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Chuan-Feng Li

Publications and source records attributed to Chuan-Feng Li.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Overcoming noise in quantum teleportation with multipartite hybrid entanglement

Quantum entanglement and decoherence are the two counterforces of many quantum technologies and protocols. For example, while quantum teleportation is fueled by a pair of maximally entangled resource qubits, it is vulnerable to decoherence. In this Article, we propose an efficient quantum teleportation protocol in the presence of pure decoherence and without entangled resource qubits entering the Bell-state measurement. Instead, we employ multipartite hybrid entanglement between the auxiliary qubits and their local environments within the open-quantum-system context. Interestingly, with a hybrid-entangled initial state, it is the decoherence that allows us to achieve high fidelities. We demonstrate our protocol in an all-optical experiment.

quant-ph↗

Demonstration of superior communication through thermodynamically free channels in an optical quantum switch

The release of causal structure of physical events from a well-defined order to an indefinite one stimulates remarkable enhancements in various quantum information tasks. Some of these advantages, however, are questioned for the ambiguous role of the control system in the quantum switch that is an experimentally realized process with indefinite causal structure. In communications, for example, not only the superposition of alternative causal orders, but also the superposition of alternative trajectories can accelerate information transmissions. Here, we follow the proposal of Liu et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 230604 (2022)], and examine the information enhancement effect of indefinite causal orders with the toolkit of thermodynamics in a photonic platform. Specifically, we simulate the thermal interaction between a system qubit and two heat baths embedded in a quantum switch by implementing the corresponding switched thermal channels. Although its action on the system qubit only is thermally free, our results suggest that the quantum switch should be seen as a resource when the control qubit is also considered. Moreover, we characterize the non-Markovian property in this scenario by measuring the information backflows from the heat baths to the system qubit.

quant-ph↗

Photonic simulation of Majorana-based Jones polynomials

Jones polynomials were introduced as a tool to distinguish between topologically different links. Recently, they emerged as the central building block of topological quantum computation: by braiding non-Abelian anyons it is possible to realise quantum algorithms through the computation of Jones polynomials. So far, it has been a formidable task to evaluate Jones polynomials through the control and manipulation of non-Abelian anyons. In this study, a photonic quantum system employing two-photon correlations and non-dissipative imaginary-time evolution is utilized to simulate two inequivalent braiding operations of Majorana zero modes. The resulting amplitudes are shown to be mathematically equivalent to Jones polynomials at a particular value of their parameter. The high-fidelity of our optical platform allows us to distinguish between a wide range of links, such as Hopf links, Solomon links, Trefoil knots, Figure Eight knots and Borromean rings, through determining their corresponding Jones polynomials. Our photonic quantum simulator represents a significant step towards executing fault-tolerant quantum algorithms based on topological quantum encoding and manipulation.

quant-ph↗

Experimental demonstration of input-output indefiniteness in a single quantum device

Quantum theory allows information to flow through a single device in a coherent superposition of two opposite directions, resulting into situations where the input-output direction is indefinite. Here we introduce a theoretical method to witness input-output indefiniteness in a single quantum device, and we experimentally demonstrate it by constructing a photonic setup that exhibits input-output indefiniteness with a statistical significance exceeding 69 standard deviations. Our results provide a way to characterize input-output indefiniteness as a resource for quantum information and photonic quantum technologies and enable table-top simulations of hypothetical scenarios exhibiting quantum indefiniteness in the direction of time.

quant-ph↗

Experimental verification of the steering ellipsoid zoo via two-qubit states

Quantum steering ellipsoid visualizes the set of all qubit states that can be steered by measuring on another correlated qubit in the Bloch picture. Together with local reduced states, it provides a faithful geometric characterization of the underlying two-qubit state so that almost all nonclassical state features can be reflected in its geometric properties. Consequently, the various types of quantum ellipsoids with different geometric properties form an ellipsoid zoo, which, in this work, is experimentally verified via measurements on many polarization-path photonic states. By generating two-qubit states with high fidelity, the corresponding ellipsoids are constructed to certify the presence of entanglement, one-way Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering, discord, and steering incompleteness. It is also experimentally verified that the steering ellipsoid can be reconstructed from using the twelve vertices of the icosahedron as measurement directions. Our results aid progress in applying the quantum steering ellipsoid to reveal nonclassical features of the multi-qubit system.

