QUIE2T Quantum Information Entanglement-Enabled Technologies

Coordinator  AMBAINIS Andris Tel: +371-67034517 Fax: +371-67034376 Email: ambainis [at] lu [dot] lv	Organisation UNIVERSITY OF LATVIA FACULTY OF COMPUTING Rainis Boulevard 19 RIGA LV-1586 LATVIA
Website: http://www.lu.lv/qcs/ Fact sheet: Available on CORDIS

The QCS project aims to study computer science aspects of Quantum Information Science, with an ultimate goal of designing new quantum algorithms and quantum communication protocols.

Our goals include new methods for building quantum algorithms (e.g., by harnessing quantum walks) and understanding the general structure of quantum algorithms (e.g., the interplay between their quantum and classical components). In quantum communication, we will integrate the computer science and physics perspectives, with implications for a variety of models: quantum games, communication complexity, interactive proofs and cryptographic protocols.

Coordinator  MORIGI, Giovanna Tel: +49 (0)681 302 57472 Fax: - Email: giovanna [dot] morigi [at] physik [dot] uni-saarland [dot] de	Organisation Universität des Saarlandes Campus 66123 Saarbrücken Germany
Website: http://qphys.uni-saarland.de/index.php/picc Fact sheet: Available on CORDIS

In the quest for the realization of quantum information processors, trapped ions occupy a prominent position. The challenge of realizing large-scale processors and quantum simulators based on ions will, however, require that one deals with more complex structures, which may include mesoscopic ordered ion ensembles, i.e., ion Coulomb crystals. In this regime, it is expected that the effect of noise will grow in importance and the control techniques, which have been so successfully applied to small numbers of ions, will be inefficient. This raises the timely issue of identifying novel and efficient strategies for controlling the quantum dynamics and manipulating the quantum state of ion Coulomb crystals

The PICC proposal represents a joint theoretical and experimental effort whose aims are (i) to identify tools for controlling ion crystals as their size is scaled up, (ii) to develop strategies for implementing controlled quantum dynamics of mesoscopic ion Coulomb crystals in a noisy environment and (iii) to explore the capability of ion Coulomb crystals as quantum simulators. The long-term vision underlying this proposal is to engineer quantum correlations and entanglement in ion Coulomb crystals in order to exploit them for technological purposes of different kinds.

It is expected that this effort will pave the way for what could be the realization of the first specific-purpose, large scale quantum processors, complementing existing efforts with the alternative system of neutral atoms in optical lattices.

Coordinator  GISIN, Nicolas Tel: +41 22 379 65 97 Fax: +41 22 379 39 80 Email: nicolas [dot] gisin [at] unige [dot] ch	Organisation Universite de Geneve Rue du General Dufour, 24 1211, GENEVE Switzerland
Website: http://quantumrepeaters.eu/ Fact sheet: Available on CORDIS

The goal of QuRep is to develop a Quantum Repeater - the elementary building block required to overcome current distance limitations for long-distance quantum communication. Quantum Repeaters are the analogue of classical optical amplifiers that permit the cascading of successive fibre optic communication links. Quantum Repeater technology is centred around quantum light-matter interactions at the quantum level in ensembles of rare earth ions frozen in a crystal that store quantum information by coherent control of the quantum degrees of freedom. A clear and well-defined architecture and protocol for a complete Quantum Repeater can be realised with entangled photon pair sources that couple the Quantum memories to fibre optic communication systems.

By building on these recent spectacular achievements, the present project aims at carrying out exploratory research on mesoscopic CV he proof of principle has been shown for all aspects of this approach and QuRep now aims to bridge the gap between fundamental research and industrial projects. The main technological result of the QuRep project will be a quantum repeater. The outcome of the QuREP project will serve as the basis for an industrial initiative, developing the first quantum repeater products. Considering the state of the art, potential difficulties and the chosen development approach, it is reasonable to assume that this technology could be translated into products in the next 10 years with spin-off technologies emerging in the interim period.

