We present a linear optical protocol for teleporting and correcting both temporal and frequency errors in two time–frequency qubit states. The first state is the frequency (or time-of-arrival) cat qubit, which is a single photon in a superposition of two frequencies (or time-of-arrival), while the second is the time–frequency Gottesman–Kitaev–Preskill (GKP) state, which is a single photon with a frequency comb structure. The proposed optical scheme could be valuable for reducing the error rate in quantum communication protocols involving one of these qubits.
We present a linear optical protocol for teleporting and correcting both temporal and frequency errors in two time–frequency qubit states. The first state is the frequency (or time-of-arrival) cat qubit, which is a single photon in a superposition of two frequencies (or time-of-arrival), while the second is the time–frequency Gottesman–Kitaev–Preskill (GKP) state, which is a single photon with a frequency comb structure. The proposed optical scheme could be valuable for reducing the error rate in quantum communication protocols involving one of these qubits.
We present a linear optical protocol for teleporting and correcting both temporal and frequency errors in two time-frequency qubit states. The first state is the frequency (or time-of-arrival) cat qubit, which is a single photon in a superposition of two frequencies (or time-of-arrival), while the second is the time-frequency Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) state, which is a single photon with a frequency comb structure. The proposed optical scheme could be valuable for reducing error rate in quantum communication protocols involving one of these qubits.
Quantum teleportation, a key building block for quantum technologies, enables distant parties, Alice and Bob, to transfer an unknown quantum state using entanglement, local operations, and classical communication. In this work, we propose a quantum teleportation protocol for single-photon time-frequency continuous variables, where time is the time of arrival at a detector. We detail the operational requirements of the protocol, notably the nonlinear interactions needed for the photon-photon time-frequency entangling gate. By explicitly treating the detector position as the reference frame for time of arrival, we show that, even with ideal classical and quantum channels, the input-output fidelity is not unity unless the receiving party can correct the detector-position mismatch. This results in a trade-off between teleportation fidelity and the temporal bandwidth of the input photon wavepacket. The protocol itself can be used for remote detector synchronization. In particular, we show that time-frequency cat and Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill states provide an internal temporal ruler through fidelity revivals. We further derive the classical and best-copy fidelity thresholds for single-photon Gaussian wavepackets, finding that the relevant vacuum-equivalent shot noise is input-dependent, in contrast with quadrature-based continuous-variable quantum teleportation. Our proposal derives from a quantum theory of space-time events, whereafter we establish space as a reference for the time degree of freedom, thereby grounding our work in ongoing research on reference frames and superselection rules in quantum optics and quantum information. Beyond protocols harnessing time-frequency continuous variables of single photons, this work points toward remote synchronization in quantum communication architectures.
Superdense coding, the application of entanglement to boost classical communication capacity, is a cornerstone of quantum communication. In this paper, we propose a high-dimensional superdense coding protocol using energy-time entangled states. These states are biphoton frequency combs, an example of entangled time-frequency Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (TFGKP) states or time-frequency grid states. Inspired by GKP codes, our protocol involves discretizing the continuous time and frequency degrees of freedom and encoding information by time-frequency displacements. This approach leverages the inherently large Hilbert space found in quantum frequency combs, with resilience against both temporal and spectral errors. In addition to describing the theoretical structure of the protocol, we propose an experimental implementation using standard telecommunication components, time-resolving single-photon detectors and a frequency beamsplitter. We also analyze the effect of experimental noise and errors on the channel capacity of the protocol. We demonstrate that for realistic experimental parameters, contemporary technologies satisfy the prerequisites for superdense coding with biphoton frequency combs, achieving a transmission rate of approximately 8.91 bits per transmitted photon (equivalent to 481 distinguishable messages with asymptotically vanishing errors). This more than doubles the previously highest transmission rate of 4 bits achieved by the Kwiat-Weinfurter scheme, while also having competitive optical loss. Furthermore, our results beat the rate achievable using a single-photon frequency comb with identical parameters by 4.6 times. Our protocol thus represents an experimentally feasible application of time-frequency grid states to entanglement-assisted communication, contributing to the active fields of continuous-variable and high-dimensional quantum information.
GKP states, introduced by Gottesman, Kitaev, and Preskill, are continuous variable logical qubits that can be corrected for errors caused by phase space displacements. Their experimental realization is challenging, in particular, using propagating fields, where quantum information is encoded in the quadratures of the electromagnetic field. However, traveling photons are essential in many applications of GKP codes involving the long-distance transmission of quantum information. We introduce a new method for encoding GKP states in propagating fields using single photons, each occupying a distinct auxiliary mode given by the propagation direction. The GKP states are defined as highly correlated states described by collective continuous modes, as time and frequency. We analyze how the error detection and correction protocol scales with the total photon number and the spectral width. We show that the obtained code can be corrected for displacements in time-frequency phase space, which correspond to dephasing, or rotations, in the quadrature phase space and to photon losses. Most importantly, we show that generating two-photon GKP states is relatively simple, and that such states are currently produced and manipulated in several photonic platforms where frequency and time-bin biphoton entangled states can be engineered.
The Talbot effect -- a near-field diffraction phenomenon in which a periodic wavefront self-images at regular distances -- can be transposed to the time--frequency domain via the space--time duality between diffraction and dispersive broadening. We exploit this analogy to define the time--frequency (TF) Talbot effect and show that it implements different Clifford operations on TF Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (TF-GKP) qubits (Phys. Rev. 102, 012607), a class of qubit states encoded in the discretised frequency and time-of-arrival degrees of freedom of entangled photon pairs, whose logical basis corresponds to even and odd components of an entangled frequency combs. These states are intrinsically robust against small frequency and temporal displacements, which can be further corrected by linear or nonlinear quantum error-correction schemes. We analyse the role of the comb envelope and peak width relative to the free spectral range, and show that a compromise must be made between the gate fidelity of the Clifford gates induced by TF-Talbot operation and the error-correction capacity of the code. We then demonstrate that the signature of the TF-Talbot effect is directly accessible via the generalised Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer: all six logical GKP states can be unambiguously distinguished by introducing a frequency shift of half the comb periodicity in one interferometer arm. We conclude with a feasibility analysis based on current experimental technology, identifying the comb finesse as the key figure of merit for both gate performance and correctability. This conclusion extends naturally to quadrature GKP states, where a shear in quadrature phase space is precisely a Talbot effect.
Encoding quantum information in continuous variables is intrinsically faulty. Nevertheless, redundant qubits can be used for error correction, as proposed by Gottesman, Kitaev and Preskill in Phys. Rev. A \textbf{64} 012310, (2001). We show how to experimentally implement this encoding using time-frequency continuous degrees of freedom of photon pairs produced by spontaneous parametric down conversion. We experimentally illustrate our results using an integrated AlGaAs photon pairs source. We show how single qubit gates can be implemented and finally propose a theoretical scheme for correcting errors in a circuit-like and in a measurement-based architecture.