Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

APL Quantum

Quantum skyrmions in general quantum channels

Robert de Mello Koch, Bo-Qiang Lu, Pedro Ornelas, Isaac M. Nape, Andrew Forbes

Published May 19, 2025• 16 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum skyrmions as topologically structured entangled states have the potential to be a pathway toward robustness against external perturbations, but so far no theoretical framework exists to validate this. Here, we introduce the notion of a new entanglement observable based on such topologies and develop a theoretical framework for studying its evolution in general quantum channels. Using photons entangled in orbital angular momentum and polarization as an example, we show that the noise affecting both photons can be recast as a position-dependent perturbation affecting only the photon in the polarization state, restricting the noise to a finite-dimensional Hilbert space. From this we predict complete resilience for both non-depolarizing and depolarizing noise, the former by rigorous arguments based on homotopic maps and the latter by numerical simulation. Finally, we identify sources of local noise that can destabilize the topology and suggest why this may be ignored in practical situations. Our work sets a solid foundational framework for understanding how and why topology enhances the resilience of such entanglement observables, with immediate relevance to the distribution of information through entanglement in noisy environments, such as quantum computers and quantum networks.

DOI
10.1063/5.0271868

Related papers

Quantum Skyrmions in general quantum channels: topological noise rejection and the discretization of quantum information

Robert de Mello Koch, Bo-Qiang Lu, Pedro Ornelas +2 more

The topology of a pure state of two entangled photons is leveraged to provide a discretization of quantum information. Since discrete signals are inherently more resilient to the effects of perturbations, this discrete class of entanglement observables may offer an advantage against noise. Establishing this is the primary objective of this paper. We develop a noise model that exploits the specific form of such topological wave functions - an entangled state of two photons with one in an orbital angular momentum state and the other in a polarization state. We show that noise affecting both photons can be recast as a position-dependent perturbation affecting only the photon in the polarization state. This approach allows us to utilize both the language and concepts used in studying noisy qubits, as well as recent advances in quantum polarimetry. By adding noise to a finite-dimensional Hilbert space of polarization states, we can describe the noise using quantum operations expressed through appropriate Krauss operators, whose structure is determined by quantum polarimetry. For non-depolarizing noise, we provide an argument based on homotopic maps that demonstrates the topology's resilience to noise. For depolarizing noise, numerical studies using the quantum channel description show that the discrete entanglement signal remains completely resilient. Finally, we identify sources of local noise that can destabilize the topology. This foundational work establishes a framework for understanding how topology enhances the resilience of quantum information, directly impacting the distribution of information through entanglement in noisy environments, such as quantum computers and quantum networks.

arXiv:2410.23789•Oct 31, 2024•2 citations

Topological rejection of noise by quantum skyrmions

Pedro Ornelas, Isaac M. Nape, Robert de Mello Koch +1 more

An open challenge in the context of quantum information processing and communication is improving the robustness of quantum information to environmental contributions of noise, a severe hindrance in real-world scenarios. Here, we show that quantum skyrmions and their nonlocal topological observables remain resilient to noise even as typical entanglement witnesses and measures of the state decay. This allows us to introduce the notion of digitization of quantum information based on our discrete topological quantum observables, foregoing the need for robustness of entanglement. We compliment our experiments with a full theoretical treatment that unlocks the quantum mechanisms behind the topological behavior, explaining why the topology leads to robustness. Our approach holds exciting promise for intrinsic quantum information resilience through topology, highly applicable to real-world systems such as global quantum networks and noisy quantum computers. Recent work reported a non-local quantum entangled state of photons with skyrmionic topology. Here the authors demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that topological properties of this system are resilient to noise, even as entanglement measures decay, and elucidate the mechanisms behind this robustness.

arXiv:2403.02031•Nature Communications•Mar 25, 2025•46 citations

Quantum skyrmion parallelism via metasurface-tailored high-dimensional entanglement

Pedro Ornelas, Ramona Bedford, Fazilah Nothlawala +6 more

Quantum skyrmions are topological structures that have garnered significant interest due to their demonstrated robustness and versatility across diverse optical platforms. However, existing approaches for their generation are limited to producing pre-determined two dimensional qubit states with a single topology. Here we create multi-dimensional topological states by introducing a non-local interaction between high-dimensional photonic entanglement and a metasurface, where the topological transformation induced by the metasurface is made non-deterministic by the probabilistic nature of the interfacing entangled state. Within this framework, we demonstrate that individual quantum states can host multiple co-existing topologies that are only revealed upon measurement, allowing for their parallel transport within distinct spatial mode channels. We confirm this by revealing the rich topological landscape within our modified Hilbert space while controlling the desired output topology by orbital angular momentum (OAM) projections on one of the entangled photons, producing multiple non-local polarization-OAM entangled states characterized by distinct topological classes, all from a single metasurface device. Our results reveal new capability when structured high-dimensional entanglement is interfaced with structured matter capable of coupling photonic degrees of freedom, establishing a new pathway for the compact generation of complex quantum states.

