Quantum interfaces are ubiquitous in quantum technologies as they allow the implementation of several functionalities including quantum memories, quantum repeaters, photonic gates, and highly entangled photonic state generation. Based on the coherent coupling between quantum emitters and propagating pulses of light, they can be realized on a large variety of experimental platforms where quantum non-demolition measurements, entanglement generation, and efficient production of non-classical resources have been reported.This thesis explores the potential of so-called collision models to model exactly the light-matter dynamics in various kinds of quantum interfaces, providing direct access to their joint entangled states. It allows us to derive analytic expressions of the device performance, whether operated as a measuring apparatus or a source of cluster states. Since our model captures light and matter as a closed system, it verifies global energy conservation, providing access to the energy budget associated with the execution of the quantum task.Initially, we review the theoretical foundation for quantum measurements and introduce figures of merit used throughout the thesis. Subsequently, we review the collision model method, which is based on waveguide quantum electrodynamics (WGQED), setting the stage for subsequent analyses. Then, we address fundamental inquiries. First, we investigate the emergence of non-classical behavior of the field scattered by a quantum emitter that interacts with an intense resonant coherent field. It reveals signatures of quantum contextuality—negativity in the Wigner function and anomalous weak values. Second, we investigate the possibility of non-destructive spin state measurement by limiting the energy budget to at most one photon. We compare the performance of two different fields: coherent field and number state superposition. We demonstrate better performance of the latter in entanglement generation, thus providing a quantum advantage. Lastly, our analysis extends to technological applications. We propose a photon-photon gate, conduct a thorough error analysis, and we perform the modeling of cutting-edge experiments envisioning the deterministic generation of highly entangled states of light.This theoretical capacity opens the way to directly optimizing the device performance and efficiency as a function of the parameters accessible to experimentalists. It also allows us to fit experimental data with high accuracy.
Quantum interfaces are ubiquitous in quantum technologies as they allow the implementation of several functionalities including quantum memories, quantum repeaters, photonic gates, and highly entangled photonic state generation. Based on the coherent coupling between quantum emitters and propagating pulses of light, they can be realized on a large variety of experimental platforms where quantum non-demolition measurements, entanglement generation, and efficient production of non-classical resources have been reported.This thesis explores the potential of so-called collision models to model exactly the light-matter dynamics in various kinds of quantum interfaces, providing direct access to their joint entangled states. It allows us to derive analytic expressions of the device performance, whether operated as a measuring apparatus or a source of cluster states. Since our model captures light and matter as a closed system, it verifies global energy conservation, providing access to the energy budget associated with the execution of the quantum task.Initially, we review the theoretical foundation for quantum measurements and introduce figures of merit used throughout the thesis. Subsequently, we review the collision model method, which is based on waveguide quantum electrodynamics (WGQED), setting the stage for subsequent analyses. Then, we address fundamental inquiries. First, we investigate the emergence of non-classical behavior of the field scattered by a quantum emitter that interacts with an intense resonant coherent field. It reveals signatures of quantum contextuality—negativity in the Wigner function and anomalous weak values. Second, we investigate the possibility of non-destructive spin state measurement by limiting the energy budget to at most one photon. We compare the performance of two different fields: coherent field and number state superposition. We demonstrate better performance of the latter in entanglement generation, thus providing a quantum advantage. Lastly, our analysis extends to technological applications. We propose a photon-photon gate, conduct a thorough error analysis, and we perform the modeling of cutting-edge experiments envisioning the deterministic generation of highly entangled states of light.This theoretical capacity opens the way to directly optimizing the device performance and efficiency as a function of the parameters accessible to experimentalists. It also allows us to fit experimental data with high accuracy.