quant-ph↗

A universal programmable Gaussian Boson Sampler for drug discovery

Gaussian Boson Sampling (GBS) exhibits a unique ability to solve graph problems, such as finding cliques in complex graphs. It is noteworthy that many drug discovery tasks can be viewed as the clique-finding process, making them potentially suitable for quantum computation. However, to perform these tasks in their quantum-enhanced form, a large-scale quantum hardware with universal programmability is essential, which is yet to be achieved even with the most advanced GBS devices. Here, we construct a time-bin encoded GBS photonic quantum processor that is universal, programmable, and software-scalable. Our processor features freely adjustable squeezing parameters and can implement arbitrary unitary operations with a programmable interferometer. Using our processor, we have demonstrated the clique-finding task in a 32-node graph, where we found the maximum weighted clique with approximately twice the probability of success compared to classical sampling. Furthermore, a multifunctional quantum pharmaceutical platform is developed. This GBS processor is successfully used to execute two different drug discovery methods, namely molecular docking and RNA folding prediction. Our work achieves the state-of-the-art in GBS circuitry with its distinctive universal and programmable architecture which advances GBS towards real-world applications.

quant-ph↗

Continuously and widely tunable frequency-stabilized laser based on an optical frequency comb

Continuously and widely tunable lasers actively stabilized on a frequency reference are broadly employed in atomic, molecular and optical (AMO) physics. The frequency-stabilized optical frequency comb (OFC) provides a novel optical frequency reference with a broadband spectrum that meets the requirement of laser frequency stabilization. Therefore, we demonstrate a frequency-stabilized and precisely tunable laser system based on it. In this scheme, the laser frequency locked to the OFC is driven to jump over the ambiguity zones, which blocks the wide tuning of the locked laser, and tuned until the mode hopping happens with the always-activated feedback loop. Meanwhile, we compensate the gap of the frequency jump with a synchronized acoustic optical modulator to ensure the continuity. This scheme is applied to an external cavity diode laser (ECDL) and we achieve tuning at a rate of about 7 GHz/s with some readily available commercial electronics. Furthermore, we tune the frequency-stabilized laser only with the feedback of diode current and its average tuning speed can exceed 100 GHz/s. Due to the resource-efficient configuration and the simplicity of completion, this scheme can be referenced and find wide applications in AMO experiments.

physics.atom-ph↗

Universal device for two-qubit entangled measurements via photonic quantum walks

Sophisticated quantum measurements are fundamental to obtain a quantum advantage in many informational problems. Here, we consider the task of guessing a direction encoded in a two-qubit pure state. We experimentally demonstrate that abstention can be used to recover optimal direction guessing (measured in terms of the fidelity and maximum likelihood scores) even from non ideal states. Our protocol uses nine-step photonic quantum walks to implement the optimal five-output two-qubit collective measurements with fidelities above 0.9850. Thanks to abstention, we obtain more than a 10-fold improvement of the direction guessing scores (in terms of deviation to the optimal guessing scores). Our work demonstrates the versatility of photonic quantum walks for implementing many-qubit sophisticated measurements.

quant-ph↗

Robust single divacancy defects near stacking faults in 4H-SiC under resonant excitation

Color centers in silicon carbide (SiC) have demonstrated significant promise for quantum information processing. However, the undesirable ionization process that occurs during optical manipulation frequently causes fluctuations in the charge state and performance of these defects, thereby restricting the effectiveness of spin-photon interfaces. Recent predictions indicate that divacancy defects near stacking faults possess the capability to stabilize their neutral charge states, thereby providing robustness against photoionization effects. In this work, we present a comprehensive protocol for the scalable and targeted fabrication of single divacancy arrays in 4H-SiC using a high-resolution focused helium ion beam. Through photoluminescence emission (PLE) experiments, we demonstrate long-term emission stability with minimal linewidth shift ($\sim$ 50 MHz over 3 hours) for the single c-axis divacancies within stacking faults. By measuring the ionization rate for different polytypes of divacancies, we found that the divacancies within stacking faults are more robust against resonant excitation. Additionally, angle-resolved PLE spectra reveal their two resonant-transition lines with mutually orthogonal polarizations. Notably, the PLE linewidths are approximately 7 times narrower and the spin-coherent times are 6 times longer compared to divacancies generated via carbon-ion implantation. These findings highlight the immense potential of SiC divacancies for on-chip quantum photonics and the construction of efficient spin-to-photon interfaces, indicating a significant step forward in the development of quantum technologies.

