Photons are a promising candidate for quantum bits because their interaction with the environment is so weak that the quantum superposition state can easily be maintained. However, the construction of a quantum gate that controls one photon with another photon is a major challenge because of the difficulty of achieving photon-photon interaction. We show the realization of the quantum gates or devices which rely on quantum nonlinearity for photons induced with only linear optics. We also show that a quantum device using the induced nonlinearity is useful to verify quantum physics.
Photons are a promising candidate for quantum bits because their interaction with the environment is so weak that the quantum superposition state can easily be maintained. However, the construction of a quantum gate that controls one photon with another photon is a major challenge because of the difficulty of achieving photon-photon interaction. We show the realization of the quantum gates or devices which rely on quantum nonlinearity for photons induced with only linear optics. We also show that a quantum device using the induced nonlinearity is useful to verify quantum physics.
One of the main problems that optical quantum computing has to overcome is the efficient construction of two-photon gates. Theoretically these gates can be realized using Kerr-nonlinearities, but the techniques involved are experimentally very difficult. We therefore employ linear optics with projective measurements to generate these non-linearities. The downside is that the measurement-induced nonlinearities achieved with linear optics are less versatile and the success rate can be quite low. This project is mainly the result of a literature study but also a theoretical work on the physics behind quantum optical multiports which is essential for realizing two-photon gates. By applying different postcorrection techniques we increase the probability of success in a modifed non-linear sign shift gate which is foundational for the two photon controlled-NOT gate. We prove that it's not possible to correct the states by only using a single beam splitter. We show that it might be possible to increase the probability of success using a more complex setup with at least two error-correcting beam splitters.
This Spotlight aims to provide a general introduction to linear and nonlinear optical components that are frequently used to implement the protocols for quantum computation and communication. The role of each optical element is described briefly, and it is shown that these optical elements can be combined to constitute quantum circuits for performing various quantum computing and communication tasks. Present challenges and future scopes are also mentioned briefly. Specifically, after introducing the qubit, it is stated that a quantum gate is a device that transforms a quantum state into another quantum state. Thus, most of the optical components (e.g., a beamsplitter, a wave plate, a mirror, a polarizing beamsplitter) can be viewed as quantum gates because each of these optical elements can transform a quantum state into another quantum state. This fact is the basis for constructing useful quantum circuits using optical elements. Finally, a few proposals for optical realizations of schemes for quantum communication and computation are described.
In classical computation and communication, we use classical gates and bits. Similarly, in quantum computation and communication, we use their quantum analogs, i.e., quantum gates and qubit(s) [quantum bit(s)]. We have already mentioned that a bit can be realized in various ways. In the same way, a qubit can also be realized in various ways, and accordingly, corresponding quantum gates that would operate on qubits can also be realized in various ways. Here, we focus on a specific implementation: optical implementation, where qubits are realized using photons and quantum gates, and circuits are realized using various optical components. Specific merits of this realization lie in the following facts: (i) in quantum communication we need to transmit qubits from one location to the other, and transmission of photons is easier than any other realization of qubits; (ii) the effect of the environment (e.g., external electric and magnetic fields) on photons is less compared to any other implementations of qubits; and (iii) integrated optics are already a well-developed field. Keeping these points in mind, this Spotlight describes basic optical elements and how to use those elements to implement various schemes of quantum computation and communication. We will mostly describe realizations using bulk optics. However, in most cases, it is not difficult to transform these bulk-optics-based realizations into integrated optics. To begin with, in Section 1.1, we formally define a qubit and describe two alternative ways of realizing a qubit using a photon.
Nonlinear interactions between two photons are required for the construction of optical quantum logic gates, but those interactions are normally very weak due to the small magnitude of the electric field associated with a single photon. We note that exchange interactions can have a large effect even when there is no physical interaction between two particles, and we exploit this property for the construction of optical quantum logic gates. We show that the probability of there being two virtually-excited atoms in a medium can be a factor of 2 larger when two nonresonant photons propagate through the same medium as compared to the case in which they propagate through two separate media, in analogy with photon bunching. As a result, the application of one or more laser pulses will produce a nonlinear phase shift that can be used to construct an XOR quantum logic gate. This provides an example of a quantum control process in which one photon can control the state of another photon even when there is no sequence of physical interactions linking the two photons. From a classical point of view, it is not possible to identify a path for the flow of information or a specific cause for the outcome of the control process.