We bring together the leading European groups in quantum communication, quantum memories, photonic sources and rare-earth-ion spectroscopy and materials as well as a leading quantum communication technology SME to move what has been fundamental research towards commercial feasibility. There are already niche markets for quantum repeaters, should they exist, and the market is expected to grow significantly in the next 10 years.

Coordinator  VERSTRAETE, Frank Tel: +43 (01) 4277 51219 Fax: +43 (01) 4277 9725 Email: frank [dot] verstraete [at] univie [dot] ac [dot] at	Organisation Universitaet Wien Karl Lueger-Ring 1 1010 WIEN Austria
Website: NA Fact sheet: Available on CORDIS

Due to the ongoing miniaturization of devices, one of the central challenges of the 21st century's technology will be to handle quantum effects at the nanoscale. A first fundamental paradigm shift happened in the mid '90s when it was realized that quantum effects, which from the traditional point of view put fundamental limits on the possible miniaturization, could be exploited to do information theoretic tasks impossible with classical devices. The main obstacle in building such quantum devices however is the occurrence of decoherence, by which coherence within the quantum device gets degraded due to the coupling with the environment.

In this proposal, we propose a second paradigm shift by demonstrating that one can actually take advantage of decoherence if engineered in a smart way. The central focus will be the study of quantum processes driven by dissipation, and we will investigate whether quantum coherence and the associated applications can actually be driven by decoherence. The main tools that we plan to use to achieve that goal originate from the theory of quantum entanglement. The timing of this innovative project is actually perfect as the field of entanglement theory is just mature enough to pursue the ambitious goals stated in this proposal.

The main objectives of this proposal are

• To set up a rigorous mathematical framework for studying fixed points and convergence rates of dissipative processes;
• To investigate how highly entangled quantum states arising in strongly correlated quantum systems or in a quantum information theoretic context can be created by dissipative processes;
• To study quantum devices powered by dissipation such as quantum memories and quantum Metropolis devices;
• To use such devices to come up with novel ways for implementing quantum computation in the presence of decoherence;
• To study non-equilibrium phase transitions driven by dissipation and associated to that new possible phases of matter.

   

Coordinator  THOMPSON, Mark Tel: +44 (0)117 954 5391 Fax: +44 (0)117 954 5206 Email: Mark [dot] Thompson [at] bristol [dot] ac [dot] uk	Organisation University of Bristol Senate House, Tyndall Avenue BRISTOL United Kingdom
Website: NA Fact sheet: Available on CORDIS

Quantum information science (QIS) is a pioneering field of research at the interface of physics and information science. By harnessing the unique properties of quantum mechanics to encode, transmit and process information, QIS offers significant opportunities to revolutionise information and communication technologies.

Of the various physical systems currently investigated, single particles of light (photons) are destined to take a central role due to their inherent low noise, ease of manipulation at the single photon level and light-speed transmission. However, most proof-of-principle demonstrations have relied on bulky optical components, and are limited in terms of stability, size, scalability and complexity. Here, we propose a paradigm shift in the approach to optical QIS, which would overcome these limitations by developing a novel "integrated quantum photonic technology platform". Fully integrated quantum photonic devices for advanced QIS experiments, will allow unprecedented complexity and stability and enable new scientific development in the field of quantum optics.

The main aim of this project is to develop the tools, components and concepts that will enable progress towards large-scale, integrated quantum photonic circuits for the development of advanced quantum systems for the purposes of quantum communications, information processing and metrology. A range of discrete integrated quantum photonic components will be developed and then integrated to form proof-of-principle demonstrators of fully-integrated prototypes, where all major components are integrated onto a single chip.

To ensure the success of this project the consortium has gathered the complementary expertise of world experts in integrated linear and non-linear optics, solid-state single-photon sources, single-photon detectors and photonic QIS. This project will establish a new major research direction in Europe for the development of QIS using the integrated quantum photonic platform.

