Optimal quantum control theory carries a huge promise for quantum technology. Its experimental application, however, is often hindered by imprecise knowledge of the its input variables, the quantum systems parameters. We show how to overcome this by
Adaptive Hybrid Optimal Control (Ad-HOC). This protocol combines open- and closed-loop optimal by first performing a gradient search towards a near-optimal control pulse and then an experimental fidelity measure with a gradient-free method. For typical settings in solid-state quantum information processing, Ad-Hoc enhances gate fidelities by an order of magnitude hence making optimal control theory applicable and useful.
Superconducting qubits are a promising candidate for building a quantum computer. A continued challenge for fast yet accurate gates to minimize the effects of decoherence. Here we apply numerical methods to design fast entangling gates, specifically
the controlled Z, in an architecture where two qubits are coupled via a resonator. We find that the gates can be sped up by a factor of two and reach any target fidelity. We also discuss how systematic errors arising from experimental conditions affect the pulses and how to remedy them, providing a strategy for the experimental implementation of our results. We discuss the shape of the pulses, their spectrum and symmetry.
Recent experimental work on superconducting transmon qubits in 3D cavities show that their coherence times are increased by an order of magnitude compared to their 2D cavity counterparts. However to take advantage of these coherence times while scali
ng up the number of qubits it is advantageous to address individual qubits which are all coupled to the same 3D cavity fields. The challenge in controlling this system comes from spectral crowding, where leakage transition of qubits are close to computational transitions in other. Here it is shown that fast pulses are possible which address single qubits using two quadrature control of the pulse envelope while the DRAG method alone only gives marginal improvements over the conventional Gaussian pulse shape. On the other hand, a first order result using the Magnus expansion gives a fast analytical pulse shape which gives a high fidelity gate for a specific gate time, up to a phase factor on the second qubit. Further numerical analysis corroborates these results and yields to even faster gates, showing that leakage state anharmonicity does not provide a fundamental quantum speed limit.