Optical photons present many interesting aspects in the context of the research for suitable physical representations of quantum bits. Photons are chargeless particles, and do not interact strongly with each other, or even with most matter. They can be guided along long distances with low loss in optical fibers, delayed efficiently using phase shifters, and combined easily using beamsplitters. Photons exhibit typical quantum phenomena, such as the interference produced in two-slit experiments. Furthermore, in principle, photons can be made interact with each other if carefully handled. There are many practical problems with this approach; nevertheless it presents, beyond what has already been noted, an appealing conceptual simplicity.The purpose of this work is to present - at least, in its fundamental principles - a set of optical photon quantum gates that is universal for quantum computation. To do so, we begin by gathering the necessary mathematical and physical tools. We discuss canonical quantization for the electromagnetic field, and we formalize in an abstract context the characteristic properties of every realization of the Fock canonical commutation relationships (CCR). We analize the class of the spaces where it is possible to give such a realization, and that naturally lend themselves to host the physical model of our interest. Once acquired these bases, we turn ourselves to a particular optic system, the Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and we study the general properties of this system and of its essential constituents. At this point we choose a particular encoding of quantum bit and we look at the optical devices just discussed as elements of a quantum circuit. We then discuss the fundamental ideas that may guide the implementation of some important quantum gates: Hadamard gate, π/8 gate and controlled-NOT. We conclude by showing that these three quantum gates form a universal set of gates for quantum computation.
Optical photons present many interesting aspects in the context of the research for suitable physical representations of quantum bits. Photons are chargeless particles, and do not interact strongly with each other, or even with most matter. They can be guided along long distances with low loss in optical fibers, delayed efficiently using phase shifters, and combined easily using beamsplitters. Photons exhibit typical quantum phenomena, such as the interference produced in two-slit experiments. Furthermore, in principle, photons can be made interact with each other if carefully handled. There are many practical problems with this approach; nevertheless it presents, beyond what has already been noted, an appealing conceptual simplicity.The purpose of this work is to present - at least, in its fundamental principles - a set of optical photon quantum gates that is universal for quantum computation. To do so, we begin by gathering the necessary mathematical and physical tools. We discuss canonical quantization for the electromagnetic field, and we formalize in an abstract context the characteristic properties of every realization of the Fock canonical commutation relationships (CCR). We analize the class of the spaces where it is possible to give such a realization, and that naturally lend themselves to host the physical model of our interest. Once acquired these bases, we turn ourselves to a particular optic system, the Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and we study the general properties of this system and of its essential constituents. At this point we choose a particular encoding of quantum bit and we look at the optical devices just discussed as elements of a quantum circuit. We then discuss the fundamental ideas that may guide the implementation of some important quantum gates: Hadamard gate, π/8 gate and controlled-NOT. We conclude by showing that these three quantum gates form a universal set of gates for quantum computation.
In the emerging field of quantum information technology the two basic subfields are quantum communication and quantum computation. Photonic qubits are considered as most promising information carriers for this new technology due to the immense advantage of suffering negligible decoherence. Additionally, the very small photon-photon interactions can be replaced by inducing effective nonlinearities via measurements which allow for the implementation of crucial two-qubit gate operations. Although the spontaneous parametric down-conversion gives access to the generation of highly entangled few-photon states, such as four-qubit cluster states which allow to demonstrate the new concept of the one-way quantum computer, its applicability is highly limited due to the poor scaling of the simultaneous emission of more than one-entangled photon pair. Therefore of particular interest is the reversible mapping of qubits from photon states to atomic states. This might allow the implementation of photonic quantum repeaters for long-distance quantum communication or the generation of arbitrary multi-photon states as required for linear-optics quantum computing. Thus for the realization of such a quantum network several approaches for achieving the required quantum control between matter and photons have been studied during the past few years. Recent experiments demonstrating the generation of narrow-bandwidth single photons using a room-temperature ensemble of 87Rb atoms and electromagnetically induced transparency should emphasize the progress towards such a quantum network.