arXiv subjects

Evan Meyer-Scott

Publications and source records attributed to Evan Meyer-Scott.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Distributed Quantum Computing in Silicon

Commercially impactful quantum algorithms such as quantum chemistry and Shor's algorithm require a number of qubits and gates far beyond the capacity of any existing quantum processor. Distributed architectures, which scale horizontally by networking modules, provide a route to commercial utility and will eventually surpass the capability of any single quantum computing module. Such processors consume remote entanglement distributed between modules to realize distributed quantum logic. Networked quantum computers will therefore require the capability to rapidly distribute high fidelity entanglement between modules. Here we present preliminary demonstrations of some key distributed quantum computing protocols on silicon T centres in isotopically-enriched silicon. We demonstrate the distribution of entanglement between modules and consume it to apply a teleported gate sequence, establishing a proof-of-concept for T centres as a distributed quantum computing and networking platform.

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arXiv2022

Scalable generation of multi-photon entangled states by active feed-forward and multiplexing

Multi-photon entangled states of light are key to advancing quantum communication, computation, and metrology. Current methods for building such states are based on stitching together photons from probabilistic sources. The probability of $N$ such sources firing simultaneously decreases exponentially with $N$, imposing severe limitations on the practically achievable number of coincident photons. We tackle this challenge with a quantum interference buffer (QIB), which combines three functionalities: firstly, it stores polarization qubits, enabling the use of polarization-entangled states as resource; secondly, it implements entangled-source multiplexing, greatly enhancing the resource-state generation rates; thirdly, it implements time-multiplexed, on-demand linear optical networks for interfering subsequent states. Using the QIB, we multiplex 21 Bell-state sources and demonstrate a nine-fold enhancement in the generation rate of four-photon GHZ states. The enhancement scales exponentially with the photon number; larger states benefit more strongly. Multiplexed photon entanglement and interference will find diverse applications in quantum photonics, allowing for practical realisations of multi-photon protocols.

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arXiv2020

Local versus Global Two-Photon Interference in Quantum Networks

We devise an approach to characterizing the intricate interplay between classical and quantum interference of two-photon states in a network, which comprises multiple time-bin modes. By controlling the phases of delocalized single photons, we manipulate the global mode structure, resulting in distinct two-photon interference phenomena for time-bin resolved (local) and time-bucket (global) coincidence detection. This coherent control over the photons' mode structure allows for synthesizing two-photon interference patterns, where local measurements yield standard Hong-Ou-Mandel dips while the global two-photon visibility is governed by the overlap of the delocalized single-photon states. Thus, our experiment introduces a method for engineering distributed quantum interferences in networks.

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arXiv2019

A high dynamic range optical detector for measuring single photons and bright light

Detecting light is fundamental to all optical experiments and applications. At the single photon level, the quantised nature of light requires specialised detectors, which typically saturate for more than one photon, rendering the measurement of bright light impossible. Saturation can be partially overcome by multiplexing single-photon-sensitive detectors, enabling measurement up to tens of photons. However, current approaches are still far from bridging the gap to bright light levels. Here, we report on a massively-multiplexed single-photon detector, which exhibits a dynamic range of 123 dB, from optical energies as low as $\mathbf{10^{-7}}$ photons per pulse to $\mathbf{\sim2.5\times10^{5}}$ photons per pulse. This allows us to calibrate a single photon detector directly to a power meter. The use of a single-photon sensitive detector further allows us to characterise the nonclassical features of a variety of quantum states. This device will find application where high dynamic range and single-photon sensitivity are required.

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arXiv2019

Photonic quantum walks with four-dimensional coins

The dimensionality of the internal coin space of discrete-time quantum walks has a strong impact on the complexity and richness of the dynamics of quantum walkers. While two-dimensional coin operators are sufficient to define a certain range of dynamics on complex graphs, higher dimensional coins are necessary to unleash the full potential of discrete-time quantum walks. In this work we present an experimental realization of a discrete-time quantum walk on a line graph that, instead of two-dimensional, exhibits a four-dimensional coin space. Making use of the extra degree of freedom we observe multiple ballistic propagation speeds specific to higher dimensional coin operators. By implementing a scalable technique, we demonstrate quantum walks on circles of various sizes, as well as on an example of a Husimi cactus graph. The quantum walks are realized via time-multiplexing in a Michelson interferometer loop architecture, employing as the coin degrees of freedom the polarization and the traveling direction of the pulses in the loop. Our theoretical analysis shows that the platform supports implementations of quantum walks with arbitrary $4 \times 4$ unitary coin operations, and usual quantum walks on a line with various periodic and twisted boundary conditions.

