## Physics

### Superfluidity of light in nematic liquid crystals

Author(s): Tiago D. Ferreira, Nuno A. Silva, and A. Guerreiro

Optical analog experiments have captured a lot of interest in recent years by offering a strategy to test theoretical models and concepts that would be otherwise untestable. The approach relies on the similarity between the mathematical model for light propagation in nonlinear optical media and the ...

[Phys. Rev. A 98, 023825] Published Mon Aug 13, 2018

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Chern numbers for the index surfaces of photonic crystals: Conical refraction as a basis for topological materials

Author(s): R. L. Mc Guinness and P. R. Eastham

The classification of band structures by topological invariants provides a powerful tool for understanding phenomena such as the quantum Hall effect. This classification was originally developed in the context of electrons but can also be applied to photonic crystals. In this paper we study the topo...

[Phys. Rev. A 98, 023826] Published Mon Aug 13, 2018

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Bound states in the continuum in whispering gallery resonators

Author(s): M. Ahumada, P. A. Orellana, and J. C. Retamal

We report the formation of bound states in the continuum in a whispering gallery resonator coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide. We find that an incident photon wave packet is partially stored in the bound state in the continuum due to a roughness-induced symmetry breaking. We discuss quantum inte...

[Phys. Rev. A 98, 023827] Published Mon Aug 13, 2018

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Cavity optomechanics with feedback-controlled in-loop light

Author(s): Stefano Zippilli, Nenad Kralj, Massimiliano Rossi, Giovanni Di Giuseppe, and David Vitali

It has recently been shown [Rossi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 123603 (2017); Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 073601 (2018)] that feedback-controlled in-loop light can be used to enhance the efficiency of optomechanical systems. We analyze the theoretical ground at the basis of this approach and explore its...

[Phys. Rev. A 98, 023828] Published Mon Aug 13, 2018

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Synopsis: A Sextet of Entangled Laser Modes

APS Physics - Mon, 2018-08-13 12:00

Researchers have entangled six modes of a laser cavity—a record number for such a device.

[Physics] Published Mon Aug 13, 2018

Categories: Physics

### Experimental distillation of bipartite polarization entanglement using polarizing Mach-Zehnder interferometers

PRA: Quantum information - Mon, 2018-08-13 12:00

Author(s): Chithrabhanu Perumangatt, Tang Zong Sheng, and Alexander Ling

Entanglement distillation is the process of concentrating entanglement from a given quantum state. We present a technique for distillation of bipartite polarization entanglement using interferometry. This technique can be optimized to extract maximal entanglement from any pure or mixed entangled sta...

[Phys. Rev. A 98, 022313] Published Mon Aug 13, 2018

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Error reduction in quantum annealing using boundary cancellation: Only the end matters

PRA: Quantum information - Mon, 2018-08-13 12:00

Author(s): Lorenzo Campos Venuti and Daniel A. Lidar

The adiabatic theorem of quantum mechanics states that the error between an instantaneous eigenstate of a time-dependent Hamiltonian and the state given by quantum evolution of duration τ is upper bounded by C/τ for some positive constant C. It has been known for decades that this error can be reduc...

[Phys. Rev. A 98, 022315] Published Mon Aug 13, 2018

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Reverse annealing for the fully connected $p$-spin model

PRA: Quantum information - Mon, 2018-08-13 12:00

Author(s): Masaki Ohkuwa, Hidetoshi Nishimori, and Daniel A. Lidar

Reverse annealing is a variant of quantum annealing that starts from a given classical configuration of spins (qubits). In contrast to the conventional formulation, where one starts from a uniform superposition of all possible states (classical configurations), quantum fluctuations are first increas...

[Phys. Rev. A 98, 022314] Published Mon Aug 13, 2018

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Environment-assisted analog quantum search

PRA: Quantum information - Mon, 2018-08-13 12:00

Author(s): Leonardo Novo, Shantanav Chakraborty, Masoud Mohseni, and Yasser Omar

Two main obstacles for observing quantum advantage in noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers (NISQ) are the finite-precision effects due to control errors, or disorders, and decoherence effects due to thermal fluctuations. It has been shown that dissipative quantum computation is possible in the...

