arXiv subjects

Adrian Lupascu

Publications and source records attributed to Adrian Lupascu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Investigation of coherence of niobium-based resonators enabled by a fast-sealing microwave cavity

Resonators and qubits with a niobium (Nb) base metal layer achieve some of the highest coherence times in superconducting quantum devices. The performance of such devices is often limited by loss associated with two-level systems, which are found primarily at material surfaces and interfaces. The metal-air (MA) interface is a major contributor to device loss. In this work, we develop a fast-sealing microwave cavity that enables devices to be placed under vacuum within five minutes of oxide removal, thereby significantly reducing the MA interface loss compared to common device processing and packaging approaches. Using coplanar stripline resonators, we demonstrate that devices sealed in such a cavity exhibit internal quality factors exceeding one million at single-photon power. After re-exposure to air, the devices show downward resonance frequency shifts and quality factor degradations, quantitatively consistent with a model of Nb oxide regrowth. The fast-sealing microwave cavity provides a practical and consistent method to mitigate MA interface loss and sustain high coherence in Nb devices, and establishes a controlled platform for studying metal oxide regrowth kinetics and dielectric properties, the understanding of which is critical to achieving high coherence in superconducting quantum devices.

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arXiv2025

Universal pulses for superconducting qudit ladder gates

Qudits, generalizations of qubits to multi-level quantum systems, offer enhanced computational efficiency by encoding more information per lattice cell, avoiding costly swap operations and providing even exponential speedup in some cases. Utilizing the $d$-level manifold, however, requires high-speed gate operations because of the stronger decoherence at higher levels. While analytical control methods have proven effective for qubits in achieving fast gates with minimal control errors, their extension to qudits is nontrivial due to the increased complexity of the energy level structure arising from additional ancillary states. In this work, we present a universal pulse construction for generating rapid, high-fidelity unitary rotations between adjacent qudit levels, thereby providing a prescription for any gate in $SU(d)$. Control errors in these operations are effectively analyzed within a four-level subspace, including two leakage levels with approximately opposite detuning. By identifying the optimal degrees of freedom, we derive concise analytical pulse schemes that suppress multiple control errors and outperform existing methods. Remarkably, our approach achieves consistent coherent error scaling across all levels, approaching the quantum speed limit independently of parameter variations between levels. Validation on transmon circuits demonstrates significant improvements in gate fidelity for various qudit sizes aiming for $10^{-4}$ error. This method provides a scalable solution for improving qudit control and can be broadly applied to other quantum systems with ladder structures or operations involving multiple ancillary levels.

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arXiv2025

Towards an experimental implementation of entanglement harvesting in superconducting circuits: effect of detector gap variation on entanglement harvesting

Motivated by the prospect of experimental implementations of entanglement harvesting in superconducting circuits, we propose a model of variable-gap particle detector that aims to bridge some of the gaps between Unruh-DeWitt (UDW) models and realistic implementations. Using parameters tailored to potential experimental setups, we investigate entanglement harvesting in both spacelike-separated and causally connected scenarios. Our findings reveal that while variations in the energy gap reduce the ability to harvest entanglement for spacelike-separated detectors, detectors in causal contact can still become entangled through their interaction with the field. Notably, our analysis shows that (due to the derivative coupling nature of the model) even for causally connected detectors, the entanglement primarily originates from the field's correlations. This demonstrates the potential for genuine entanglement harvesting in the lab and opens the door to near-future entanglement harvesting experiments in superconducting circuits.

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arXiv2024

Efficient two-qutrit gates in superconducting circuits using parametric coupling

Recently, significant progress has been made in the demonstration of single qutrit and coupled qutrit gates with superconducting circuits. Coupled qutrit gates have significantly lower fidelity than single qutrit gates, owing to long implementation times. We present a protocol to implement the CZ universal gate for two qutrits based on a decomposition involving two partial state swaps and local operations. The partial state swaps can be implemented effectively using parametric coupling, which is fast and has the advantage of frequency selectivity. We perform a detailed analysis of this protocol in a system consisting of two fixed-frequency transmons coupled by a flux-tunable transmon. The application of an AC flux in the tunable transmon controls the parametric gates. This protocol has the potential to lead to fast and scalable two-qutrit gates in superconducting circuit architectures.

