An important problem in quantum information is the practical demonstration of nonclassical long-range order on quantum computers. One of the best known examples of a quantum system with nonclassical long-range order is a superconductor. Here we achieve Cooper-like pairing of qubits on a quantum computer, which can be interpreted as superconducting or superfluid states via a Jordan-Wigner mapping. We rigorously confirm the quantum long-range order by measuring the large
O(N) eigenvalue of the two-electron reduced density matrix. The demonstration of maximal quantum long-range order is an important step toward more complex modeling of phenomena with significant quantum long-range order on quantum computers such as superconductivity and superfluidity.
One of the most correlated quantum phenomena achievable is superconductivity. In superconductivity pairs of electrons condense, in a manner analogous to Bose-Einstein condensation, into the same quantum state with their subsequent entanglement permitting frictionless conductivity. Quantum computers have the potential to predict complex, entangled quantum states at non-exponential cost, unlike their classical counterparts, with possible applications to hard problems from physics to economics. Here, using pairs of qubits to represent the electron pairs, we create superconductivity on a transmon-qubit quantum computer. A series of maximally entangled superconducting states with different numbers of electron pairs is prepared, and then the occupation of the superconducting state is measured by tomography. Each occupation on the order of the number of electrons
O(N) confirms the formation of a maximally entangled superconducting state. Moreover, the large eigenvalue provides experimental validation of C. N. Yang's derivation of large occupation being associated with off-diagonal long-range order. The work provides a critically important step in predicting strongly entangled quantum physics as well as mathematically related non-local phenomena in the pure and social sciences on quantum computers.
Superconductivity in its various manifestations has been stimulating both experimental and theoretical progress in condensed-matter physics for more than a hundred years. The remarkable property of electrons to pair up and form quasi-particles gives rise to a plethora of phenomena featuring important practical applications not only in science, but, for instance, also in medicine and metrology. Recently, new directions in investigating this fascinating subject emerged, such as superconductivity out-of equilibrium and topological superconductors. Providing experimental evidence for enhanced superconducting correlations in optically pumped copper oxides at temperatures far above the equilibrium transition temperature, the first issue caused considerable excitement. On the other hand, topological superconductors are believed to provide realizations of highly fault-tolerant qubits by means of hosting non-Abelian quasi-particles, which can be the building blocks of scalable quantum computers. Experimentally verifying the emergence of these Majorana edge modes, exotic quasi-particles in heterostructures consisting of a conventional superconductor and semiconductors or topological insulators, is one of the most urgent questions to be answered right now. Both subjects cannot be accounted for with analytically solvable approximations only, and also provide very challenging numerical problems. We implemented a matrix-product state (MPS) based toolkit exploiting
U(1) symmetries, providing a flexible and efficient platform to study these complex systems. In order to efficiently simulate out-of equilibrium setups we studied, compared, and developed time-evolution algorithms for MPS enabling us to choose the most suitable method for a given task. We also developed a new framework to represent operators in an enlarged Hilbert space so that benefits from conserving
U(1) symmetries can also be exploited in systems that originally break such symmetries (projected purification). Using this method we could efficiently model mesoscopic phenomena such as a charging energy controlled by a gate electrode without further approximations. Equipped with this techniques we studied out-of equilibrium spectral functions to explore how to identify superconducting correlations more reliably on ultra-short timescales. We found conclusive evidence that in particular two-particle spectral functions yield excellent probes for the formation of a (quasi-)condensate out-of equilibrium. Furthermore, we also investigated the question whether in a particular model system there is the possibility of true long-range order out-of equilibrium by studying correlation matrices and the scaling of their eigenvalues. Here, we observe a change in the algebraic decay of the correlations, even though the extrapolated order parameter is still zero within the error bounds. Furthermore, we also investigated the effects of coupling a superconductor-semiconductor heterostructure, which is subject to an in-plane magnetic field and a charging energy controlled by a gate voltage, to normal leads. In the context of experimentally verifying the existence of Majorana edge modes, such systems are believed to be the most promising and recent studies seem to underline this expectation. However, in order to consistently analyze the experimental data, the effects of quantum fluctuations caused by hybridization of the heterostructure with the leads have to be understood. Here, only perturbative limits are available so far, i.e., the weak and strong tunneling limit, while the experimentally relevant regime is expected to be somewhere inbetween. We aimed to fill this gap using the projected purification method to calculate the ground state phase diagram over a wide parameter regime. Our results indicate that the experimental situation is much more involved than what is predicted from perturbative analysis.
Abstract Superconductivity manifests macroscopic quantum phenomena. A superconducting circuit composed of Josephson junctions, Cooper pair boxes, and rf-/dc-SQUID, properly miniaturized, becomes quantized and demonstrates Rabi oscillations and entanglement. In this paper, we offer an overview of this approach. We begin with an introduction of the history and elementary theory of superconductivity. Then we describe the building blocks of superconducting classical circuits and derive their canonical quantizations. The set-up of qubits and superconducting quantum logic gates are then examined. Finally, ways to make measurements are discussed.
The superconducting qubit quantum computer is one of the most promising quantum computing architectures for large-scale integration due to its maturity and close proximity to the well-established semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure. From an education perspective, it also bridges classical microwave electronics and quantum electrodynamics. In this paper, we will review the basics of quantum computers, superconductivity, and Josephson junctions. We then introduce important technologies and concepts related to DiVincenzo's criteria, which are the necessary conditions for the superconducting qubits to work as a useful quantum computer. Firstly, we will discuss various types of superconducting qubits formed with Josephson junctions, from which we will understand the trade-off across multiple design parameters, including their noise immunity. Secondly, we will discuss different schemes to achieve entanglement gate operations, which are a major bottleneck in achieving more efficient fault-tolerant quantum computing. Thirdly, we will review readout engineering, including the implementations of the Purcell filters and quantum-limited amplifiers. Finally, we will discuss the nature and review the studies of two-level system defects, which are currently the limiting factor of qubit coherence time. DiVincenzo's criteria are only the necessary conditions for a technology to be eligible for quantum computing. To have a useful quantum computer, large-scale integration is required. We will review proposals and developments for the large-scale integration of superconducting qubit devices. By comparing with the application of electronic design automation (EDA) in semiconductors, we will also review the use of EDA in superconducting qubit quantum computer design, which is necessary for its large-scale integration.