No Arabic abstract
We describe the dynamics of a qubit interacting with a bosonic mode coupled to a zero-temperature bath in the deep strong coupling (DSC) regime. We provide an analytical solution for this open system dynamics in the off-resonance case of the qubit-mode interaction. Collapses and revivals of parity chain populations and the oscillatory behavior of the mean photon number are predicted. At the same time, photon number wave packets, propagating back and forth along parity chains, become incoherently mixed. Finally, we investigate numerically the effect of detuning on the validity of the analytical solution.
Reaching the strong coupling regime of light-matter interaction has led to an impressive development in fundamental quantum physics and applications to quantum information processing. Latests advances in different quantum technologies, like superconducting circuits or semiconductor quantum wells, show that the ultrastrong coupling regime (USC) can also be achieved, where novel physical phenomena and potential computational benefits have been predicted. Nevertheless, the lack of effective decoupling mechanism in this regime has so far hindered control and measurement processes. Here, we propose a method based on parity symmetry conservation that allows for the generation and reconstruction of arbitrary states in the ultrastrong coupling regime of light-matter interactions. Our protocol requires minimal external resources by making use of the coupling between the USC system and an ancillary two-level quantum system.
Demonstrating and exploiting the quantum nature of larger, more macroscopic mechanical objects would help us to directly investigate the limitations of quantum-based measurements and quantum information protocols, as well as test long standing questions about macroscopic quantum coherence. The field of cavity opto- and electro-mechanics, in which a mechanical oscillator is parametrically coupled to an electromagnetic resonance, provides a practical architecture for the manipulation and detection of motion at the quantum level. Reaching this quantum level requires strong coupling, interaction timescales between the two systems that are faster than the time it takes for energy to be dissipated. By incorporating a free-standing, flexible aluminum membrane into a lumped-element superconducting resonant cavity, we have increased the single photon coupling strength between radio-frequency mechanical motion and resonant microwave photons by more than two orders of magnitude beyond the current state-of-the-art. A parametric drive tone at the difference frequency between the two resonant systems dramatically increases the overall coupling strength. This has allowed us to completely enter the strong coupling regime. This is evidenced by a maximum normal mode splitting of nearly six bare cavity line-widths. Spectroscopic measurements of these dressed states are in excellent quantitative agreement with recent theoretical predictions. The basic architecture presented here provides a feasible path to ground-state cooling and subsequent coherent control and measurement of the quantum states of mechanical motion.
We study the time and space resolved dynamics of a qubit with an Ohmic coupling to propagating 1D photons, from weak coupling to the ultrastrong coupling regime. A nonperturbative study based on Matrix Product States (MPS) shows the following results: (i) The ground state of the combined systems contains excitations of both the qubit and the surrounding bosonic field. (ii) An initially excited qubit equilibrates through spontaneous emission to a state, which under certain conditions, is locally close to that ground state, both in the qubit and the field. (iii) The resonances of the combined qubit-photon system match those of the spontaneous emission process and also the predictions of the adiabatic renormalization [A. J. Leggett et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 59, 1, (1987)]. Finally, a non-perturbative ab-initio calculations show that this physics can be studied using a flux qubit galvanically coupled to a superconducting transmission line.
Strong light-matter coupling is a necessary condition for exchanging information in quantum information protocols. It is used to couple different qubits (matter) via a quantum bus (photons) or to communicate different type of excitations, e.g. transducing between light and phonons or magnons. An unexplored, so far, interface is the coupling between light and topologically protected particle like excitations as magnetic domain walls, skyrmions or vortices. Here, we show theoretically that a single photon living in a superconducting cavity can be coupled strongly to the gyrotropic mode of a magnetic vortex in a nanodisc. We combine numerical and analytical calculations for a superconducting coplanar waveguide resonator and different realizations of the nanodisc (materials and sizes). We show that, for enhancing the coupling, constrictions fabricated in the resonator are beneficial, allowing to reach the strong coupling in CoFe discs of radius $200-400$ nm having resonance frequencies of few GHz. The strong coupling regime permits to exchange coherently a single photon and quanta of vortex excitations. Thus, our calculations show that the device proposed here serves as a transducer between photons and gyrating vortices, opening the way to complement superconducting qubits with topologically protected spin-excitations like vortices or skyrmions. We finish by discussing potential applications in quantum data processing based on the exploitation of the vortex as a short-wavelength magnon emitter.
The ability to control and measure the temperature of propagating microwave modes down to very low temperatures is indispensable for quantum information processing, and may open opportunities for studies of heat transport at the nanoscale, also in the quantum regime. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate primary thermometry of propagating microwaves using a transmon-type superconducting circuit. Our device operates continuously, with a sensitivity down to $4times 10^{-4}$ photons/$sqrt{mbox{Hz}}$ and a bandwidth of 40 MHz. We measure the thermal occupation of the modes of a highly attenuated coaxial cable in a range of 0.001 to 0.4 thermal photons, corresponding to a temperature range from 35 mK to 210 mK at a frequency around 5 GHz. To increase the radiation temperature in a controlled fashion, we either inject calibrated, wideband digital noise, or heat the device and its environment. This thermometry scheme can find applications in benchmarking and characterization of cryogenic microwave setups, temperature measurements in hybrid quantum systems, and quantum thermodynamics.