Abstract When a quantum system undergoes slow changes, the evolution of its state depends only on the corresponding trajectory in Hilbert space. This phenomenon, known as quantum holonomy, brings to light the geometric aspects of quantum theory. Depending on the number of degrees of freedom involved, these purely geometric entities can be scalar or belong to a matrix-valued symmetry group. In their various forms, holonomies are vital elements in the description of the fundamental forces in particle physics as well as theories beyond the standard model such as loop quantum gravity or topological quantum field theory. Yet, implementing matrix-valued holonomies thus far has proven challenging, being further complicated by the difficulties involved in identifying suitable dark states for their construction in bosonic systems. Here we develop a representation of holonomic theory founded on the Heisenberg picture and leverage these insights for the experimental realization of a three-dimensional quantum holonomy. Its non-Abelian geometric phase is implemented via the judicious manipulation of bosonic modes constructed from indistinguishable photons and obeys the U(3) symmetry relevant to the strong interaction. Our findings could enable the experimental study of higher-dimensional non-Abelian gauge symmetries and the exploration of exotic physics on a photonic chip.
Implementing quantum gates as non-Abelian holonomies, a class of topologically protected unitary operators, is a particularly promising paradigm for the design of intrinsically stable quantum computers [1]. In contrast to dynamic phases, the geometric phase accumulated by a quantum system propagating through a Hilbert space
Hdepends exclusively on its path. In general, geometric phases can exhibit arbitrary dimensionality. Wilczek and Zee introduced the idea of multi-dimensional, non-Abelian geometric phases - so called holonomies [2]. Anandan later dropped the requirement of adiabaticity to create holonomies, that are truly time-independent [3]. Non-adiabatic holonomies rely on a subspace
Hgeoof the Hilbert-space that is spanned by states
{∣Φk⟩}kthat fulfill
(Φk∣H^∣Φj⟩=0, where
H^is the system's Hamiltonian. Restricting the propagation to
Hgeoensures parallel transport and, thus, a purely geometric phase (see Fig. 1a) [4], [5]. Quantum optics constitutes a particularly versatile platform for quantum information processing, and in particular for the construction of non-adiabatic holonomic quantum computers: In addition to integration and miniaturization provided by the platform, the bosonic nature of photons also conveniently allows for multiple excitations of the same mode, readily expanding
Hgeoand enabling the synthesis of holonomies from higher symmetry groups
U(N)as larger and more capable computational units [6], [7].
Geometric phases encode the holonomy acquired under cyclic control of a quantum Hamiltonian: for nondegenerate eigenstates the effect is Abelian (a scalar phase), while in degenerate manifolds the Wilczek-Zee generalization yields a matrix-valued holonomy that can mix states and depends on path ordering. We present an overview of measuring Abelian and non-Abelian geometric phases in nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond and propose a non-rotating measurement protocol enabled by the intrinsic
14 Nhyperfine manifold. As a first step, we propose to measure the Abelian Berry phase on a single hyperfine-resolved two-level transition using microwaveengineered closed loops with dynamical-phase cancellation by loop reversal. We then propose a non-Abelian protocol that engineers a two-dimensional degenerate dark subspace in an NV-
14 Nmanifold via RF dressing and three phase-coherent microwave couplings (a tripod Hamiltonian). Two closed control loops implemented by winding independent microwave phases generate non-commuting SU(2) holonomies, which can be verified using final-only population readout and minimal tomography. We also present timing trade-off curves, full unitary Schrödinger evolution of the four-level tripod, and projected dark-subspace diagnostics that quantify both leakage and non-commuting holonomy.
When quantum systems evolve through Hilbert space, they acquire geometric phases [1]. For many applications, this can be expressed by a line integral over an (Abelian) vector potential, which leads to a scalar phase. However, systems with degenerate energy levels experience matrix-valued geometric phases [2], known as Non-Abelian holonomies. While Non-Abelian structures naturally arise in Yang Mills theories, they have also proven to be cruicial for topological quantum computation [3]. In our work we use an integrated photonic structure to realize a non-Abelian phase utilizing an Abelian gauge field, namely electro-magnetic wavepackets.
The generation of non-Abelian geometric phases from a system of evanescently coupled waveguides is considered within the framework of nonorthogonal coupled-mode theory. Here, we study an experimentally feasible tripod arrangement of waveguides that contain dark states from which a nontrivial
U(2) mixing can be obtained by means of an adiabatic parameter variation. We investigate the influence of higher-order contributions beyond nearest-neighbor coupling as well as self-coupling on the stability of a non-Abelian
U(3) phase generated from an optical tetrapod setup. Our results indicate that, despite the mode nonorthogonality, the symmetry of dark states protects the geometric evolution of light from distortion.