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arXiv:cond-mat/0602577 · New Journal of Physics

Rabi oscillations in a qubit coupled to a quantum two-level system

Sahel Ashhab, J. R. Johansson, Franco Nori

Published Jun 16, 2006• 50 citations
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Abstract

We consider the problem of a qubit driven by a harmonically oscillating external field while it is coupled to a quantum two-level system (TLS). We perform a systematic numerical analysis of the problem by varying the relevant parameters. The numerical calculations agree with the predictions of a simple intuitive picture, namely one that takes into consideration the four-level energy spectrum, the simple principles of Rabi oscillations and the basic effects of decoherence. Furthermore, they reveal a number of other interesting phenomena. We provide explanations for the various features that we observe in the numerical calculations and discuss how they can be used in experiment. In particular, we suggest an experimental procedure to characterize an environment of TLSs.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/8/6/103

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We consider the problem of a qubit driven by a harmonically oscillating external field while it is coupled to a quantum two-level system (TLS). We perform a systematic numerical analysis of the problem by varying the relevant parameters. The numerical calculations agree with the predictions of a simple intuitive picture, namely one that takes into consideration the four-level energy spectrum, the simple principles of Rabi oscillations and the basic effects of decoherence. Furthermore, they reveal a number of other interesting phenomena. We provide explanations for the various features that we observe in the numerical calculations and discuss how they can be used in experiment. In particular, we suggest an experimental procedure to characterize an environment of TLSs.
We present an analytical and comprehensive description of the quantum dynamics of a microwave resonantly driven superconducting phase qubit coupled to a microscopic two-level system (TLS), covering a wide range of the external microwave field strength. Our model predicts several interesting phenomena in such an ac driven four-level bipartite system including anomalous Rabi oscillations, high-contrast beatings of Rabi oscillations, and extraordinary two-photon transitions. Our experimental results in a coupled qubit-TLS system agree quantitatively very well with the predictions of the theoretical model.
The problem of Rabi oscillations in a qubit coupled to a fluctuator and in contact with a heath bath is considered. A scheme is developed for taking into account both phase and energy relaxation in a phenomenological way, while taking full account of the quantum dynamics of the four-level system subject to a driving AC field. Significant suppression of the Rabi oscillations is found when the qubit and fluctuator are close to resonance. The effect of the fluctuator state on the read-out signal is discussed. This effect is shown to modify the observed signal significantly. This may be relevant to recent experiments by Simmonds et al. ( Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 077003).
We study the decoherence dynamics of a superconducting qubit coupled to a quantum two-level system (TLS) in addition to its weak coupling to a background environment [1]. We identify two weak-coupling regimes, which differ by the relation between qubit and TLS decoherence times, and a strong coupling regime. We find expressions for the qubit decoherence rates in the weak-coupling regimes. For a weakly coupled and strongly dissipative TLS we find that the qubit dynamics is markovian, whereas for a weakly dissipative TLS the qubit dynamics shows non-markovian behavior. In the strong-coupling regime we study the driven qubit dynamics and we analyze the differences from standard Rabi-oscillations due to the coupling to the quantum TLS [2]. In doing so we identify signatures in the qubit dynamics that can be used to characterize the TLS. We also investigate the possibility of using environmental TLSs with long coherence times for quantum information processing [3]. By using the Josephson junction as a bus and the TLSs in the environment as qubits, we demonstrate that initialization, a universal set of quantum gates, and read-out of the TLSs can be implemented, even though the TLSs themselves cannot be directly accessed.
A systematic investigation is performed on the damping of Rabi oscillations induced by an external electromagnetic field interacting with a two-level semiconductor system. We have considered a coherently driven two-level system coupled to a dephasing reservoir and shown that, to explain the dependence of the dephasing rate on the driving intensity, it is essential to consider the non-Markovian character of the reservoir. Moreover, we have demonstrated that intensity-dependent damping may be induced by various dephasing mechanisms due to stationary as well as non-stationary effects caused by coupling with the environment. Finally, present results are able to explain a variety of experimental measurements available in the literature.
The model of a two-level system (TLS) coupled to a harmonic oscillator has found a widespread application in physics and chemistry. In this thesis we focus on the field of circuit quantum electrodynamics where the TLS stands for a quantum bit (qubit), which is the basic building unit of a potential quantum computer, and the oscillator represents a transmission-line resonator, which can be used, e.g., to store information contained on the qubit or for communication between several qubits. Furthermore, the oscillator can model a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) determining the state of the qubit. In first experimental realizations the coupling between the qubit and the oscillator was small compared to characteristic frequencies of the two devices. In such a situation the Jaynes-Cummings model provides a realistic and completely analytical description of the energy spectrum and the dynamics of the setup. However, it relies on a rotating-wave approximation (RWA) which neglects counter-rotating terms in the full qubit-oscillator Hamiltonian. These counter-rotating terms become important under increase of the coupling strength, as it has been achieved in recent experiments. We present two analytical approaches to take these additional contributions into account: The first one treats the qubit-oscillator Hamiltonian perturbatively in the coupling strength and predicts a frequency shift in its energy spectrum, the Bloch-Siegert shift. The second one considers the qubit's tunneling splitting as small parameter and thus treats the problem to all orders in the coupling allowing to enter the ultrastrong coupling regime, where the coupling strength becomes comparable to the qubit's and/or oscillator's frequency. For both cases we give a thorough analysis of the qubit's dynamics. In order to perform operations the qubit is usually probed by an external driving force. We model this situation by coupling the TLS to a classical oscillator and examine the resulting time dependent Hamiltonian using a combination of Floquet theory and Van Vleck perturbation theory. Thus, we provide an analysis of the qubit's energy spectrum and dynamics which is nonperturbative in the driving amplitude. We investigate effects like coherent destruction of tunneling and driving-inducing tunneling oscillations. By coupling the driven TLS to a quantized oscillator we give for the first time an analytical treatment of the qubit-oscillator system being simultaneously exposed to both ultrastrong coupling and extreme driving. We observe interesting phenomena in the dynamics like the suppression of specific frequencies under a variation of the coupling strength. To mimic environmental influences on the qubit we apply the Caldeira-Leggett master equation approach to the driven TLS and to the qubit-oscillator system and provide for both cases analytical expressions for the relaxation and dephasing rates.
Recent experiments on a range of engineered quantum systems have highlighted the important role of interacting two-level systems (TLSs) in modifying device properties and generating fluctuations. Focusing on the case of an oscillator coupled to a single near-resonant TLS, we explore how interactions between the TLS and lower-frequency thermally activated two-level fluctuators (TLFs) degrade the oscillator's coherence. Depending on the strength of the couplings, a single TLF can give rise to coherence oscillations that appear alongside, or supplant, Rabi oscillations of the oscillator-TLS system. Bath-driven transitions in the TLF cause irreversible coherence decay at a rate that is highly sensitive to both the couplings and the transition rate. For an ensemble of TLFs, we identify and characterise the different regimes of non-exponential phase-averaging-driven coherence decay that the oscillator can display. Using numerical calculations, we examine the extent to which systems with just a few TLFs differ from the limit of a large (continuum) TLF ensemble. Our work provides a theoretical framework for understanding the interplay of coherent TLS interactions and TLF-induced dephasing in quantum devices such as superconducting and phononic resonators.