Quantum Physics

Unitary decomposition is a widely used method to map quantum algorithms to an arbitrary set of quantum gates. Efficient implementation of this decomposition allows for translation of bigger unitary gates into elementary quantum operations, which is key to executing these algorithms on existing quantum computers. The decomposition can be used as an aggressive optimization method for the whole circuit, as well as to test part of an algorithm on a quantum accelerator. For selection and implementation of the decomposition algorithm, perfect qubits are assumed. We base our decomposition technique on Quantum Shannon Decomposition which generates O((3/4)*4^n) controlled-not gates for an n-qubit input gate. The resulting circuits are up to 10 times shorter than other methods in the field. When comparing our implementation to Qubiter, we show that our implementation generates circuits with half the number of CNOT gates and a third of the total circuit length. In addition to that, it is also up to 10 times as fast. Further optimizations are proposed to take advantage of potential underlying structure in the input or intermediate matrices, as well as to minimize the execution time of the decomposition.

We present a general method to efficiently design quantum control procedures for non-Markovian problems and illustrate it by optimizing the shape of a laser pulse to prepare a quantum dot in a specific state. The optimization of open quantum system dynamics with strong coupling to structured environments -- where time-local descriptions fail -- is a computationally challenging task. We modify the numerically exact time evolving matrix product operator (TEMPO) method, such that it allows the repeated computation of the time evolution of the reduced system density matrix for various sets of control parameters at very low computational cost. This method is potentially useful for studying numerous quantum optimal control problems, in particular in solid state quantum devices where the coupling to vibrational modes is typically strong.

Ultra-short pulses propagating in nonlinear nanophotonic waveguides can simultaneously leverage both temporal and spatial field confinement, promising a route towards single-photon nonlinearities in an all-photonic platform. In this multimode quantum regime, however, faithful numerical simulations of pulse dynamics naïvely require a representation of the state in an exponentially large Hilbert space. Here, we employ a time-domain, matrix product state (MPS) representation to enable efficient simulations by exploiting the entanglement structure of the system. In order to extract physical insight from these simulations, we develop an algorithm to unravel the MPS quantum state into constituent temporal supermodes, enabling, e.g., access to the phase-space portraits of arbitrary pulse waveforms. As a demonstration, we perform exact numerical simulations of a Kerr soliton in the quantum regime. We observe the development of non-classical Wigner-function negativity in the solitonic mode as well as quantum corrections to the semiclassical dynamics of the pulse. A similar analysis of ? (2) simultons reveals a unique entanglement structure between the fundamental and second harmonic. Our approach is also readily compatible with quantum trajectory theory, allowing full quantum treatment of propagation loss and decoherence. We expect this work to establish the MPS technique as part of a unified engineering framework for the emerging field of broadband quantum photonics.

Non-locality and quantum measurement are two fundamental topics in quantum theory and theirinterplay attracts intensive focus since the discovery of Bell theorem. Non-locality sharing amongmultiple observers is predicted and experimentally observed. However, only one-sided sequentialcase, i.e., one Alice and multiple Bobs is widely discussed and little is known about two-sided case.Here, we theoretically and experimentally explore the non-locality sharing in two-sided sequentialmeasurements case in which one entangled pair is distributed to multiple Alices and Bobs. Weexperimentally observed double EPR steering among four observers in the photonic system for thefirst time. In the case that all observers adopt the same measurement strength, it is observedthat double EPR steering can be demonstrated simultaneously while double Bell-CHSH inequalityviolations are shown to be impossible. The exact formula relating Bell quantity and sequential weakmeasurements for arbitrary many Alices and Bobs is also derived, showing that no more doubleBell-CHSH inequality violations is possible under unbiased input condition. The results not onlydeepen our understanding of relation between sequential measurements and non-locality but alsomay find important applications in quantum information tasks.