quant-pharXiv:2608.25415•Aug 27, 2026•0 citations

Topological preservation of quantum skyrmions in perturbed biphoton channels

Xi Xie, Pei Zhang, Yijie Shen

Skyrmionic topologies offer a promising strategy for encoding optical information in robust topological quantities against perturbations and have been demonstrated in free-space quantum systems. Here, we construct non-local skyrmions in a biphoton spin–orbit entangled system and experimentally investigate the preservation of their skyrmion number under controlled channel perturbations. Using a homotopy-based characterization, we describe the tested spatial and polarization perturbations through an effective position-dependent polarization channel framework conditioned on projection into the detected subspace. We examine representative ordered and disordered optical perturbations, implemented as amplitude obstacles and phase turbulence. The results show that the skyrmion number remains nearly invariant despite entanglement degradation, revealing the resilience of non-local quantum topology against optical perturbations.

Advanced Photonics•Sep 24, 2026•0 citations

Multi-quantum-channel mediated tunable single-photon skyrmions from metasurfaces

Yan Wang, Zhenyu Guo, Minggui Liang +3 more

Quantum optical skyrmions, as topologically robust quantum information carriers, hold transformative potential for resilient high-dimensional quantum information networks. However, their practical exploitation was still restricted to a single quantum channel, which precludes the multiplexing essential for practical high-capacity quantum networks. Here, we utilize a metasurface to achieve multi-channel quantum state distribution of the polarization-entangled photon pairs, inducing a two-photon bunching effect in both the spin and spatial dimensions with compact flat optics. At the spatial bunching port, controlled manipulation of the spin-orbit interaction enables the generation of a tunable single-photon skyrmion pair. In contrast to any prior skyrmion generation, the single-photon skyrmions are mediated and topologically controlled by quantum measurement in multiple channels. Concurrently, during the amplitude and phase modulation process, both the skyrmion localization and the texture helicity can be precisely customized. The proposed tunable single-photon skyromions offer multidimensional controllability and topological stability provide a viable path toward noise-resilient high-dimensional quantum information processing.

arXiv:2608.13984•Aug 14, 2026•0 citations

Topological robustness of classical and quantum optical skyrmions in atmospheric turbulence

Zhenyu Guo, Cade Peters, Nilo Mata-Cervera +5 more

Abstract The degradation of classical and quantum structured light induced by complex media constitutes a critical barrier to its practical implementation in a range of applications, from communication and energy transport to imaging and sensing. Atmospheric turbulence is an exemplary case due to its complex phase structure and dynamic variations, driving the need to fnd invariances in light. Here we construct classical and quantum optical skyrmions and pass them through experimentally simulated atmospheric turbulence, revealing the embedded topological resilience of their structure. In the quantum realm, we show that while skyrmions undergo diminished entanglement, their topological characteristics maintain stable. This is paralleled classically, where the vectorial structure is scrambled by the medium yet the skyrmion remains stable by virtue of its intrinsic topological protection mechanism. Our experimental results are supported by rigorous analytical and numerical modelling, validating that the quantum-classical equivalence of the topological behaviour is due to the non-separability of the states and one-sided nature of the channel. Our work blurs the classical-quantum divide in the context of topology and opens a new path to information resilience in noisy channels, such as terrestrial and satellite-to-ground communication networks.

