We have observed the coherent exchange of a single energy quantum between a flux qubit and a superconducting LC circuit acting as a quantum harmonic oscillator. The exchange of an energy quantum is known as the vacuum Rabi oscillations: the qubit is oscillating between the excited state and the ground state and the oscillator between the vacuum state and the first excited state. We have also obtained evidence of level quantization of the LC circuit by observing the change in the oscillation frequency when the LC circuit was not initially in the vacuum state.
Nonlinear effects in mesoscopic devices can have both quantum and classical origins. We show that a three-Josephson-junction (3JJ) flux qubit in the _classical_ regime can produce low-frequency oscillations in the presence of an external field in res
onance with the (high-frequency) harmonic mode of the system, $omega$. Like in the case of_quantum_ Rabi oscillations, the frequency of these pseudo-Rabi oscillations is much smaller than $omega$ and scales approximately linearly with the amplitude of the external field. This classical effect can be reliably distinguished from its quantum counterpart because it can be produced by the external perturbation not only at the resonance frequency $omega$ and its subharmonics ($omega/n$), but also at its overtones, $nomega$.
We infer the high-frequency flux noise spectrum in a superconducting flux qubit by studying the decay of Rabi oscillations under strong driving conditions. The large anharmonicity of the qubit and its strong inductive coupling to a microwave line ena
bled high-amplitude driving without causing significant additional decoherence. Rabi frequencies up to 1.7 GHz were achieved, approaching the qubits level splitting of 4.8 GHz, a regime where the rotating-wave approximation breaks down as a model for the driven dynamics. The spectral density of flux noise observed in the wide frequency range decreases with increasing frequency up to 300 MHz, where the spectral density is not very far from the extrapolation of the 1/f spectrum obtained from the free-induction-decay measurements. We discuss a possible origin of the flux noise due to surface electron spins.
Rabi oscillations have been observed in many superconducting devices, and represent prototypical logic operations for quantum bits (qubits) in a quantum computer. We use a three-level multiphoton analysis to understand the behavior of the superconduc
ting phase qubit (current-biased Josephson junction) at high microwave drive power. Analytical and numerical results for the ac Stark shift, single-photon Rabi frequency, and two-photon Rabi frequency are compared to measurements made on a dc SQUID phase qubit with Nb/AlOx/Nb tunnel junctions. Good agreement is found between theory and experiment.
The act of measurement bridges the quantum and classical worlds by projecting a superposition of possible states into a single, albeit probabilistic, outcome. The time-scale of this instantaneous process can be stretched using weak measurements so th
at it takes the form of a gradual random walk towards a final state. Remarkably, the interim measurement record is sufficient to continuously track and steer the quantum state using feedback. We monitor the dynamics of a resonantly driven quantum two-level system -- a superconducting quantum bit --using a near-noiseless parametric amplifier. The high-fidelity measurement output is used to actively stabilize the phase of Rabi oscillations, enabling them to persist indefinitely. This new functionality shows promise for fighting decoherence and defines a path for continuous quantum error correction.
We present Rabi oscillation measurements of a Nb/AlOx/Nb dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) phase qubit with a 100 um^2 area junction acquired over a range of microwave drive power and frequency detuning. Given the slightly anharm
onic level structure of the device, several excited states play an important role in the qubit dynamics, particularly at high power. To investigate the effects of these levels, multiphoton Rabi oscillations were monitored by measuring the tunneling escape rate of the device to the voltage state, which is particularly sensitive to excited state population. We compare the observed oscillation frequencies with a simplified model constructed from the full phase qubit Hamiltonian and also compare time-dependent escape rate measurements with a more complete density-matrix simulation. Good quantitative agreement is found between the data and simulations, allowing us to identify a shift in resonance (analogous to the ac Stark effect), a suppression of the Rabi frequency, and leakage to the higher excited states.