Coordinator  ARIMONDO, Ennio Tel: +39-050-2214-292 Fax: +39-050-2214-333 Email:ennio [dot] arimondo [at] df [dot] unipi [dot] it	Organisation Institut für Theorie der Kondensierten Materie Karlsruher Institut für Technologie D-76128 Karlsruhe Germany
Website: NA Fact sheet: Available on CORDIS

The Project investigates ultra-cold atom/molecule quantum matter technology for quantum information computational tasks. Our efforts concentrate on atoms/molecules confined in periodic nanostructures, either externally imposed by optical lattices, or self-generated by atomic/molecular interactions. Parallel quantum processing in periodic nanostructures is expected to lead to significant advances in different areas of quantum information. The Project aims at developing novel techniques for quantum engineering and quantum control of ultra-cold atoms and molecules confined in the periodic nanostructures. An innovative aspect is the development of appropriate tools for achieving quantum control of strongly correlated many body systems at the nanoscale by exploiting moderate- and long-range quantum mechanical interactions. Strongly correlated interacting systems offer a level of computational power that cannot be reached with traditional qubits based on spin, or hyperfine atomic states. Moderate and long, range interactions will be exploited in few body quantum systems in order to produce fast quantum gates using novel robust qubit and/or qudit concepts and using quantum states with topological order, all of them highly relevant for next generation quantum information implementations.

The objectives rely on the nano-design of atomic/molecular quantum matter at the mesoscopic scale of few-body systems. Generation and detection of multiparticle quantum entanglement, robustness of non-traditional qubits, quantum memories characterise our investigation. The Project will implement new quantum information technologies by achieving the following breakthroughs: characterizing long range interacting systems for optimal quantum information; realizing individual manipulation integrated in proper algorithms; designing new protected qubits or quantum information processors based on long range interactions; developing techniques for topological quantum computation; creating multi-partimulti-particle entanglement for quantum simulation investigations. At the present stage of the quantum information development our objectives are unique for the optical lattice quantum matter technology. As far as the visionary aspects are concerned, the technological and conceptual advances resulting from the planned investigations on multi-particle entanglement, topological structures and nano-optical engineering may lead to the identification of new directions and alternative approaches towards scalable and miniaturisable quantum information processing.

Coordinator  SHNIRMAN, Alexander Tel: +49-721-6084-7005 Mob: +49-1520-1600914 Fax: +49-721-6084-7779 Email: alexander [dot] shnirman [at] kit [dot] edu	Organisation Institut für Theorie der Kondensierten Materie Karlsruher Institut für Technologie D-76128 Karlsruhe Germany
Website: http://www.tkm.kit.edu/geomdiss/ Fact sheet: Available on CORDIS

The aim of this project is to investigate how dissipation influences the geometric phases and geometric pumping in quantum solid-state devices and to assess the role of geometric manipulations in future ICT applications. Since all realistic solid-state devices suffer from dissipation due to their coupling to uncontrolled environment with many degrees of freedom it is crucial to understand how the geometric effects are modified and whether they are still useful.

Coordinator  PALERMO, Roberto Tel: +39-011-6603090 Fax: +39-011-6600049 Email: projects [at] isi [dot] it	Organisation Fondazione Istituto per l'Interscambio Scientifico (I.S.I) Viale Settimio Severo 65 10133 TORINO Italy
Website: http://coquit.isi.it/COQUITWiki Fact sheet: Available on CORDIS

The purpose of this project is to study quantum systems which allow only a partial control by a constrained set of quantum operations. Typical examples are many particle quantum systems like cold atoms in optical lattices or other multi-atom ensembles, which can be manipulated collectively but not individually (e.g. because the spatial resolution of the used devices is not good enough to address single particles). Such restrictions are currently one of the biggest obstacles against working quantum computers.