arXiv:2509.05727•Nature Communications•Jan 27, 2026•36 citations
Quantum skyrmions as topologically structured entangled states have the potential to be a pathway toward robustness against external perturbations, but so far no theoretical framework exists to validate this. Here, we introduce the notion of a new entanglement observable based on such topologies and develop a theoretical framework for studying its evolution in general quantum channels. Using photons entangled in orbital angular momentum and polarization as an example, we show that the noise affecting both photons can be recast as a position-dependent perturbation affecting only the photon in the polarization state, restricting the noise to a finite-dimensional Hilbert space. From this we predict complete resilience for both non-depolarizing and depolarizing noise, the former by rigorous arguments based on homotopic maps and the latter by numerical simulation. Finally, we identify sources of local noise that can destabilize the topology and suggest why this may be ignored in practical situations. Our work sets a solid foundational framework for understanding how and why topology enhances the resilience of such entanglement observables, with immediate relevance to the distribution of information through entanglement in noisy environments, such as quantum computers and quantum networks.
The topology of a pure state of two entangled photons is leveraged to provide a discretization of quantum information. Since discrete signals are inherently more resilient to the effects of perturbations, this discrete class of entanglement observables may offer an advantage against noise. Establishing this is the primary objective of this paper. We develop a noise model that exploits the specific form of such topological wave functions - an entangled state of two photons with one in an orbital angular momentum state and the other in a polarization state. We show that noise affecting both photons can be recast as a position-dependent perturbation affecting only the photon in the polarization state. This approach allows us to utilize both the language and concepts used in studying noisy qubits, as well as recent advances in quantum polarimetry. By adding noise to a finite-dimensional Hilbert space of polarization states, we can describe the noise using quantum operations expressed through appropriate Krauss operators, whose structure is determined by quantum polarimetry. For non-depolarizing noise, we provide an argument based on homotopic maps that demonstrates the topology's resilience to noise. For depolarizing noise, numerical studies using the quantum channel description show that the discrete entanglement signal remains completely resilient. Finally, we identify sources of local noise that can destabilize the topology. This foundational work establishes a framework for understanding how topology enhances the resilience of quantum information, directly impacting the distribution of information through entanglement in noisy environments, such as quantum computers and quantum networks.
An open challenge in the context of quantum information processing and communication is improving the robustness of quantum information to environmental contributions of noise, a severe hindrance in real-world scenarios. Here, we show that quantum skyrmions and their nonlocal topological observables remain resilient to noise even as typical entanglement witnesses and measures of the state decay. This allows us to introduce the notion of digitization of quantum information based on our discrete topological quantum observables, foregoing the need for robustness of entanglement. We compliment our experiments with a full theoretical treatment that unlocks the quantum mechanisms behind the topological behavior, explaining why the topology leads to robustness. Our approach holds exciting promise for intrinsic quantum information resilience through topology, highly applicable to real-world systems such as global quantum networks and noisy quantum computers. Recent work reported a non-local quantum entangled state of photons with skyrmionic topology. Here the authors demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that topological properties of this system are resilient to noise, even as entanglement measures decay, and elucidate the mechanisms behind this robustness.
Quantum skyrmions are topological structures that have garnered significant interest due to their demonstrated robustness and versatility across diverse optical platforms. However, existing approaches for their generation are limited to producing pre-determined two dimensional qubit states with a single topology. Here we create multi-dimensional topological states by introducing a non-local interaction between high-dimensional photonic entanglement and a metasurface, where the topological transformation induced by the metasurface is made non-deterministic by the probabilistic nature of the interfacing entangled state. Within this framework, we demonstrate that individual quantum states can host multiple co-existing topologies that are only revealed upon measurement, allowing for their parallel transport within distinct spatial mode channels. We confirm this by revealing the rich topological landscape within our modified Hilbert space while controlling the desired output topology by orbital angular momentum (OAM) projections on one of the entangled photons, producing multiple non-local polarization-OAM entangled states characterized by distinct topological classes, all from a single metasurface device. Our results reveal new capability when structured high-dimensional entanglement is interfaced with structured matter capable of coupling photonic degrees of freedom, establishing a new pathway for the compact generation of complex quantum states.
Skyrmionic topologies offer a promising strategy for encoding optical information in robust topological quantities against perturbations and have been demonstrated in free-space quantum systems. Here, we construct non-local skyrmions in a biphoton spin–orbit entangled system and experimentally investigate the preservation of their skyrmion number under controlled channel perturbations. Using a homotopy-based characterization, we describe the tested spatial and polarization perturbations through an effective position-dependent polarization channel framework conditioned on projection into the detected subspace. We examine representative ordered and disordered optical perturbations, implemented as amplitude obstacles and phase turbulence. The results show that the skyrmion number remains nearly invariant despite entanglement degradation, revealing the resilience of non-local quantum topology against optical perturbations.
Quantum optical skyrmions, as topologically robust quantum information carriers, hold transformative potential for resilient high-dimensional quantum information networks. However, their practical exploitation was still restricted to a single quantum channel, which precludes the multiplexing essential for practical high-capacity quantum networks. Here, we utilize a metasurface to achieve multi-channel quantum state distribution of the polarization-entangled photon pairs, inducing a two-photon bunching effect in both the spin and spatial dimensions with compact flat optics. At the spatial bunching port, controlled manipulation of the spin-orbit interaction enables the generation of a tunable single-photon skyrmion pair. In contrast to any prior skyrmion generation, the single-photon skyrmions are mediated and topologically controlled by quantum measurement in multiple channels. Concurrently, during the amplitude and phase modulation process, both the skyrmion localization and the texture helicity can be precisely customized. The proposed tunable single-photon skyromions offer multidimensional controllability and topological stability provide a viable path toward noise-resilient high-dimensional quantum information processing.
Abstract The degradation of classical and quantum structured light induced by complex media constitutes a critical barrier to its practical implementation in a range of applications, from communication and energy transport to imaging and sensing. Atmospheric turbulence is an exemplary case due to its complex phase structure and dynamic variations, driving the need to fnd invariances in light. Here we construct classical and quantum optical skyrmions and pass them through experimentally simulated atmospheric turbulence, revealing the embedded topological resilience of their structure. In the quantum realm, we show that while skyrmions undergo diminished entanglement, their topological characteristics maintain stable. This is paralleled classically, where the vectorial structure is scrambled by the medium yet the skyrmion remains stable by virtue of its intrinsic topological protection mechanism. Our experimental results are supported by rigorous analytical and numerical modelling, validating that the quantum-classical equivalence of the topological behaviour is due to the non-separability of the states and one-sided nature of the channel. Our work blurs the classical-quantum divide in the context of topology and opens a new path to information resilience in noisy channels, such as terrestrial and satellite-to-ground communication networks.