The object of this PhD Thesis is light and matter quantum interaction including studies on cavity and circuit quantum electrodynamics (CQED and cQED), quantum information theory and entanglement dynamics in open systems. In recent years both theoretical and experimental efforts have been devoted to study problems regarding the transfer of quantum correlations, quantum memories, entanglement protection against decoherence and new regimes accessible in cQED. One of the fundamental model underlying these topics is the well known Jaynes-Cummings (JC) one for light-matter interaction, introduced in quantum optics already in 1963. This paradigmatic model describes the coherent exchange of a single excitation between a qubit (a two-level system) and a mode of a quantized harmonic oscillator. The JC model describes a lot of purely quantum effects such as Rabi oscillations and generation of entangled quantum states, which were confirmed by several sophisticated experiments in CQED. This model has been then applied in many other frameworks. Analytical results can be derived only under the so-called rotating wave approximation (RWA), which allows to neglect the energy contributions coming from the counter-rotating terms, which describe the simultaneous excitation (or de-excitation) of the qubit and the field mode. In this Thesis a first interesting investigation, based on the JC model, is related to the realization of quantum memories. The main aspect is the transfer of generic quantum entangled states of a propagating radiation to some qubits, such as two-level atoms placed in separated optical cavities. Generalizing previous results for bipartite entangled systems, I investigated the more complex case of tripartite systems, where the very quantification of entanglement is still an open problem. This issue is broadened to open systems in contact with a common environment which induces decoherence effects unavoidable in realistic implementations. The main result of this analysis is that it is possible to map in an optimal way a quantum state from radiation to qubits in the unitary dynamics, and even in the presence of a dissipative environment a significative amount of entanglement can be transferred. This study has been carried on with either theoretical calculations or numerical simulations performed adopting the powerful Monte Carlo wave function method. A second important problem for quantum memories faced in this PhD Thesis, regards the protection of qubits entanglement for long enough times in order to implement quantum information tasks. A possible way to obtain this goal is to add an external coherent field driving two or more two-level atoms interacting with a common mode of a cavity electromagnetic field. In fact it is possible to demonstrate that, under certain conditions, an effective Hamiltonian of the whole system involves, together with the familiar JC terms, also the counter-rotating ones. The main feature that comes out from this analysis is the possibility to freeze, during system dynamics, peculiar quantum entangled states of the atomic qubits in so called decoherence-free subspaces. This important property allows to store the entanglement in matter qubits, isolating the quantum state from environment induced decoherence. Though the system includes dissipation, analytical results have been obtained for multipartite entanglement and decoherence by solving the master equation through a projection on a suitable basis and using the method of characteristics. In particular it is possible to monitor the rate of decoherence via measurements of joint atomic probabilities, shading light on the fascinating border between the quantum and the classical world. A last topic investigated in this Thesis concerns the recently developed and quite promising implementation of the JC model well outside CQED, that is cQED. Here superconductive circuits, which play the role of artificial atoms, interact on-chip with transmission line resonators, instead of the usual electromagnetic cavities. These systems have the advantage of being quite easily engineered exploiting the most advanced available technologies. Moreover they allow a great flexibility in handling the relevant parameters, since the inter-system coupling is here of capacitive or inductive nature, instead of the usual electric dipole interaction in CQED. In this way a strong and ultrastrong coupling regime have become available, giving a direct access to the physics beyond the JC model and its possible applications. I first performed a detailed characterization of system dynamics in order to test the main approximations usually introduced to describe superconductive circuits as qubits. Then I described, both analytically and numerically, the dissipative dynamics of a superconductive qubit coupled to a resonator mode in the deep strong regime.
This thesis is an exploration of quantum repeaters from a practical point of view. Quantum repeaters are devices which help improve the quantum communication capacity of a lossy bosonic channel (which include photonic channels such as optical fiber) beyond what is possible using a purely lossy channel. The analyses in this thesis involve modeling the experimental imperfections inherent in the various devices which comprise a quantum repeater, then combining these models to calculate various quantities of interest. \n \nTwo systems are analyzed in this thesis. One is a simple quantum repeater, while the other is a potential building block for more complex quantum repeaters. \n \nThe simple quantum repeater scheme can be implemented with currently available technology. In it, two parties perform quantum key distribution (QKD) by exchanging photons with two quantum memories placed between them. Its secret key rate ideally scales as the square root of the transmittivity of the optical channel, which is superior to QKD schemes based on direct transmission because key rates for the latter scale at best linearly with transmittivity. Taking into account imperfections in the setup, such as detector efficiency and dark counts, we present parameter regimes in which our protocol outperforms protocols based on direct transmission. We find that implementing our scheme with trapped ions is a promising way to reach the necessary parameter regimes, and that the regimes are easier to reach if the optical channels are very lossy. \n \nThe creation of entanglement between two quantum memories is an important building block in some quantum repeater schemes. We consider a specific quantum memory consisting of an atom trapped in a cavity. The system allows a CNOT operation to be performed between an atom and a photon. We study three methods for taking advantage of this to entangle two atoms: (1) interacting a coherent pulse with each atom, then performing an entangling measurement on the pulses; (2) interacting a single coherent pulse with each atom sequentially; (3) emitting an entangled photon from one atom and interacting it with the other atom. The success probability of each method is compared, as well as the quality of the entangled states produced by each one, taking into account imperfections which appear in a specific experimental implementation of such memories. We find that there is a tradeoff between success probability and entangled state quality when coherent states are used, and that method 3 provides higher-quality entangled states than is possible with the other two methods.
