Superpositions of SU(3) coherent states via a nonlinear evolution

We show that a nonlinear Hamiltonian evolution can transform an SU(3) coherent state into a superposition of distinct SU(3) coherent states, with a superposition of two SU(2) coherent states presented as a special case. A phase space representation is depicted by projecting the multi-dimensional $Q$-symbol for the state to a spherical subdomain of the coset space. We discuss realizations of this nonlinear evolution in the contexts of nonlinear optics and Bose--Einstein condensates

Precision Measurements Using Squeezed Spin States via Two-axis Counter-twisting Interactions

We show that the two-axis counter twisting interaction squeezes a coherent spin state into three states of interest in quantum information, namely, the twin-Fock state, the equally-weighted superposition state, and the state that achieves the Heisenberg limit of optimal sensitivity defined by the Cramer-Rao inequality in addition to the well-known Heisenberg-limited state of spin fluctuations.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Weak non-linearities and cluster states

We propose a scalable approach to building cluster states of matter qubits using coherent states of light. Recent work on the subject relies on the use of single photonic qubits in the measurement process. These schemes have a low initial success probability and low detector efficiencies cause a serious blowup in resources. In contrast, our approach uses continuous variables and highly efficient measurements. We present a two-qubit scheme, with a simple homodyne measurement system yielding an entangling operation with success probability 1/2. Then we extend this to a three-qubit interaction, increasing this probability to 3/4. We discuss the important issues of the overhead cost and the time scaling, showing how these can be vastly improved with access to this new probability range.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Entanglement detection from interference fringes in atom-photon systems

A measurement scheme of atomic qubits pinned at given positions is studied by analyzing the interference pattern obtained when they emit photons spontaneously. In the case of two qubits, a well-known relation is revisited, in which the interference visibility is equal to the concurrence of the state in the infinite spatial separation limit of the qubits. By taking into account the super-radiant and sub-radiant effects, it is shown that a state tomography is possible when the qubit spatial separation is comparable to the wavelength of the atomic transition. In the case of three qubits, the relations between various entanglement measures and the interference visibility are studied, where the visibility is defined from the two-qubit case. A qualitative correspondence among these entanglement relations is discussed. In particular, it is shown that the interference visibility is directly related to the maximal bipartite negativity.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, published versio

Practical effects in the preparation of cluster states using weak non-linearities

We discuss experimental effects in the implementation of a recent scheme for performing bus mediated entangling operations between qubits. Here a bus mode, a strong coherent state, successively undergoes weak Kerr-type non-linear interactions with qubits. A quadrature measurement on the bus then projects the qubits into an entangled state. This approach has the benefit that entangling gates are non-destructive, may be performed non-locally, and there is no need for efficient single photon detection. In this paper we examine practical issues affecting its experimental implementation. In particular, we analyze the effects of post-selection errors, qubit loss, bus loss, mismatched coupling rates and mode-mismatch. We derive error models for these effects and relate them to realistic fault-tolerant thresholds, providing insight into realistic experimental requirements.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Adiabatic quantum computation along quasienergies

The parametric deformations of quasienergies and eigenvectors of unitary operators are applied to the design of quantum adiabatic algorithms. The conventional, standard adiabatic quantum computation proceeds along eigenenergies of parameter-dependent Hamiltonians. By contrast, discrete adiabatic computation utilizes adiabatic passage along the quasienergies of parameter-dependent unitary operators. For example, such computation can be realized by a concatenation of parameterized quantum circuits, with an adiabatic though inevitably discrete change of the parameter. A design principle of adiabatic passage along quasienergy is recently proposed: Cheon's quasienergy and eigenspace anholonomies on unitary operators is available to realize anholonomic adiabatic algorithms [Tanaka and Miyamoto, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 160407 (2007)], which compose a nontrivial family of discrete adiabatic algorithms. It is straightforward to port a standard adiabatic algorithm to an anholonomic adiabatic one, except an introduction of a parameter |v>, which is available to adjust the gaps of the quasienergies to control the running time steps. In Grover's database search problem, the costs to prepare |v> for the qualitatively different, i.e., power or exponential, running time steps are shown to be qualitatively different. Curiously, in establishing the equivalence between the standard quantum computation based on the circuit model and the anholonomic adiabatic quantum computation model, it is shown that the cost for |v> to enlarge the gaps of the eigenvalue is qualitatively negligible.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Spectral Effects of Strong Chi-2 Non-Linearity for Quantum Processing

Optical $\chi^{(2)}$ non-linearity can be used for parametric amplification and producing down-converted entangled photon pairs that have broad applications. It is known that weak non-linear media exhibit dispersion and produce a frequency response. It is therefore of interest to know how spectral effects of a strong $\chi^{(2)}$ crystal affect the performance. Here we model the spectral effects of the dispersion of a strong $\chi^{(2)}$ crystal and illustrate how this affects its ability to perform Bell measurements and influence the performance of a quantum gates that employ such a Bell measurement. We show that a Dyson series expansion of the unitary operator is necessary in general, leading to unwanted spectral entanglement. We identify a limiting situation employing periodic poling, in which a Taylor series expansion is a good approximation and this entanglement can be removed.Comment: Will be submitted to PR