We propose a method for quantum information processing using molecules coupled to an external laser field. This utilizes molecular interactions, control of the external field, and an effective energy shift of the doubly excited state of two coupled molecules. Such a level shift has been seen in the two-photon resonance experiments recently reported by Hettich et al. Here we show that this can be explained in terms of the QED Lamb shift. We quantify the performance of the proposed quantum logic gates in the presence of dissipative mechanisms. The unitary transformations required for performing one- and two-qubit operations can be implemented with present day molecular technology. The proposed techniques can also be applied to coupled quantum dot and biomolecular systems.
We propose a method for quantum information processing using molecules coupled to an external laser field. This utilizes molecular interactions, control of the external field, and an effective energy shift of the doubly excited state of two coupled molecules. Such a level shift has been seen in the two-photon resonance experiments recently reported by Hettich et al. Here we show that this can be explained in terms of the QED Lamb shift. We quantify the performance of the proposed quantum logic gates in the presence of dissipative mechanisms. The unitary transformations required for performing one- and two-qubit operations can be implemented with present day molecular technology. The proposed techniques can also be applied to coupled quantum dot and biomolecular systems.
We propose a method for implementing a quantum computer using artificial molecules. The artificial molecule consists of two coupled quantum dots stacked along the z direction and one single electron. One-qubit and two-qubit gates are constructed by one molecule and two coupled molecules, respectively. The ground state and the first excited state of the molecule are used to encode the |0> and |1> states of a qubit. The qubit is manipulated by a resonant electromagnetic wave that is applied directly to the qubit through a microstrip line. The coupling between two qubits in a quantum-controlled NOT gate is switched on (off) by floating (grounding) the metal film electrodes. We study the operations of the gates using a box-shaped quantum dot model and numerically solving a time-dependent Schrödinger equation, and demonstrate that the quantum gates can perform quantum computations. The operating speed of the gates is about one operation per 4 ps. The reading operation of the output of the quantum computer can be performed by detecting the polarization of the qubits.
We propose a method for implementation of a quantum computer using artificial molecules. The artificial molecule consists of two coupled quantum dots stacked along z direction and one single electron. One-qubit and two-qubit gates are constructed by one molecule and two coupled molecules, respectively.The ground state and the first excited state of the molecule are used to encode the |0> and |1> states of a qubit. The qubit is manipulated by a resonant electromagnetic wave that is applied directly to the qubit through a microstrip line. The coupling between two qubits in a quantum controlled NOT gate is switched on (off) by floating (grounding) the metal film electrodes. We study the operations of the gates by using a box-shaped quantum dot model and numerically solving a time-dependent Schridinger equation, and demonstrate that the quantum gates can perform the quantum computation. The operating speed of the gates is about one operation per 4ps. The reading operation of the output of the quantum computer can be performed by detecting the polarization of the qubits.
A scalable multatom entangled system, capable of high-performance quantum computations, can be realized by resonant dipole-dipole interacting dopants in a solid state host. In one realization, the qubits are represented by ground and subradiant states of effective dimers formed by pairs of closely spaced two-level systems (TLS). Such qubits are highly robust against radiative decay. The two-qubit entanglement in this scheme relies on coherent excitation exchange between the dimers by external laser fields. This scheme is challenging because of the nanosize control and addressability it requires. Another realization involves dipole-dipole interacting TLS whose resonance frequency lies in a photonic band gap of a dielectric photonic crystal. A sequence of abrupt changes of the resonance frequency can produce controlled entanglement (logic gates) with improved protection from radiation decay and decoherence.
My thesis focuses on theoretical studies in the molecular quantum computing with vibrational qubits. We studied how the molecular vibrational properties affect the fidelity of the logic gates. Our approach is to encode states of the quantum information register into the vibrational eigenstates of a molecule and use the shaped laser pulse (femtosecond, infrared) to control the vibrational state-to-state transition. By using the Optimal Control Theory to shape a femtosecond laser and numerical propagation of laser-driven vibrational wave packets, we analyzed how the vibrational properties of a two-qubit system affect the accuracy of the quantum gates and how to effectively control the vibrational state-to-state transitions. From these studies, we found the anharmonicities are very important for the control of the vibrational state-to-state transitions and an intricate interplay between the frequencies and anharmonicities in the two-qubit system leads to the occurrence of resonances between different transitions in the vibrational manifold. Such resonances cause "leakage" of population into other vibrational states and hinder the control. From theoretical analysis of resonances, we formulate several criteria for selection of molecule for implementation of the vibrational two-qubit system. These criteria can help experimentalists to choose the best molecules to achieve accurate qubit transformations in the experiment.