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arXiv2024

High-frequency suppression of inductive coupling between flux qubit and transmission line resonator

We perform theoretical calculations to investigate the naturally occurring high-frequency cutoff in a circuit comprising a flux qubit coupled inductively to a transmission line resonator (TLR). Specifically, a decoupling occurs between the qubit and the high-frequency modes. The coupling strength between the qubit and resonator modes increases with mode frequency $ω$ as $\sqrtω$ at low frequencies and decreases as $1/\sqrtω$ at high frequencies. This result is similar to those of past studies that considered somewhat similar circuit designs. By avoiding the approximation of ignoring the qubit-TLR coupling in certain steps in the analysis, we obtain effects not captured in previous studies. In particular, we obtain a resonance effect that shifts the TLR mode frequencies close to qubit oscillation frequencies. We derive expressions for the TLR mode frequencies, qubit-TLR coupling strengths and qubit Lamb shift. We identify features in the spectrum of the system that can be used in future experiments to test and validate the theoretical model.

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arXiv2023

Neural Networks for Programming Quantum Annealers

Quantum machine learning has the potential to enable advances in artificial intelligence, such as solving problems intractable on classical computers. Some fundamental ideas behind quantum machine learning are similar to kernel methods in classical machine learning. Both process information by mapping it into high-dimensional vector spaces without explicitly calculating their numerical values. We explore a setup for performing classification on labeled classical datasets, consisting of a classical neural network connected to a quantum annealer. The neural network programs the quantum annealer's controls and thereby maps the annealer's initial states into new states in the Hilbert space. The neural network's parameters are optimized to maximize the distance of states corresponding to inputs from different classes and minimize the distance between quantum states corresponding to the same class. Recent literature showed that at least some of the "learning" is due to the quantum annealer, connecting a small linear network to a quantum annealer and using it to learn small and linearly inseparable datasets. In this study, we consider a similar but not quite the same case, where a classical fully-fledged neural network is connected with a small quantum annealer. In such a setting, the fully-fledged classical neural-network already has built-in nonlinearity and learning power, and can already handle the classification problem alone, we want to see whether an additional quantum layer could boost its performance. We simulate this system to learn several common datasets, including those for image and sound recognition. We conclude that adding a small quantum annealer does not provide a significant benefit over just using a regular (nonlinear) classical neural network.

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arXiv2023

Analog quantum variational embedding classifier

Quantum machine learning has the potential to provide powerful algorithms for artificial intelligence. The pursuit of quantum advantage in quantum machine learning is an active area of research. For current noisy, intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers, various quantum-classical hybrid algorithms have been proposed. One such previously proposed hybrid algorithm is a gate-based variational embedding classifier, which is composed of a classical neural network and a parameterized gate-based quantum circuit. We propose a quantum variational embedding classifier based on an analog quantum computer, where control signals vary continuously in time. In our algorithm, the classical data is transformed into the parameters of the time-varying Hamiltonian of the analog quantum computer by a linear transformation. The nonlinearity needed for a nonlinear classification problem is purely provided by the analog quantum computer through the nonlinear dependence of the final quantum state on the control parameters of the Hamiltonian. We performed numerical simulations that demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm for performing binary and multi-class classification on linearly inseparable datasets such as concentric circles and MNIST digits. Our classifier can reach accuracy comparable with the best classical classifiers. We find the performance of our classifier can be increased by increasing the number of qubits until the performance saturates and fluctuates. Moreover, the number of optimization parameters of our classifier scales linearly with the number of qubits. The increase of number of training parameters when the size increases is therefore not as fast as that of neural network. Our algorithm presents the possibility of using current quantum annealers for solving practical machine-learning problems, and it could also be useful to explore quantum advantage in quantum machine learning.

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arXiv2022

Aluminum air bridges for superconducting quantum devices realized using a single step electron-beam lithography process

In superconducting quantum devices, air bridges enable increased circuit complexity and density as well as mitigate the risk of microwave loss arising from mode mixing. We implement aluminum air bridges using a simple process based on single-step electron-beam gradient exposure. The resulting bridges have sizes ranging from $20~μm$ to $100~μm$, with a yield exceeding $99~\%$ for lengths up to $36~μm$. When used to connect ground planes in coplanar waveguide resonators, the induced loss contributed to the system is negligible, corresponding to a reduction of the quality factor exceeding $1.0\times10^8$ per bridge. The bridge process is compatible with Josephson junctions and allows for the simultaneous creation of low loss bandages between superconducting layers.