[Phys. Rev. A 98, 022316] Published Mon Aug 13, 2018

Categories: Journals, Physics

### A Game of Surface Codes: Large-Scale Quantum Computing with Lattice Surgery. (arXiv:1808.02892v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

Given a quantum gate circuit, how does one execute it in a fault-tolerant architecture with as little overhead as possible? This paper is a collection of strategies for surface-code quantum computing on small, intermediate and large scales. They are strategies for space-time trade-offs, going from slow computations using few qubits to fast computations using many qubits. Our schemes are based on surface-code patches, which not only feature a low space cost compared to other surface-code schemes, but are also conceptually simple. They are simple enough that they can be described as a tile-based game with a small set of rules. Therefore, no knowledge of quantum error correction is necessary to understand the schemes in this paper, but only the concepts of qubits and measurements. Assuming a code cycle time of 1 $\mu$s and a physical error rate of $10^{-4}$, a 100-qubit computation with a $T$ count of $10^8$ and a $T$ depth of $10^6$ can be executed in 4 hours using 55,000 qubits, in 22 minutes using 120,000 qubits, or in 1 second using 330,000,000 qubits.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Quantum generative adversarial learning in a superconducting quantum circuit. (arXiv:1808.02893v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

Generative adversarial learning is one of the most exciting recent breakthroughs in machine learning---a subfield of artificial intelligence that is currently driving a revolution in many aspects of modern society. It has shown splendid performance in a variety of challenging tasks such as image and video generations. More recently, a quantum version of generative adversarial learning has been theoretically proposed and shown to possess the potential of exhibiting an exponential advantage over its classical counterpart. Here, we report the first proof-of-principle experimental demonstration of quantum generative adversarial learning in a superconducting quantum circuit. We demonstrate that, after several rounds of adversarial learning, a quantum state generator can be trained to replicate the statistics of the quantum data output from a digital qubit channel simulator, with a high fidelity ($98.8\%$ on average) that the discriminator cannot distinguish between the true and the generated data. Our results pave the way for experimentally exploring the intriguing long-sought-after quantum advantages in machine learning tasks with noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Effective Field Theory for Chaotic CFTs. (arXiv:1808.02898v1 [hep-th])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

We derive an effective field theory for general chaotic two-dimensional conformal field theories with a large central charge. The theory is a specific and calculable instance of a more general framework recently proposed in [1]. We discuss the gauge symmetries of the model and how they relate to the Lyapunov behaviour of certain correlators. We calculate the out-of-time-ordered correlators diagnosing quantum chaos, as well as certain more fine-grained higher-point generalizations, using our Lorentzian effective field theory. We comment on potential future applications of the effective theory to real-time thermal physics and conformal field theory.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Repeat-Until-Success circuits with fixed-point oblivious amplitude amplification. (arXiv:1808.02900v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

Certain quantum operations can be built more efficiently through a procedure known as Repeat-Until-Success. Differently from other non-deterministic quantum operations, this procedure provides a classical flag which certifies the success or failure of the procedure and, in the latter case, a recovery step allows the restoration of the quantum state to its original condition. The procedure can then be repeated until success is achieved. After success is certified, the RUS procedure can be equated to a coherent gate. However, this is not the case when the operation needs to be conditioned on the state of other qubits, possibly being in a superposition state. In this situation, the final operation depends on the failure and success history and introduces a "distortion" that, even after the final success, depends on the past outcomes. We quantify the distortion and show that it can be reduced by increasing the probability of success towards unity. While this can be achieved via oblivious amplitude amplification when the initial success probability is known, we propose the use of fixed-point oblivious amplitude amplification to reduce this unwanted distortions below any given threshold even without knowing the initial success probability.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Analog Quantum Simulation of Extremely Sub-Ohmic Spin-Boson Models. (arXiv:1808.02916v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

We propose a scheme for the quantum simulation of sub-Ohmic spin--boson models by color centers in free-standing hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) membranes. The electronic spin of a color center that couples to the membrane vibrational spectrum constitute the physical model. The spin-motion coupling is provided by an external magnetic field gradient. In this study, we show that a class of spectral densities can be attained by engineering geometry and boundary conditions of the h-BN resonator. We then put our focus on two extreme cases, i.e. $1/f$- and white-noise spectral densities. Spin coherence and polarization dynamics are studied. Our calculations show coherence revivals at periods set by the bath characteristic frequency signaling the non-Markovian nature of the baths. The nonequilibrium dynamics of the spin polarization exhibits a coherent localization, a property peculiar to the quantum phase transition in extremely sub-Ohmic spin-boson models. Our scheme may find application in understanding sources of decoherence in solid-state quantum bits.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Probing light forces on cold atoms by noise correlation spectroscopy. (arXiv:1808.02918v1 [physics.atom-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