This thesis has two parts; the first part is a contribution to the research field of quantum measurement in quantum optics while the second part focuses on quantum thermodynamics for fermionic systems. \n \nThe aim of the research on quantum optics is to detect and subsequently characterize quantum states of light. Specifically, we focus on characterizing 1) entanglement between a two-level atom and superposition of coherent states (known as Bell cat state) 2) quantum superposition of coherent states (Schr\\"odinger cat states). The photon is the particle of light which carries quantum information; it is usually lost (destroyed) while being detected. Many physical implementations of quantum logic gate aim to encode quantum information processing into large registers of entangled qubits. However for these larger much distinguishable states, creating and preserving entanglement becomes difficult due to rapid onset of decoherence. Encoding quantum information on Schrodinger's cat states take advantage of a cavity resonators much larger Hilbert space, as compared with that of a two-level system. This architecture allows redundant qubit encodings that can simplify the operations needed to initialize, manipulate and measure the encoded information. For such a system to be viable as a quantum computing platform, efficient measurement of such encoded qubit observables must be possible. \n \nThe concept of quantum non demolition measurement was introduced to evade the problem of decoherence. Researchers now know through quantum theory that it is indeed possible to count photons in a given state of light without destroying them. This nondestructive measurement scheme is coined in the term ``quantum non-demolition measurement". We can extend the ideas of quantum nondemolition measurement scheme to detect a system made up of two or more quantum states (not necessarily states of light) that are combined based on the superposition principle. An example is the Schr\\"odinger's cat state which is a superposition of two coherent states of light of equal amplitudes but opposite phase. At this point, one is not only interested in counting photons, but in understanding the nature of the superposition, the possible problems and the different physical properties that follow. Ways to detect the Schr\\"odinger cat states and subsequently a Bell cat state (Schr\\"odinger cat entangled with a qubit) without significantly perturbing them are discussed. The method analyzed is the mode-invisibility measurement scheme earlier proposed to detect single Fock states and coherent states of light. The method gives a new insight to the known properties of Schr\\"odinger cat states and contributes to our understanding of the quantum-classical boundary problem. \n \nThe second part of the thesis falls in the research field of quantum thermodynamics and open quantum systems. Most problems in quantum thermodynamics have been explored in bosonic systems with little or less done in fermionic systems. Therefore the aim of this part of the thesis is to explore related quantum thermodynamical problems in fermionic systems. I begin by considering the problem of work extraction from noninteracting fermionic systems. For work to be extracted from the state of a quantum system, a unitary operation on the state must act to reduce the average energy of the system. Passive states are those states whose energy cannot be reduced through unitary transformation, that is work cannot be extracted via unitary transformations given only a single copy of the system. It follows that some passive states may have extractable work if several copies of the system is processed. Passive states for which no work can be extracted, no matter the number of available copies, are called completely passive states. An example is the thermal Gibbs state. Here, the limit for which multiple copies of passive states in fermionic systems can be activated for work extraction is studied. It was observed for n > 3 fermionic modes at the same frequency, the product state of n thermal states with different temperatures is not passive. This in principle implies that the construction of a heat engine in fermionic systems need access to three thermal baths at different temperature. This is unlike the bosonic system, where access to only two thermal baths are required. \n \nOn the other hand, while the product state of three thermal states of three fermionic modes at the same frequency but different temperatures is not passive, the unitary transformation required to extract work from the state is difficult to realize. A set of operations that are easier to realize are Gaussian unitaries which are generated by Hamiltonian that are at most quadratic in the system's operators. One may consider extracting work via the restricted class of Gaussian unitaries. Hence fermionic Gaussian passive states for which energy cannot be extracted using only Gaussian operations are characterized. \n \nThe last problem I investigate is that of understanding the dynamics of an open Markovian non-interacting fermionic system. I introduce a classification scheme for the generators of open fermionic Gaussian dynamics and simultaneously partition the dynamics along the following four lines: 1) unitary vs. non-unitary, 2) active vs. passive, 3) state-dependent vs. state-independent, and 4) single-mode vs. multi-mode. Unlike in the bosonic case where only eleven of these sixteen types of dynamics turn out to be possible, one observe only nine types of dynamics in the fermionic setting. Using this partition I discuss the consequences of imposing complete positivity on fermionic Gaussian dynamics. In particular, I show that completely positive dynamics must be either unitary (and so can be implemented without a quantized environment) or active (and so must involve particle exchange with an environment).