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arXiv2022

Speed limits for two-qubit gates with weakly anharmonic qubits

We consider the implementation of two-qubit gates when the physical systems used to realize the qubits possess additional quantum states in the accessible energy range. We use optimal control theory to determine the maximum achievable gate speed for two-qubit gates in the qubit subspace of the many-level Hilbert space, and we analyze the effect of the additional quantum states on the gate speed. We identify two competing mechanisms. On one hand, higher energy levels are generally more strongly coupled to each other. Under suitable conditions, this stronger coupling can be utilized to make two-qubit gates significantly faster than the reference value based on simple qubits. On the other hand, a weak anharmonicity constrains the speed at which the system can be adequately controlled: according to the intuitive picture, faster operations require stronger control fields, which are more likely to excite higher levels in a weakly anharmonic system, which in turn leads to faster decoherence and uncontrolled leakage outside the qubit space. In order to account for this constraint, we modify the pulse optimization algorithm to avoid pulses that lead to appreciable population of the higher levels. In this case we find that the presence of the higher levels can lead to a significant reduction in the maximum achievable gate speed. We also compare the optimal-control gate speeds with those obtained using the cross-resonance/selective-darkening gate protocol. We find that the latter, with some parameter optimization, can be used to achieve a relatively fast implementation of the CNOT gate. These results can help the search for optimized gate implementations in realistic quantum computing architectures, such as those based on superconducting circuits. They also provide guidelines for desirable conditions on anharmonicity that allow optimal utilization of the higher levels to achieve fast quantum gates.

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arXiv2022

Customized quantum annealing schedules

In a typical quantum annealing protocol, the system starts with a transverse field Hamiltonian which is gradually turned off and replaced by a longitudinal Ising Hamiltonian. The ground state of the Ising Hamiltonian encodes the solution to the computational problem of interest, and the state overlap with this ground state gives the success probability of the annealing protocol. The form of the annealing schedule can have a significant impact on the ground state overlap at the end of the anneal, so precise control over these annealing schedules can be a powerful tool for increasing success probabilities of annealing protocols. Here we show how superconducting circuits, in particular capacitively shunted flux qubits (CSFQs), can be used to construct quantum annealing systems by providing tools for mapping circuit flux biases to Pauli coefficients. We use this mapping to find customized annealing schedules: appropriate circuit control biases that yield a desired annealing schedule, while accounting for the physical limitations of the circuitry. We then provide examples and proposals that utilize this capability to improve quantum annealing performance.

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arXiv2021

Demonstration of long-range correlations via susceptibility measurements in a one-dimensional superconducting Josephson spin chain

Spin chains have long been considered an effective medium for long-range interactions, entanglement generation, and quantum state transfer. In this work, we explore the properties of a spin chain implemented with superconducting flux circuits, designed to act as a connectivity medium between two superconducting qubits. The susceptibility of the chain is probed and shown to support long-range, cross chain correlations. In addition, interactions between the two end qubits, mediated by the coupler chain, are demonstrated. This work has direct applicability in near term quantum annealing processors as a means of generating long-range, coherent coupling between qubits.

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arXiv2020

Driving-induced resonance narrowing in a strongly coupled cavity-qubit system

We study a system consisting of a superconducting flux qubit strongly coupled to a microwave cavity. Externally applied qubit driving is employed in order to manipulate the spectrum of dressed states. We observe resonance narrowing in the region where the splitting between the two dressed fundamental resonances is tuned to zero. The narrowing in this region of overlapping resonances can be exploited for long-time storage of quantum states. In addition, we measure the response to strong cavity mode driving, and find a qualitative deviation between the experimental results and the predictions of a semiclassical model. On the other hand, good agreement is obtained using theoretical predictions obtained by numerically integrating the master equation governing the system's dynamics. The observed response demonstrates a process of a coherent cancellation of two meta-stable dressed states.

