberg-atom single-photon detection. In the attempt of reducing the noise temperature superconductive devices were soon introduced. Microstrip SQUID Amplifiers allowed SQUIDs to operate at frequencies of a few GHz with a noise temperature reaching the standard quantum limit. Josephson Parametric Amplifiers have been recently employed extending the search to higher frequency while boradband Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifiers are now under study. The ultimate sensitivity, beyond the quantum limit, is however expected from single microwave-photon detectors. Solutions for quantum sensing include quantum non-demolition measurements and switching detectors based on superconducting qubits and hot-electron detectors. A further improvement in signal sensitivity and noise reduction is expected exploiting arrays of superconducting qubits as proposed by the SUPERGALAX project.
The axion particle, a consequence of an elegant hypothesis that resolves the strong-CP problem of quantum chromodynamics, is a plausible origin for cosmological dark matter. In searches for axionic dark matter that detect the conversion of axions to microwave photons, the quantum noise associated with microwave vacuum fluctuations will soon limit the rate at which parameter space is searched. Here we show that this noise can be partially overcome either by squeezing the quantum vacuum using recently developed Josephson parametric devices, or by using superconducting qubits to count microwave photons. The recently demonstrated ability of superconducting qubits to make QND measurements of microwave photons offers great advantages over destructive photon counting methods such as those using Rydberg atoms.
Broadband ultra-low noise amplification is important for many fundamental physics experiments. In our case, we aim to develop a quantum limited Josephson Travelling Wave Parametric Amplifier (JTWPA) for dark matter search experiments. In this paper, we focus on the development of the JTWPA, in particular to optimise the performance of the amplifier with a simplified fabrication prospect. We present our methodology for the optimisation process, focusing on three important aspects, namely utilising the minimal number of tunnel junction required, maximising the operational bandwidth and achieving a 50 Ω characteristic impedance. We first explore the relations between the important circuit parameters of the JTWPA and its performance indicators. Using the information obtained, we perform our optimisation process to search for the optimal design parameters. We then compare the gain bandwidth performance of the different optimised models, and present our findings with further analyses. We demonstrate that our optimised model requires 4 less tunnel junctions compared to the conventional model, and we are able to improve the operational bandwidth by 68% while maintaining the characteristic impedance of the device at 50 Ω.
Dark matter is an enduring mystery in our quest to understand the fundamental constituents of our universe. Low mass bosons, such the axion or hidden photon, are compelling dark matter candidates. We leverage their potential interactions with electromagnetic fields, whereby the dark matter (of unknown mass) on rare occasion converts into a single photon, to devise a method of detecting these candidates. Current dark matter searches operating at microwave frequencies use a resonant cavity to coherently accumulate the field sourced by the dark matter and a near standard quantum limited (SQL) linear amplifier to read out the cavity signal. To further increase sensitivity to the dark matter signal and enable future searches, sub-SQL detection techniques are required. In this thesis, I report the development of a novel microwave photon counting technique and a new exclusion limit on hidden photon dark matter. We operate a superconducting qubit to make repeated quantum non-demolition measurements of cavity photons and apply a hidden Markov model analysis to reduce the noise to 15.7 dB below the quantum limit, with overall detector performance limited by a residual background of real photons. With the present device, we perform a hidden photon search and constrain the kinetic mixing angle to less than 1.68 X 10^{-15} in a band around 6.011 GHz (24.86 micro-eV) with an integration time of 8.33 s. This demonstrated noise reduction technique enables future dark matter searches to be sped up by a factor of 1300. By coupling a qubit to an arbitrary quantum sensor, more general sub-SQL metrology is possible with the techniques presented in this work.
Detection mechanisms for low mass bosonic dark matter candidates, such as the axion or hidden photon, leverage potential interactions with electromagnetic fields, whereby the dark matter (of unknown mass) on rare occasion converts into a single photon. Current dark matter searches operating at microwave frequencies use a resonant cavity to coherently accumulate the field sourced by the dark matter and a near standard quantum limited (SQL) linear amplifier to read out the cavity signal. To further increase sensitivity to the dark matter signal, sub-SQL detection techniques are required. Here we report the development of a novel microwave photon counting technique and a new exclusion limit on hidden photon dark matter. We operate a superconducting qubit to make repeated quantum nondemolition measurements of cavity photons and apply a hidden Markov model analysis to reduce the noise to 15.7 dB below the quantum limit, with overall detector performance limited by a residual background of real photons. With the present device, we perform a hidden photon search and constrain the kinetic mixing angle to ε≤1.68×10^{-15} in a band around 6.011 GHz (24.86 μeV) with an integration time of 8.33 s. This demonstrated noise reduction technique enables future dark matter searches to be sped up by a factor of 1,300. By coupling a qubit to an arbitrary quantum sensor, more general sub-SQL metrology is possible with the techniques presented in this Letter.
Abstract The experimental non-observation of charge-parity (CP) symmetry violation in quantum chromodynamics is commonly referred to as the strong CP problem. The axion, a hypothetical elementary pseudoscalar, is expected to solve the strong CP problem and is also a promising candidate for dark matter. The most sensitive axion search experiments operate at millikelvin temperatures and hence rely on instrumentation that carries signals from a system at cryogenic temperatures to room temperature instrumentation. One of the biggest limiting factors affecting the parameter scanning speed of these detectors is the noise added by the components in the signal detection chain. Since the first amplifier in the chain limits the minimum noise, low-noise amplification is of paramount importance. This paper reports on the operation of a flux-driven Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA) operating at around 2.3 GHz with added noise approaching the quantum limit. The JPA was employed as a first stage amplifier in an experimental setting similar to the ones used in haloscope axion detectors. By operating the JPA at a gain of 19 dB and cascading it with two cryogenic amplifiers operating at 4 K, noise temperatures as low as 120 mK were achieved for the whole signal detection chain.