Qubit

About: Qubit is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 29978 publications have been published within this topic receiving 723084 citations. The topic is also known as: quantum bit & qbit.

Overcoming the rate-distance limit of quantum key distribution without quantum repeaters.

Abstract: Quantum key distribution (QKD)1,2 allows two distant parties to share encryption keys with security based on physical laws. Experimentally, QKD has been implemented via optical means, achieving key rates of 1.26 megabits per second over 50 kilometres of standard optical fibre3 and of 1.16 bits per hour over 404 kilometres of ultralow-loss fibre in a measurement-device-independent configuration4. Increasing the bit rate and range of QKD is a formidable, but important, challenge. A related target, which is currently considered to be unfeasible without quantum repeaters5–7, is overcoming the fundamental rate–distance limit of QKD8. This limit defines the maximum possible secret key rate that two parties can distil at a given distance using QKD and is quantified by the secret-key capacity of the quantum channel9 that connects the parties. Here we introduce an alternative scheme for QKD whereby pairs of phase-randomized optical fields are first generated at two distant locations and then combined at a central measuring station. Fields imparted with the same random phase are ‘twins’ and can be used to distil a quantum key. The key rate of this twin-field QKD exhibits the same dependence on distance as does a quantum repeater, scaling with the square-root of the channel transmittance, irrespective of who (malicious or otherwise) is in control of the measuring station. However, unlike schemes that involve quantum repeaters, ours is feasible with current technology and presents manageable levels of noise even on 550 kilometres of standard optical fibre. This scheme is a promising step towards overcoming the rate–distance limit of QKD and greatly extending the range of secure quantum communications. Twin optical fields enable a form of quantum key distribution that can exceed the secret-key capacity without using quantum repeaters and that has security independent of the measuring devices.

Resolving photon number states in a superconducting circuit

Abstract: Electromagnetic signals are always composed of photons, although in the circuit domain those signals are carried as voltages and currents on wires, and the discreteness of the photon's energy is usually not evident. However, by coupling a superconducting quantum bit (qubit) to signals on a microwave transmission line, it is possible to construct an integrated circuit in which the presence or absence of even a single photon can have a dramatic effect. Such a system can be described by circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED)-the circuit equivalent of cavity QED, where photons interact with atoms or quantum dots. Previously, circuit QED devices were shown to reach the resonant strong coupling regime, where a single qubit could absorb and re-emit a single photon many times. Here we report a circuit QED experiment in the strong dispersive limit, a new regime where a single photon has a large effect on the qubit without ever being absorbed. The hallmark of this strong dispersive regime is that the qubit transition energy can be resolved into a separate spectral line for each photon number state of the microwave field. The strength of each line is a measure of the probability of finding the corresponding photon number in the cavity. This effect is used to distinguish between coherent and thermal fields, and could be used to create a photon statistics analyser. As no photons are absorbed by this process, it should be possible to generate non-classical states of light by measurement and perform qubit-photon conditional logic, the basis of a logic bus for a quantum computer.

Quantum Error Correction and Orthogonal Geometry

Abstract: A group theoretic framework is introduced that simplifies the description of known quantum error-correcting codes and greatly facilitates the construction of new examples. Codes are given which map 3 qubits to 8 qubits correcting 1 error, 4 to 10 qubits correcting 1 error, 1 to 13 qubits correcting 2 errors, and 1 to 29 qubits correcting 5 errors.

Cavity-based quantum networks with single atoms and optical photons

Abstract: A vision has formed in recent years of the components necessary for a large-scale quantum network. Single trapped atoms can serve as the nodes of this network, with the links established by flying photons that are coupled to the atoms using optical resonators. This review describes progress towards the goal of multinode networks using the current generation of experiments, which have achieved unprecedented levels of atomic qubit control and light-matter coupling efficiencies.

Decoherence in Josephson qubits from dielectric loss.

Abstract: Dielectric loss from two-level states is shown to be a dominant decoherence source in superconducting quantum bits. Depending on the qubit design, dielectric loss from insulating materials or the tunnel junction can lead to short coherence times. We show that a variety of microwave and qubit measurements are well modeled by loss from resonant absorption of two-level defects. Our results demonstrate that this loss can be significantly reduced by using better dielectrics and fabricating junctions of small area & 10 � m 2 . With a redesigned phase qubit employing low-loss dielectrics, the energy relaxation rate has been improved by a factor of 20, opening up the possibility of multiqubit gates and algorithms.