QuTiP 2: A Python framework for the dynamics of open quantum systems

We present version 2 of QuTiP, the Quantum Toolbox in Python. Compared to the preceding version [Comput. Phys. Comm. 183 (2012) 1760], we have introduced numerous new features, enhanced performance, made changes in the Application Programming Interface (API) for improved functionality and consistency within the package, as well as increased compatibility with existing conventions used in other scientific software packages for Python. The most significant new features include efficient solvers for arbitrary time-dependent Hamiltonians and collapse operators, support for the Floquet formalism, and new solvers for Bloch-Redfield and Floquet-Markov master equations. Here we introduce these new features, demonstrate their use, and give a summary of the important backward-incompatible API changes introduced in this version.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Josephson parametric phase-locked oscillator and its application to dispersive readout of superconducting qubits

The parametric phase-locked oscillator (PPLO), also known as a parametron, is a resonant circuit in which one of the reactances is periodically modulated. It can detect, amplify, and store binary digital signals in the form of two distinct phases of self-oscillation. Indeed, digital computers using PPLOs based on a magnetic ferrite ring or a varactor diode as its fundamental logic element were successfully operated in 1950s and 1960s. More recently, basic bit operations have been demonstrated in an electromechanical resonator, and an Ising machine based on optical PPLOs has been proposed. Here, using a PPLO realized with Josephson-junction circuitry, we demonstrate the demodulation of a microwave signal digitally modulated by binary phase-shift keying. Moreover, we apply this demodulation capability to the dispersive readout of a superconducting qubit. This readout scheme enables a fast and latching-type readout, yet requires only a small number of readout photons in the resonator to which the qubit is coupled, thus featuring the combined advantages of several disparate schemes. We have achieved high-fidelity, single-shot, and non-destructive qubit readout with Rabi-oscillation contrast exceeding 90%, limited primarily by the qubit's energy relaxation.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, including supplementary materia

Engineering the quantum states of light in a Kerr-nonlinear resonator by two-photon driving

Cat states of the microwave field stored in high-Q resonators show great promise for robust encoding and manipulation of quantum information. Here we propose an approach to efficiently prepare such cat states in a Kerr-nonlinear resonator by the use of a two-photon drive. We show that this preparation is robust against single-photon loss. We moreover find that it is possible to remove undesirable phase evolution induced by a Kerr nonlinearity using a two-photon drive of appropriate amplitude and phase. Finally, we present a universal set of quantum logical gates that can be performed on the engineered eigenspace of the two-photon driven Kerr-nonlinear resonator

β\beta-Variational Autoencoder as an Entanglement Classifier

We focus on using an architecture similar to the $\beta$-Variational Autoencoder ($\beta$-VAE) to discriminate if a quantum state is entangled or separable based on measurements. We split the data into two sets, the set of local and correlated measurements. Using the latent space, which is a low dimensional representation of the data, we show that restricting ourselves to the set of local data it is not possible to distinguish between entangled and separable states. Meanwhile, when considering both correlated and local measurements, an accuracy of over 80% is attained in the structure of the latent space.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Adiabatic Quantum Computing for Binary Clustering

Quantum computing for machine learning attracts increasing attention and recent technological developments suggest that especially adiabatic quantum computing may soon be of practical interest. In this paper, we therefore consider this paradigm and discuss how to adopt it to the problem of binary clustering. Numerical simulations demonstrate the feasibility of our approach and illustrate how systems of qubits adiabatically evolve towards a solution

High-density quantum sensing with dissipative first order transitions

The sensing of external fields using quantum systems is a prime example of an emergent quantum technology. Generically, the sensitivity of a quantum sensor consisting of $N$ independent particles is proportional to $\sqrt{N}$. However, interactions invariably occuring at high densities lead to a breakdown of the assumption of independence between the particles, posing a severe challenge for quantum sensors operating at the nanoscale. Here, we show that interactions in quantum sensors can be transformed from a nuisance into an advantage when strong interactions trigger a dissipative phase transition in an open quantum system. We demonstrate this behavior by analyzing dissipative quantum sensors based upon nitrogen-vacancy defect centers in diamond. Using both a variational method and numerical simulation of the master equation describing the open quantum many-body system, we establish the existence of a dissipative first order transition that can be used for quantum sensing. We investigate the properties of this phase transition for two- and three-dimensional setups, demonstrating that the transition can be observed using current experimental technology. Finally, we show that quantum sensors based on dissipative phase transitions are particularly robust against imperfections such as disorder or decoherence, with the sensitivity of the sensor not being limited by the $T_2$ coherence time of the device. Our results can readily be applied to other applications in quantum sensing and quantum metrology where interactions are currently a limiting factor.Comment: 6+3 pages, 6+3 figure

Magic trapping of a Rydberg ion with a diminished static polarizability

Highly excited Rydberg states are usually extremely polarizable and exceedingly sensitive to electric fields. Because of this Rydberg ions confined in electric fields have state-dependent trapping potentials. We engineer a Rydberg state that is insensitive to electric fields by coupling two Rydberg states with static polarizabilities of opposite sign, in this way we achieve state-independent magic trapping. We show that the magically-trapped ion can be coherently excited to the Rydberg state without the need for control of the ion's motion.Comment: 4 pages and 4 figures in main body, 6 pages and 5 figures in tota

Electromagnetically induced transparency in circuit QED with nested polariton states

Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is a signature of quantum interference in an atomic three-level system. By driving the dressed cavity-qubit states of a two-dimensional circuit QED system, we generate a set of polariton states in the nesting regime. The lowest three energy levels are utilized to form the $\Lambda$-type system. EIT is observed and verified by Akaike's information criterion based testing. Negative group velocities up to $-0.52\pm0.09$ km/s are obtained based on the dispersion relation in the EIT transmission spectrum.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Reflective amplification without population inversion from a strongly driven superconducting qubit

Amplification of optical or microwave fields is often achieved by strongly driving a medium to induce population inversion such that a weak probe can be amplified through stimulated emission. Here we strongly couple a superconducting qubit, an artificial atom, to the field in a semi-infinite waveguide. When driving the qubit strongly on resonance such that a Mollow triplet appears, we observe a 7\% amplitude gain for a weak probe at frequencies in-between the triplet. This amplification is not due to population inversion, neither in the bare qubit basis nor in the dressed-state basis, but instead results from a four-photon process that converts energy from the strong drive to the weak probe. We find excellent agreement between the experimental results and numerical simulations without any free fitting parameters. The device demonstrated here may have applications in quantum information processing and quantum-limited measurements

Proposal for a quantum delayed-choice experiment with a spin-mechanical setup

We describe an experimentally feasible protocol for performing a variant of the quantum delayed-choice experiment with massive objects. In this scheme, a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond driven by microwave fields is dispersively coupled to a massive mechanical resonator. A double-pulse Ramsey interferometer can be implemented with the spin-mechanical setup, where the second Ramsey microwave pulse drives the spin conditioned on the number states of the resonator. The probability for finding the NV center in definite spin states exhibits interference fringes when the mechanical resonator is prepared in a specific number state. On the other hand, the interference is destroyed if the mechanical resonator stays in some other number states. The wavelike and particlelike behavior of the NV spin can be superposed by preparing the mechanical resonator in a superposition of two distinct number states. Thus a quantum version of Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment could be implemented, allowing of fundamental tests of quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale.Comment: To be published in Phys.Rev.