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arXiv2020

Flux Qubit Readout in the Persistent Current Basis at arbitrary Bias Points

Common flux qubit readout schemes are qubit dominated, meaning they measure in the energy eigenbasis of the qubit. For various applications meausrements in a basis different from the energy eigenbasis are required. Here we present an indirect measurement protocol, which is detector dominated instead of qubit dominated, yielding a projective measurements in the persistent current basis for arbitrary bias points. We show that with our setup it is possible to perform a quantum nondemolition measurement (QND) in the persistent current basis at all flux bias points with fidelities reaching almost 100%.

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arXiv2019

Tunable three-body coupler for superconducting flux qubits

The implementation of many-body interactions is relevant in various areas of quantum information. We present a superconducting device that implements a strong and tunable three-body interaction between superconducting quantum bits, with vanishing two-body interactions and robustness against noise and circuit parameter variations. These properties are confirmed by calculations based on the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, a two-level model for the coupling circuit, and numerical diagonalization. This circuit behaves as an ideal computational basis ZZZ coupler in a simulated three-qubit quantum annealing experiment. This work will be relevant for advanced quantum annealing protocols and future developments of high-order many-body interactions in quantum computers and simulators.

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arXiv2017

Finite sizes and smooth cutoffs in superconducting circuits

We investigate the validity of two common assumptions in the modelling of superconducting circuits: first, that the superconducting qubits are pointlike, and second, that the UV behaviour of the transmission line is not relevant to the qubit dynamics. We show that in the experimentally accessible ultra-strong coupling regime and for short (but attainable) times, the use of an inaccurate cutoff model (such as sharp, or none at all) could introduce very significant inaccuracies in the model's predictions.

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arXiv2017

Quadrature readout and generation of squeezed states of a harmonic oscillator using a qubit-based indirect measurement

We present a protocol for measuring the quadrature of a harmonic oscillator (HO). The HO is coupled to a qubit, with an interaction modulated by the qubit control and effectively proportional to the HO quadrature $I$. Repeated measurement of the qubit leads to gradually increasing information on the quadrature $I$, leading to squeezing. We derive an analytical formula for the quadrature variance, $(ΔI)^2 = 1/(1+4ϕ^2 s)$, with $ϕ$ the product of interaction strength and interaction time and $s$ the number of repetitions of the measurement. We discuss the robustness of this scheme against decoherence. We find that this protocol could lead to significant squeezing in a realistic setup formed of a superconducting flux qubit used to measure an electrical or mechanical resonator.

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arXiv2016

Dynamics of a two-level system under strong driving: quantum gate optimization based on floquet theory

We consider the dynamics of a two-level system (qubit) driven by strong and short resonant pulses in the framework of Floquet theory. First we derive analytical expressions for the quasienergies and Floquet states of the driven system. If the pulse amplitude varies very slowly, the system adiabatically follows the instantaneous Floquet states, which acquire dynamical phases that depend on the evolution of the quasienergies over time. The difference between the phases acquired by the two Floquet states corresponds to a qubit state rotation, generalizing the notion of Rabi oscillations to the case of large driving amplitudes. If the pulse amplitude changes very fast, the evolution is non-adiabatic, with transitions taking place between the Floquet states. We quantify and analyze the nonadiabatic transitions during the pulse by employing adiabatic perturbation theory and exact numerical simulations. We find that, for certain combinations of pulse rise and fall times and maximum driving amplitude, a destructive interference effect leads to a remarkably strong suppression of transitions between the Floquet states. This effect provides the basis of a quantum control protocol, which we name Floquet Interference Efficient Suppression of Transitions in the Adiabatic basis (FIESTA), that can be used to design ultra-fast high-fidelity single-qubit quantum gates.

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arXiv2016

Superharmonic Resonances in a Strongly Coupled Cavity-Atom System

We study a system consisting of a superconducting flux qubit strongly coupled to a microwave cavity. The fundamental cavity mode is externally driven and the response is investigated in the weak nonlinear regime. We find that near the crossing point, at which the resonance frequencies of the cavity mode and qubit coincide, the sign of the Kerr coefficient changes, and consequently the type of nonlinear response changes from softening to hardening. Furthermore, the cavity response exhibits superharmonic resonances when the ratio between the qubit frequency and the cavity fundamental mode frequency is tuned close to an integer value. The nonlinear response is characterized by the method of intermodulation and both signal and idler gains are measured. The experimental results are compared with theoretical predictions and good qualitative agreement is obtained. The superharmonic resonances have potential for applications in quantum amplification and generation of entangled states of light.

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