quant-ph↗

Chiral switching of many-body steady states in a dissipative Rydberg gas

Dissipative Rydberg gases are an outstanding platform for the investigation of many-body quantum open systems. Despite the wealth of existing studies, the non-equilibrium dynamics of dissipative Rydberg gases are rarely examined or harnessed from the perspective of non-Hermitian physics, which is but intrinsic to open systems. Here we report the experimental observation of a chiral switching between many-body steady states in a dissipative thermal Rydberg vapor, where the interplay of many-body effects and non-Hermiticity plays a key role. Specifically, as the parameters are adiabatically varied around a closed contour, depending on the chirality of the parameter modulation, the Rydberg vapor can change between two collective steady states with distinct Rydberg excitations and optical transmissions. Adopting a mean-field description, we reveal that both the existence of the bistable steady states and chiral dynamics derive from an exceptional structure in the parameter space, where multiple steady states of the many-body Liouvillian superoperator coalesce. We demonstrate that both the exceptional structure and the resulting state-switching dynamics are tunable through microwave dressing and temperature variations, confirming their reliance on the many-body dissipative nature of the Rydberg vapor.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Nonlinearity-Enhanced Continuous Microwave Detection Based on Stochastic Resonance

In practical sensing tasks, noise is usually regarded as an obstruction to better performance and will degrade the sensitivity. Fortunately, \textit{stochastic resonance} (SR), a counterintuitive concept, can utilize noise to greatly enhance the detected signal amplitude. Although fundamentally important as a mechanism of weak signal amplification, and has been continually explored in geological, biological, and physical science, both theoretically and experimentally, SR has yet to be demonstrated in realistic sensing tasks. Here we develop a novel SR-based nonlinear sensor using a thermal ensemble of interacting Rydberg atoms. With the assistance of stochastic noise (either inherently in the system or added externally) and strong nonlinearity in the Rydberg ensembles, the signal encoded in a weak MW field is greatly enhanced (over 25 dB). Moreover, we show that the SR-based atomic sensor can achieve a better sensitivity in our system, which is over 6.6 dB compared to a heterodye atomic sensor. Our results show potential advantage of SR-based MW sensors in commercial or defense-related applications.

physics.atom-ph↗

Filtering one-way Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering, a fundamental concept of quantum nonlocality, describes one observer's capability to remotely affect another distant observer's state by local measurements. Unlike quantum entanglement and Bell nonlocality, both associated with the symmetric quantum correlation, EPR steering depicts the unique asymmetric property of quantum nonlocality. With the local filter operation in which some system components are discarded, quantum nonlocality can be distilled to enhance the nonlocal correlation, and even the hidden nonlocality can be activated. However, asymmetric quantum nonlocality in the filter operation still lacks a well-rounded investigation, especially considering the discarded parts where quantum nonlocal correlations may still exist with probabilities. Here, in both theory and experiment, we investigate the effect of reusing the discarded particles from local filter. We observe all configurations of EPR steering simultaneously and other intriguing evolution of asymmetric quantum nonlocality, such as reversing the direction of one-way EPR steering. This work provides a perspective to answer "What is the essential role of utilizing quantum steering as a resource?", and demonstrates a practical toolbox for manipulating asymmetric quantum systems with significant potential applications in quantum information tasks.

quant-ph↗

Realization of edge states along a synthetic orbital angular momentum dimension

The synthetic dimension is a rising method to study topological physics, which enables us to implement high-dimensional physics in low-dimensional geometries. Photonic orbital angular momentum (OAM), a degree of freedom characterized by discrete yet unbounded, serves as a suitable synthetic dimension. However, a sharp boundary along a synthetic OAM dimension has not been demonstrated, dramatically limiting the investigation of topological edge effects in an open boundary lattice system. In this work, we make a sharp boundary along a Floquet Su-Schrieffer-Heeger OAM lattice and form approximate semi-infinite lattices by drilling a pinhole on the optical elements in a cavity. The band structures with zero ($\pmπ$) energy boundary states are measured directly, benefiting from the spectra detection of the cavity. Moreover, we obtain the edge modes moving from the gap to the bulk by dynamically changing the boundary phase, and we reveal that interference near the surface leads to spectrum discretization. Our work provides a new perspective to observe edge effects and explore practical photonics tools.

