Symmetric Operation of the Resonant Exchange Qubit

We operate a resonant exchange qubit in a highly symmetric triple-dot configuration using IQ-modulated RF pulses. At the resulting three-dimensional sweet spot the qubit splitting is an order of magnitude less sensitive to all relevant control voltages, compared to the conventional operating point, but we observe no significant improvement in the quality of Rabi oscillations. For weak driving this is consistent with Overhauser field fluctuations modulating the qubit splitting. For strong driving we infer that effective voltage noise modulates the coupling strength between RF drive and the qubit, thereby quickening Rabi decay. Application of CPMG dynamical decoupling sequences consisting of up to n = 32 {\pi} pulses significantly prolongs qubit coherence, leading to marginally longer dephasing times in the symmetric configuration. This is consistent with dynamical decoupling from low frequency noise, but quantitatively cannot be explained by effective gate voltage noise and Overhauser field fluctuations alone. Our results inform recent strategies for the utilization of partial sweet spots in the operation and long-distance coupling of triple-dot qubits.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Negative spin exchange in a multielectron quantum dot

By operating a one-electron quantum dot (fabricated between a multielectron dot and a one-electron reference dot) as a spectroscopic probe, we study the spin properties of a gate-controlled multielectron GaAs quantum dot at the transition between odd and even occupation number. We observe that the multielectron groundstate transitions from spin-1/2-like to singlet-like to triplet-like as we increase the detuning towards the next higher charge state. The sign reversal in the inferred exchange energy persists at zero magnetic field, and the exchange strength is tunable by gate voltages and in-plane magnetic fields. Complementing spin leakage spectroscopy data, the inspection of coherent multielectron spin exchange oscillations provides further evidence for the sign reversal and, inferentially, for the importance of non-trivial multielectron spin exchange correlations.Comment: 8 pages, including 4 main figures and 2 supplementary figurure

Noise suppression using symmetric exchange gates in spin qubits

We demonstrate a substantial improvement in the spin-exchange gate using symmetric control instead of conventional detuning in GaAs spin qubits, up to a factor-of-six increase in the quality factor of the gate. For symmetric operation, nanosecond voltage pulses are applied to the barrier that controls the interdot potential between quantum dots, modulating the exchange interaction while maintaining symmetry between the dots. Excellent agreement is found with a model that separately includes electrical and nuclear noise sources for both detuning and symmetric gating schemes. Unlike exchange control via detuning, the decoherence of symmetric exchange rotations is dominated by rotation-axis fluctuations due to nuclear field noise rather than direct exchange noise.Comment: 5 pages main text (4 figures) plus 5 pages supplemental information (3 figures

Spectrum of the Nuclear Environment for GaAs Spin Qubits

Using a singlet-triplet spin qubit as a sensitive spectrometer of the GaAs nuclear spin bath, we demonstrate that the spectrum of Overhauser noise agrees with a classical spin diffusion model over six orders of magnitude in frequency, from 1 mHz to 1 kHz, is flat below 10 mHz, and falls as $1/f^2$ for frequency $f \! \gtrsim \! 1$ Hz. Increasing the applied magnetic field from 0.1 T to 0.75 T suppresses electron-mediated spin diffusion, which decreases spectral content in the $1/f^2$ region and lowers the saturation frequency, each by an order of magnitude, consistent with a numerical model. Spectral content at megahertz frequencies is accessed using dynamical decoupling, which shows a crossover from the few-pulse regime ($\lesssim \! 16$ $\pi$-pulses), where transverse Overhauser fluctuations dominate dephasing, to the many-pulse regime ($\gtrsim \! 32$ $\pi$-pulses), where longitudinal Overhauser fluctuations with a $1/f$ spectrum dominate.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 8 pages of supplementary material, 5 supplementary figure

Rescattering and chiral dynamics in B\to \rho\pi decay

We examine the role of B^0(\bar B^0) \to \sigma \pi^0 \to \pi^+\pi^- \pi^0 decay in the Dalitz plot analysis of B^0 (\bar B^0) \to \rho\pi \to \pi^+\pi^-\pi^0 decays, employed to extract the CKM parameter \alpha. The \sigma \pi channel is significant because it can break the relationship between the penguin contributions in B\to\rho^0\pi^0, B\to\rho^+\pi^-, and B\to\rho^-\pi^+ decays consequent to an assumption of isospin symmetry. Its presence thus mimics the effect of isospin violation. The \sigma\pi^0 state is of definite CP, however; we demonstrate that the B\to\rho\pi analysis can be generalized to include this channel without difficulty. The \sigma or f_0(400-1200) ``meson'' is a broad I=J=0 enhancement driven by strong \pi\pi rescattering; a suitable scalar form factor is constrained by the chiral dynamics of low-energy hadron-hadron interactions - it is rather different from the relativistic Breit-Wigner form adopted in earlier B\to\sigma\pi and D\to\sigma\pi analyses. We show that the use of this scalar form factor leads to an improved theoretical understanding of the measured ratio Br(\bar B^0 \to \rho^\mp \pi^\pm) / Br(B^-\to \rho^0 \pi^-).Comment: 26 pages, 8 figs, published version. typos fixed, minor change