Enhanced sensitivity in electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) can be obtained by the use of noise correlation spectroscopy between the fields involved in the process. Here, we investigate EIT in a cold ($< 1$ mK) rubidium vapor and demonstrate sensitivity to detect weak light-induced forces on the atoms. A theoretical model is developed and shows good agreement with our measurements, enabling the attribution of the observed effects to the coupling of the atomic states to their motion. The effects remain unnoticed on the measurement of the mean fields but are clearly manifest in their correlations.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Optical control over bulk excitations in fractional quantum Hall systems. (arXiv:1808.02964v1 [cond-mat.str-el])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

Local excitations in fractional quantum Hall systems are amongst the most intriguing objects in condensed matter, as they behave like particles of fractional charge and fractional statistics. In order to experimentally reveal these exotic properties and further to use such excitations for quantum computations, microscopic control over the excitations is necessary. Here we discuss different optical strategies to achieve such control. First, we propose that the application of a light field with non-zero orbital angular momentum can pump orbital angular momenta to electrons in a quantum Hall droplet. In analogy to Laughlin's argument, we show that this field can generate a quasihole or a quasielectron in such systems. Second, we consider an optical potential that can trap a quasihole, by repelling electrons from the region of the light beam. We simulate a moving optical field, which is able to control the position of the quasihole. This allows for imprinting the characteristic Berry phase which reflects the fractional charge of the quasihole.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Violating Bell's inequality with remotely-connected superconducting qubits. (arXiv:1808.03000v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

Quantum communication relies on the efficient generation of entanglement between remote quantum nodes, due to entanglement's key role in achieving and verifying secure communications. Remote entanglement has been realized using a number of different probabilistic schemes, but deterministic remote entanglement has only recently been demonstrated, using a variety of superconducting circuit approaches. However, the deterministic violation of a Bell inequality, a strong measure of quantum correlation, has not to date been demonstrated in a superconducting quantum communication architecture, in part because achieving sufficiently strong correlation requires fast and accurate control of the emission and capture of the entangling photons. Here we present a simple and scalable architecture for achieving this benchmark result in a superconducting system.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### On-Demand Generation of Traveling Cat States Using a Parametric Oscillator. (arXiv:1808.03003v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

We theoretically propose a method for on-demand generation of traveling Schr\"odinger cat states, namely, quantum superpositions of distinct coherent states of traveling fields. This method is based on deterministic generation of intracavity cat states using a Kerr-nonlinear parametric oscillator (KPO) via quantum adiabatic evolution. We show that the cat states generated inside a KPO can be released into an output mode by controlling the parametric pump amplitude dynamically. We further show that the quality of the traveling cat states can be improved by using a shortcut-to-adiabaticity technique.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Experimentally identifying the entanglement class of pure tripartite states. (arXiv:1808.03040v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

We use concurrence as an entanglement measure and experimentally demonstrate the entanglement classification of arbitrary three-qubit pure states on a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum information processor. Computing the concurrence experimentally under three different bipartitions, for an arbitrary three-qubit pure state, reveals the entanglement class of the state. The experiment involves measuring the expectation values of Pauli operators. This was achieved by mapping the desired expectation values onto the local $z$ magnetization of a single qubit. We tested the entanglement classification protocol on twenty seven different generic states and successfully detected their entanglement class. Full quantum state tomography was performed to construct experimental tomographs of each state and negativity was calculated from them, to validate the experimental results.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Efficiently decoding the 3D toric codes and welded codes on cubic lattices. (arXiv:1808.03092v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2018-08-10 14:45

The recent years have seen a growing interest in quantum codes in three dimensions (3D). One of the earliest proposed 3D quantum codes is the 3D toric code. It has been shown that 3D color codes can be mapped to 3D toric codes. The 3D toric code on cubic lattice is also a building block for the welded code which has highest energy barrier to date. Although well known, the performance of the 3D toric code has not been studied extensively. In this paper, we propose efficient decoding algorithms for the 3D toric code on a cubic lattice with and without boundaries and report their performance for various quantum channels. We observe a threshold of $\gtrsim 12\%$ for the bit flip errors, $\approx 3\%$ for phase flip errors and $24.8\%$ for erasure channel. We also study the performance of the welded 3D toric code on the quantum erasure channel. We did not observe a threshold for the welded code over the erasure channel.

Categories: Journals, Physics