Light-matter interfaces are pivotal for quantum computation and communication. While typically analyzed using single-mode or open-quantum-system approximations, these models often neglect multi-mode field states and light-matter entanglement, hindering exact protocol modeling. Here, we solve the full Hamiltonian dynamics of a solid-state spin-photon interface for three key protocols: the generation of photon-number superpositions, a controlled photon-photon gate, and the production of photonic cluster states. By deriving exact fidelities, we identify fundamental performance limits. Our results reveal that while realistic imperfections severely limit photon-photon gates, they only slightly affect linear photonic clusters and are nearly harmless for photon-number state superpositions.
The desire to understand the interaction between light and matter has stimulated centuries of research, leading to technological achievements that have shaped our world. One contemporary frontier of research into light-matter interaction considers regimes where quantum effects dominate. By understanding and manipulating these quantum effects, a vast array of new quantum-enhanced technologies become accessible. In this thesis, I explore and analyze fundamental components and processes for quantum optical devices with a focus on solid-state quantum systems. This includes indistinguishable single-photon sources, deterministic sources of entangled photonic states, photon-heralded entanglement generation between remote quantum systems, and deterministic optically-mediated entangling gates between local quantum systems. For this analysis, I make heavy use of an analytic quantum trajectories approach applied to a general Markovian master equation of an optically-active quantum system, which I introduce as a photon-number decomposition. This approach allows for many realistic system imperfections, such as emitter pure dephasing, spin decoherence, and measurement imperfections, to be taken into account in a straightforward and comprehensive way.
Strong coupling between light and matter has been demonstrated both in classical cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) systems and in more recent circuit-QED experiments. This enables the generation of strong nonlinear photon-photon interactions at the single-photon level, which is of great interest for the observation of quantum nonlinear optical phenomena, the control of light quanta in quantum information protocols such as quantum networking, as well as the study of strongly correlated quantum many-body systems using light. Recently, strong coupling has also been realized in a variety of one-dimensional (1D) waveguide- QED experimental systems, which in turn makes them promising candidates for quantum information processing. Compared to cavity-QED systems, there are two new features in waveguide-QED: the existence of a continuum of states and the restricted 1D phase space, which together bring in new physical effects, such as the bound-state effects. This thesis consists of two parts: 1) understanding the fundamental interaction between local quantum objects, such as two-level systems and four-level systems, and photons confined in the waveguide; 2) exploring its implications in quantum information processing, in particular photonic quantum computation and quantum key distribution. First, we demonstrate that by coupling a two-level system (TLS) or three/fourlevel system to a 1D continuum, strongly-correlated photons can be generated inside the waveguide. Photon-photon bound states, which decay exponentially as a function of the relative coordinates of photons, appear in multiphoton scattering processes. As a result, photon bunching and antibunching can be observed in the photon-photon correlation function, and nonclassical light source can be generated on demand. In the case of an N-type four-level system, we show that the effective photon-photon interaction mediated by the four-level system, gives rise to a variety of nonlinear optical phenomena, including photon blockade, photon-induced tunneling, and creation of single-photon states and photon pairs with a high degree of spectral entanglement, all in the absence of a cavity. However, to enable greater quantum networking potential using waveguide- QED, it is important to study systems having more than just one TLS/qubit. We develop a numerical Green function method to study cooperative effects in a system of two qubits coupled to a 1D waveguide. Quantum beats emerge in photon-photon correlations, and persist to much longer time scales because of non-Markovian processes. In addition, this system can be used to generate a high-degree of long-distance entanglement when one of the two qubits is driven by an on-resonance laser, further paving the way toward waveguide-QED-based quantum networks. Furthermore, based on our study of light-matter interactions in waveguide- QED, we investigate its implications in quantum information processing. First, we study quantum key distribution using the sub-Possonian single photon source obtained by scattering a coherent state off a two-level system. The rate for key generation is found to be twice as large as for other sources. Second, we propose a new scheme for scalable quantum computation using flying qubits--propagating photons in a one-dimensional waveguide--interacting with matter qubits. Photonphoton interactions are mediated by the coupling to a three- or four-level system, based on which photon-photon -phase gates (Controlled-NOT) can be implemented for universal quantum computation. We show that high gate fidelity is possible given recent dramatic experimental progress in superconducting circuits and photonic-crystal waveguides. The proposed system can be an important building block for future on-chip quantum networks.