Instead of improving the corresponding experimental methods (i.e. searching for better implementations) this project aims at a systematic study of the tasks which can be performed with currently available techniques. To this end we want to develop theoretical models which can on the one hand reflect the limitations of current experimental setups, but are on the other hand powerful enough to allow non-trivial practical applications. This point of view is new and complementary to most other research in quantum information science, where complete control over a small number of particles is assumed. Based on these models we plan in a second step to produce strategies for the generation of devices which are - at least for a very special task - more powerful than classical computers, and at the same time easily implementable.

Possible applications of this procedure are simulations of other quantum systems, like models for ferromagnetic materials with long range quantum correlations or lattice approximations of quantum field theories, which can not be treated efficiently on classical computers (i.e. the computation time grows exponentially with the system size). The advantage of our approach over other research which directly tries to implement universal quantum computers is a much greater success probability (at least short- or mid-term).

Coordinator  HAVILAND, David Tel: +46-8-5537 81387 Fax: Email: haviland [at] kth [dot] se	Organisation Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) - Albanov University Center Roslagstullsbacken 21 SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweeden
Website: http://www.nanophys.kth.se/nanophys/collaborations/SCOPE Fact sheet: Available on CORDIS

The quantum physics of superconducting circuits will be applied in new ways to realize circuits where the single charge quantum plays the dual role of the flux quantum in classical Josephson junction circuits. Building on the recent advances in superconducting quantum bit circuits, we will theoretically model, design, fabricate and measure a specific set of circuits which probe the little-explored regime of equally strong Josephson and charging energies, yet well isolated from dissipation so as to achieve strong quantum behaviour of the phase or charge.

SCOPE objectives are:

• To realize frequency to current conversion at larger currents than presently achieved and in a way which is immune to fluctuations;
• To investigate new types of quantum-limited measurement schemes which exploit nonlinearities arising from quantum inductive and quantum capacitive effects;
• To understand and apply the nonlinear dynamics of quasi-charge and charge solitons for oscillators and current sources with unique characteristics.

The 36 month project will contribute to the long term development of quantum ICT, where impact on such areas as ultra low noise microwave signal amplification, qubit measurement and manipulation, and quantum metrology is expected.

Coordinator  AFFRONTE, Marco Tel: +39-059-205-5327 Fax: +39-059-205-5651 Email: marco [dot] affronte [at] unimore [dot] it	Organisation CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE (CNR-INFM) Corso F. M. Perrone 24 Casella Postale 1615 Genova Italy
Website: http://www.molspinqip.org Fact sheet: Available on CORDIS

Molecular spin clusters are prototypical systems exhibiting coherent dynamics of the electronic spin. The pattern of the lowest lying spin states is well defined and controlled at the synthetic level. The chemical bottom up approach used for the synthesis of molecules also allows to reduce intrinsic sources of decoherence and to build links between clusters, thus creating entanglement of spin states. Molecular spin clusters can be deposited at surfaces forming scalable networks. Different molecules and ligands may be combined to exploit different functionalities, the latter being defined at molecular level. These facts provide extraordinary motivation to attempt manipulation of spins and qubit encoding in these nanometer-sized molecular processors that, in turns, can be taken as test bench for the development of novel quantum algorithms.

With MolSpinQIP we intend to prove the validity of molecular spin clusters as building blocks for scalable quantum-information architectures. The project will therefore focus on the engineering of new molecules, the design of suitable computational schemes and further experiments aiming at provide compelling evidences on the manipulation of molecular spins. To achieve its goals, MolSpinQIP brings together seven academic world-leading teams from five European countries, chosen because of their high scientific quality and track record of successful collaboration. The competencies of the team range from chemistry to experimental and theoretical physics.

The goal of implementing quantum information processes is certainly ambitious but molecular spin clusters have a great potential both as a self-standing quantum device and as components of hybrid architectures. We also expect important fall out in testing novel synthetic routes to fabricate molecular processors/registers and in the realization of novel detectors that will certainly lead to significant progress in probing vanishingly small magnetic registers.