Owing to recent advances in laser technology, it has become important to investigate fundamental laser-assisted processes in very powerful laser fields. In the present work and within the framework of laser-assisted quantum electrodynamics (QED), electron-proton scattering was considered in the presence of a strong electromagnetic field of circular polarization. First, we present a study of the process where we only take into account the relativistic dressing of the electron without the proton. Then, in order to explore the effect of the proton dressing, we fully consider the relativistic dressing of the electron and the proton together and describe them by using Dirac-Volkov functions. The analytical expression for the differential cross section (DCS) in both cases is derived at lowest-order of perturbation theory. As a result, the DCS is notably reduced by the laser field. It is found that the effect of proton dressing begins to appear at laser field strengths greater than or equal to 10 10 V/cm and it therefore must be taken into account. The influence of the laser field strength and frequency on the DCS is reported. A comparison with the Mott scattering and the laser-free results is also included.

We investigate optical response of a linear waveguide quantum electrodynamics (QED) system, namely, an optical cavity coupled to a waveguide. Our analysis is based on exact diagonalization of the overall Hamiltonian and is therefore rigorous even in the ultrastrong coupling regime of waveguide QED. Owing to the counter-rotating terms in the cavity-waveguide coupling, the motion of cavity amplitude in the phase space is elliptical in general. Such elliptical motion becomes remarkable in the ultrastrong coupling regime due to the large Lamb shift comparable to the bare cavity frequency. We also reveal that such elliptical motion does not propagate into the output field and present an analytic form of the reflection coefficient that is asymmetric with respect to the resonance frequency.

Characterizing multipartite quantum correlations beyond two parties is of utmost importance for building cutting edge quantum technologies, although the comprehensive picture is still missing. Here we investigate quantum correlations (QCs) present in a multipartite system by exploring connections between monogamy score (MS), localizable quantum correlations (LQC), and genuine multipartite entanglement (GME) content of the state. We find that the frequency distribution of GME for Dicke states with higher excitations resembles that of random states. We show that there is a critical value of GME beyond which all states become monogamous and it is investigated by considering different powers of MS which provide various layers of monogamy relations. Interestingly, such a relation between LQC and MS as well as GME does not hold. States having a very low GME (low monogamy score, both positive and negative) can localize a high amount of QCs in two parties. We also provide an upper bound to the sum of bipartite QC measures including LQC for random states and establish a gap between the actual upper bound and the algebraic maximum.

The quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) is a variational method for noisy, intermediate-scale quantum computers to solve combinatorial optimization problems. Quantifying performance bounds with respect to specific problem instances provides insight into when QAOA may be viable for solving real-world applications. Here, we solve every instance of MaxCut on non-isomorphic unweighted graphs with nine or fewer vertices by numerically simulating the pure-state dynamics of QAOA. Testing up to three layers of QAOA depth, we find that distributions of the approximation ratio narrow with increasing depth while the probability of recovering the maximum cut generally broadens. We find QAOA exceeds the Goemans-Williamson approximation ratio bound for most graphs. We also identify consistent patterns within the ensemble of optimized variational circuit parameters that offer highly efficient heuristics for solving MaxCut with QAOA. The resulting data set is presented as a benchmark for establishing empirical bounds on QAOA performance that may be used to test on-going experimental realizations.

Molecular matter-wave interferometry enables novel strategies for manipulating the internal mechanical motion of complex molecules. Here, we show how chiral molecules can be prepared in a quantum superposition of two enantiomers by far-field matter-wave diffraction and how the resulting tunnelling dynamics can be observed. We determine the impact of ro-vibrational phase averaging and propose a setup for sensing enantiomer-dependent forces, parity-violating weak interactions, and environment-induced superselection of handedness, as suggested to resolve Hund's paradox. Using ab-initio tunnelling calculations, we identify [4]-helicene derivatives as promising candidates to implement the proposal with state-of-the-art techniques. This work opens the door for quantum sensing and metrology with chiral molecules.

Landauer's principle laid the main foundation for the development of modern thermodynamics of information. However, in its original inception the principle relies on semiformal arguments and dissipative dynamics. Hence, if and how Landauer's principle applies to unitary quantum computing is less than obvious. Here, we prove an inequality bounding the change of Shannon information encoded in the logical quantum states by quantifying the energetic cost of Hamiltonian gate operations. The utility of this bound is demonstrated by outlining how it can be applied to identify energetically optimal quantum gates in theory and experiment. The analysis is concluded by discussing the energetic cost of quantum error correcting codes with non-interacting qubits, such as Shor's code.