physics.optics↗

Experimental Demonstration of Inequivalent Mutually Unbiased Bases

Quantum measurements based on mutually unbiased bases (MUB) play crucial roles in foundational studies and quantum information processing. It is known that there exist inequivalent MUB, but little is known about their operational distinctions, not to say experimental demonstration. In this work, by virtue of a simple estimation problem we experimentally demonstrate the operational distinctions between inequivalent triples of MUB in dimension 4 based on high-precision photonic systems. The experimental estimation fidelities coincide well with the theoretical predictions with only 0.16$\%$ average deviation, which is 25 times less than the difference (4.1$\%$) between the maximum estimation fidelity and the minimum estimation fidelity. Our experiments clearly demonstrate that inequivalent MUB have different information extraction capabilities and different merits for quantum information processing.

quant-ph↗

Implementing quantum dimensionality reduction for non-Markovian stochastic simulation

Complex systems are embedded in our everyday experience. Stochastic modelling enables us to understand and predict the behaviour of such systems, cementing its utility across the quantitative sciences. Accurate models of highly non-Markovian processes -- where the future behaviour depends on events that happened far in the past -- must track copious amounts of information about past observations, requiring high-dimensional memories. Quantum technologies can ameliorate this cost, allowing models of the same processes with lower memory dimension than corresponding classical models. Here we implement such memory-efficient quantum models for a family of non-Markovian processes using a photonic setup. We show that with a single qubit of memory our implemented quantum models can attain higher precision than possible with any classical model of the same memory dimension. This heralds a key step towards applying quantum technologies in complex systems modelling.

quant-ph↗

Minimum-consumption discrimination of quantum states via globally optimal adaptive measurements

Reducing the average resource consumption is the central quest in discriminating non-orthogonal quantum states for a fixed admissible error rate $\varepsilon$. The globally optimal fixed local projective measurement (GOFL) for this task is found to be different from that for previous minimum-error discrimination tasks [PRL 118, 030502 (2017)]. To achieve the ultimate minimum average consumption, here we develop a general globally optimal adaptive strategy (GOA) by subtly using the updated posterior probability, which works under any error rate requirement and any one-way measurement restrictions, and can be solved by a convergent iterative relation. First, under the local measurement restrictions, our GOA is solved to serve as the local bound, which saves 16.6 copies (24%) compared with the previously best GOFL. When the more powerful two-copy collective measurements are allowed, our GOA is experimentally demonstrated to beat the local bound by 3.9 copies (6.0%). By exploiting both adaptivity and collective measurements, our work marks an important step towards minimum-consumption quantum state discrimination.

quant-ph↗

Counterfactual communication without a trace in the transmission channel

We report an experimental realization of a modified counterfactual communication protocol that eliminates the dominant environmental trace left by photons passing through the transmission channel. Compared to Wheeler's criterion for inferring past particle paths, as used in prior protocols, our trace criterion provide stronger support for the claim of the counterfactuality of the communication. We verify the lack of trace left by transmitted photons via tagging the propagation arms of an interferometric device by distinct frequency-shifts and finding that the collected photons have no frequency shift which corresponds to the transmission channel. As a proof of principle, we counterfactually transfer a quick response code image with sufficient fidelity to be scanned with a cell phone.

quant-ph↗

Preparation of multiphoton high-dimensional GHZ state

Multipartite high-dimensional entanglement presents different physics from multipartite two-dimensional entanglement. However, how to prepare multipartite high-dimensional entanglement is still a challenge with linear optics. In this paper, a multiphoton GHZ state with arbitrary dimensions preparation protocol is proposed in optical systems. In this protocol, we use auxiliary entanglements to realize a high-dimensional entanglement gate, so that high-dimensional entangled pairs can be connected into a multipartite high-dimensional GHZ state. Specifically, we give an example of using photons' path degree of freedom to prepare a 4-particle 3-dimensional GHZ state. Our method can be extended to other degrees of freedom and can generate arbitrary GHZ entanglement in any dimension.

quant-ph↗