Pieter Kok

Linear optical quantum computing with photonic qubits

Linear optics with photon counting is a prominent candidate for practical quantum computing. The protocol by Knill, Laflamme, and Milburn [Nature 409, 46 (2001)] explicitly demonstrates that efficient scalable quantum computing with single photons, linear optical elements, and projective measurements is possible. Subsequently, several improvements on this protocol have started to bridge the gap between theoretical scalability and practical implementation. We review the original theory and its improvements, and we give a few examples of experimental two-qubit gates. We discuss the use of realistic components, the errors they induce in the computation, and how these errors can be corrected.

Efficient high-fidelity quantum computation using matter qubits and linear optics

We propose a practical, scalable, and efficient scheme for quantum computation using spatially separated matter qubits and single-photon interference effects. The qubit systems can be nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, Pauli-blockade quantum dots with an excess electron, or trapped ions with optical transitions, which are each placed in a cavity and subsequently entangled using a double-heralded single-photon detection scheme. The fidelity of the resulting entanglement is extremely robust against the most important errors such as detector loss, spontaneous emission, and mismatch of cavity parameters. We demonstrate how this entangling operation can be used to efficiently generate cluster states of many qubits, which, together with single-qubit operations and readout, can be used to implement universal quantum computation. Existing experimental parameters indicate that high-fidelity clusters can be generated with a moderate constant overhead.

Symmetry analyzer for nondestructive Bell-state detection using weak nonlinearities

We describe a method to project photonic two-qubit states onto the symmetric and antisymmetric subspaces of their Hilbert space. This device utilizes an ancillary coherent state, together with a weak cross-Kerr nonlinearity, generated, for example, by electromagnetically induced transparency. The symmetry analyzer is nondestructive, and works for small values of the cross-Kerr coupling. Furthermore, this device can be used to construct a nondestructive Bell-state detector.

Creation of large-photon-number path entanglement conditioned on photodetection

Large-photon-number path entanglement is an important resource for enhanced precision measurements and quantum imaging. We present a general constructive protocol to create any large-photon-number pathentangled state based on the conditional detection of single photons. The influence of imperfect detectors is considered and an asymptotic scaling law is derived.

Single-photon quantum-nondemolition detectors constructed with linear optics and projective measurements

Optical quantum-nondemolition devices can provide essential tools for quantum information processing. Here, we describe several optical interferometers that signal the presence of a single photon in a particular input state without destroying it. We discuss both entanglement-assisted and nonentanglement-assisted interferometers, with ideal and realistic detectors. We found that the existing detectors with 88% quantum efficiency and single-photon resolution can yield output fidelities of up to 89%, depending on the input state. Furthermore, we construct expanded protocols to perform quantum-nondemolition detections of single photons that leave the polarization invariant. For detectors with 88% efficiency, we found polarization-preserving output fidelities of up to 98.5%.

Postselected versus nonpostselected quantum teleportation using parametric down-conversion

We study the experimental realisation of quantum teleportation as performed by Bouwmeester {\em et al}. [Nature {\bf 390}, 575 (1997)] and the adjustments to it suggested by Braunstein and Kimble [Nature {\bf 394}, 841 (1998)]. These suggestions include the employment of a detector cascade and a relative slow-down of one of the two down-converters. We show that coincidences between photon-pairs from parametric down-conversion automatically probe the non-Poissonian structure of these sources. Furthermore, we find that detector cascading is of limited use, and that modifying the relative strengths of the down-conversion efficiencies will increase the time of the experiment to the order of weeks. Our analysis therefore points to the benefits of single-photon detectors in non-post-selected type experiments, a technology currently requiring roughly

General Optimality of the Heisenberg Limit for Quantum Metrology

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Quantum-interferometric optical lithography: Towards arbitrary two-dimensional patterns

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Linear optics and projective measurements alone suffice to create large-photon-number path entanglement

Quantum metrology promises improved sensitivity in parameter estimation over classical procedures. However, there is a debate over the question of how the sensitivity scales with the resources and the number of queries that are used in estimation procedures. Here, we reconcile the physical definition of the relevant resources used in parameter estimation with the information-theoretical scaling in terms of the query complexity of a quantum network. This leads to a completely general optimality proof of the Heisenberg limit for quantum metrology. We give an example of how our proof resolves paradoxes that suggest sensitivities beyond the Heisenberg limit, and we show that the Heisenberg limit is an information-theoretic interpretation of the Margolus-Levitin bound, rather than Heisenbergs uncertainty relation.

Repeat-until-success quantum computing using stationary and flying qubits

As demonstrated by Boto et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2733 (2000)], quantum lithography offers an increase in resolution below the diffraction limit. Here, we generalize this procedure in order to create patterns in one and two dimensions. This renders quantum lithography a potentially useful tool in nanotechnology.