We propose a scheme for molecule-based information processing by combining well-studied spectroscopic techniques and recent results from chemical dynamics. Specifically it is discussed how optical transitions in single molecules can be used to rapidly perform classical (Boolean) logical operations. In the proposed way, a restricted number of states in a single molecule can act as a logical gate equivalent to at least two switches. It is argued that the four-level scheme can also be used to produce gain, because it allows an inversion, and not only a switching ability. The proposed scheme is quantum mechanical in that it takes advantage of the discrete nature of the energy levels but, we here discuss the temporal evolution, with the use of the populations only. On a longer time range we suggest that the same scheme could be extended to perform quantum logic, and a tentative suggestion, based on an available experiment, is discussed. We believe that the pumping can provide a partial proof of principle, although this and similar experiments were not interpreted thus far in our terms.
Since information has been regarded as a physical entity, the field of quantum information theory has blossomed. This brings novel applications, such as quantum computation. This field has attracted the attention of numerous researchers with backgrounds ranging from computer science, mathematics and engineering, to the physical sciences. Thus, we now have an interdisciplinary field where great efforts are being made in order to build devices that should allow for the processing of information at a quantum level, and also in the understanding of the complex structure of some physical processes at a more basic level. This thesis is devoted to the theoretical study of structures at the nanometer-scale, "nanostructures," through physical processes that mainly involve the solid-state and quantum optics, in order to propose reliable schemes for the processing of quantum information. Initially, the main results of quantum information theory and quantum computation are briefly reviewed. Next, the state-of-the-art of quantum dots technology is described. In so doing, the theoretical background and the practicalities required for this thesis are introduced. A discussion of the current quantum hardware used for quantum information processing is given. In particular, the solid-state proposals to date are emphasised. A detailed prescription is given, using an optically-driven coupled quantum dot system, to reliably prepare and manipulate exciton maximally entangled Bell and Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states. Manipulation of the strength and duration of selective light-pulses needed for producing these highly entangled states provides us with crucial elements for the processing of solid-state based quantum information. The all-optical generation of states of the so-called Bell basis for a system of two quantum dots (QDs) is exploited for performing the quantum teleportation of the excitonic state of a dot in an array of three coupled QDs. Theoretical predictions suggest that several hundred single quantum bit rotations and controlled-NOT gates could be performed before decoherence of the excitonic states takes place. In addition, the exciton coherent dynamics of a coupled QD system confined within a semiconductor single mode microcavity is reported. It is shown that this system enables the control of exciton entanglement by varying the coupling strength between the optically-driven dot system and the microcavity. The exciton entanglement shows collapses and revivals for suitable amplitudes of the incident radiation field and dot-cavity coupling strengths. The results given here could offer a new approach for the control of decoherence mechanisms arising from entangled "artificial molecules." In addition to these ultrafast coherent optical control proposals, an approach for reliable implementation of quantum logic gates and long decoherence times in a QD system based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is given, where the nuclear resonance is controlled by the ground state "magic number" transitions of few-electron QDs in an external magnetic field. The dynamical evolution of quantum registers of arbitrary length in the presence of environmentally-induced decoherence effects is studied in detail. The cases of quantum bits (qubits) coupling individually to different environments ("independent decoherence"), and qubits interacting collectively with the same reservoir ("collective decoherence") are analysed in order to find explicit decoherence functions for any number of qubits. The decay of the coherences of the register is shown to strongly depend on the input states: this sensitivity is a characteristic of both types of coupling (collective and independent) and not only of the collective coupling, as has been reported previously. A non-trivial behaviour - "recoherence" - is found in the decay of the off-diagonal elements of the reduced density matrix in the specific situation of independent decoherence. The results lead to the identification of decoherence-free states in the collective decoherence limit. These states belong to subspaces of the system's Hilbert space that do not become entangled with the environment, making them ideal elements for the engineering of "noiseless" quantum codes. The relations between decoherence of the quantum register and computational complexity based on the new dynamical results obtained for the register density matrix are also discussed. This thesis concludes by summarising and pointing out future directions, and in particular, by discussing some biological resonant energy transfer processes that may be useful for the processing of information at a quantum level.