Superconducting Gatemon Qubit based on a Proximitized Two-Dimensional Electron Gas

The coherent tunnelling of Cooper pairs across Josephson junctions (JJs) generates a nonlinear inductance that is used extensively in quantum information processors based on superconducting circuits, from setting qubit transition frequencies and interqubit coupling strengths, to the gain of parametric amplifiers for quantum-limited readout. The inductance is either set by tailoring the metal-oxide dimensions of single JJs, or magnetically tuned by parallelizing multiple JJs in superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) with local current-biased flux lines. JJs based on superconductor-semiconductor hybrids represent a tantalizing all-electric alternative. The gatemon is a recently developed transmon variant which employs locally gated nanowire (NW) superconductor-semiconductor JJs for qubit control. Here, we go beyond proof-of-concept and demonstrate that semiconducting channels etched from a wafer-scale two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) are a suitable platform for building a scalable gatemon-based quantum computer. We show 2DEG gatemons meet the requirements by performing voltage-controlled single qubit rotations and two-qubit swap operations. We measure qubit coherence times up to ~2 us, limited by dielectric loss in the 2DEG host substrate

Fast spin exchange between two distant quantum dots

The Heisenberg exchange interaction between neighboring quantum dots allows precise voltage control over spin dynamics, due to the ability to precisely control the overlap of orbital wavefunctions by gate electrodes. This allows the study of fundamental electronic phenomena and finds applications in quantum information processing. Although spin-based quantum circuits based on short-range exchange interactions are possible, the development of scalable, longer-range coupling schemes constitutes a critical challenge within the spin-qubit community. Approaches based on capacitative coupling and cavity-mediated interactions effectively couple spin qubits to the charge degree of freedom, making them susceptible to electrically-induced decoherence. The alternative is to extend the range of the Heisenberg exchange interaction by means of a quantum mediator. Here, we show that a multielectron quantum dot with 50-100 electrons serves as an excellent mediator, preserving speed and coherence of the resulting spin-spin coupling while providing several functionalities that are of practical importance. These include speed (mediated two-qubit rates up to several gigahertz), distance (of order of a micrometer), voltage control, possibility of sweet spot operation (reducing susceptibility to charge noise), and reversal of the interaction sign (useful for dynamical decoupling from noise).Comment: 6 pages including 4 figures, plus 8 supplementary pages including 5 supplementary figure

Protein-based signatures of functional evolution in Plasmodium falciparum

Abstract. Background: It has been known for over a decade that Plasmodium falciparum proteins are enriched in non-globular domains of unknown function. The potential for these regions of protein sequence to undergo high levels of genetic drift provides a fundamental challenge to attempts to identify the molecular basis of adaptive change in malaria parasites. Results: Evolutionary comparisons were undertaken using a set of forty P. falciparum metabolic enzyme genes, both within the hominid malaria clade (P. reichenowi) and across the genus (P. chabaudi). All genes contained coding elements highly conserved across the genus, but there were also a large number of regions of weakly or non-aligning coding sequence. These displayed remarkable levels of non-synonymous fixed differences within the hominid malaria clade indicating near complete release from purifying selection (dN/dS ratio at residues non-aligning across genus: 0.64, dN/dS ratio at residues identical across genus: 0.03). Regions of low conservation also possessed high levels of hydrophilicity, a marker of non-globularity. The propensity for such regions to act as potent sources of non-synonymous genetic drift within extant P. falciparum isolates was confirmed at chromosomal regions containing genes known to mediate drug resistance in field isolates, where 150 of 153 amino acid variants were located in poorly conserved regions. In contrast, all 22 amino acid variants associated with drug resistance were restricted to highly conserved regions. Additional mutations associated with laboratory-selected drug resistance, such as those in PfATPase4 selected by spiroindolone, were similarly restricted while mutations in another calcium ATPase (PfSERCA, a gene proposed to mediate artemisinin resistance) that reach significant frequencies in field isolates were located exclusively in poorly conserved regions consistent with genetic drift. Conclusion: Coding sequences of malaria parasites contain prospectively definable domains subject to neutral or nearly neutral evolution on a scale that appears unrivalled in biology. This distinct evolutionary landscape has potential to confound analytical methods developed for other genera. Against this tide of genetic drift, polymorphisms mediating functional change stand out to such an extent that evolutionary context provides a useful signal for identifying the molecular basis of drug resistance in malaria parasites, a finding that is of relevance to both genome-wide and candidate gene studies in this genus. © 2011 Gardner et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Scaling of Majorana Zero-Bias Conductance Peaks

We report an experimental study of the scaling of zero-bias conductance peaks compatible with Majorana zero modes as a function of magnetic field, tunnel coupling, and temperature in one-dimensional structures fabricated from an epitaxial semiconductor-superconductor heterostructure. Results are consistent with theory, including a peak conductance that is proportional to tunnel coupling, saturates at $2e^2/h$, decreases as expected with field-dependent gap, and collapses onto a simple scaling function in the dimensionless ratio of temperature and tunnel coupling.Comment: Accepted in Physical Review Letter