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arXiv2018

High-performance source of spectrally pure, polarization entangled photon pairs based on hybrid integrated-bulk optics

Entangled photon pair sources based on bulk optics are approaching optimal design and implementation, with high state fidelities, spectral purities and heralding efficiencies, but generally low brightness. Integrated entanglement sources, while providing higher brightness and low-power operation, often sacrifice performance in output state quality and coupling efficiency. Here we present a polarization-entangled pair source based on a hybrid approach of waveguiding and bulk optics, addressing every metric simultaneously. We show 96% fidelity to the singlet state, 82% Hong-Ou-Mandel interference visibility, 43% average Klyshko efficiency, and a high brightness of $2.9\times10^6$ pairs/(mode$\cdot$s$\cdot$mW), while requiring only microwatts of pump power.

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arXiv2018

Low-noise heralded single photons from cascaded downconversion

Heralded single photon sources are often implemented using spontaneous parametric downconversion, but their quality can be restricted by optical loss, double pair emission and detector dark counts. Here, we show that the performance of such sources can be improved using cascaded downconversion, by providing a second trigger signal to herald the presence of a single photon, thereby reducing the effects of detector dark counts. We find that for a setup with fixed detectors, an improved heralded second-order correlation function $g^{(2)}$ can always be achieved with cascaded downconversion given sufficient efficiency for the second downconversion, even for equal single-photon production rates. Furthermore, the minimal $g^{(2)}$ value is unchanged for a large range in pump beam intensity. These results are interesting for applications where achieving low, stable values of $g^{(2)}$ is of primary importance.

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arXiv2017

Limits on the heralding efficiencies and spectral purities of spectrally-filtered single photons from photon pair sources

Photon pairs produced by parametric down-conversion or four-wave mixing can interfere with each other in multiport interferometers, or carry entanglement between distant nodes for use in entanglement swapping. This requires the photons be spectrally pure to ensure good interference, and have high heralding efficiency to know accurately the number of photons involved and to maintain high rates as the number of photons grows. Spectral filtering is often used to remove noise and define spectral properties. For heralded single photons high purity and heralding efficiency is possible by filtering the heralding arm, but when both photons in typical pair sources are filtered, we show that the heralding efficiency of one or both of the photons is strongly reduced even by ideal spectral filters with 100% transmission in the passband: any improvement in reduced-state spectral purity from filtering comes at the cost of lowered heralding efficiency. We consider the fidelity to a pure, lossless single photon, symmetrize it to include both photons of the pair, and show this quantity is intrinsically limited for sources with spectral correlation. We then provide a framework for this effect for benchmarking common photon pair sources, and present an experiment where we vary the photon filter bandwidths and measure the increase in purity and corresponding reduction in heralding efficiency.

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arXiv2017

Towards integrated superconducting detectors on lithium niobate waveguides

Superconducting detectors are now well-established tools for low-light optics, and in particular quantum optics, boasting high-efficiency, fast response and low noise. Similarly, lithium niobate is an important platform for integrated optics given its high second-order nonlinearity, used for high-speed electro-optic modulation and polarization conversion, as well as frequency conversion and sources of quantum light. Combining these technologies addresses the requirements for a single platform capable of generating, manipulating and measuring quantum light in many degrees of freedom, in a compact and potentially scalable manner. We will report on progress integrating tungsten transition-edge sensors (TESs) and amorphous tungsten silicide superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) on titanium in-diffused lithium niobate waveguides. The travelling-wave design couples the evanescent field from the waveguides into the superconducting absorber. We will report on simulations and measurements of the absorption, which we can characterize at room temperature prior to cooling down the devices. Independently, we show how the detectors respond to flood illumination, normally incident on the devices, demonstrating their functionality.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Observation of genuine three-photon interference

Multiparticle quantum interference is critical for our understanding and exploitation of quantum information, and for fundamental tests of quantum mechanics. A remarkable example of multi-partite correlations is exhibited by the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state. In a GHZ state, three particles are correlated while no pairwise correlation is found. The manifestation of these strong correlations in an interferometric setting has been studied theoretically since 1990 but no three-photon GHZ interferometer has been realized experimentally. Here we demonstrate three-photon interference that does not originate from two-photon or single photon interference. We observe phase-dependent variation of three-photon coincidences with 90.5 \pm 5.0 % visibility in a generalized Franson interferometer using energy-time entangled photon triplets. The demonstration of these strong correlations in an interferometric setting provides new avenues for multiphoton interferometry, fundamental tests of quantum mechanics and quantum information applications in higher dimensions.

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arXiv2017

High efficiency 'plug & play' source of heralded single photons

Reliable generation of single photons is of key importance for fundamental physical experiments and to demonstrate quantum technologies. Waveguide-based photon pair sources have shown great promise in this regard due to their large degree of spectral tunability, high generation rates and long photon coherence times. However, for such a source to have real world applications it needs to be efficiently integrated with fiber-optic networks. We answer this challenge by presenting an alignment-free source of photon pairs in the telecommunications band that maintains heralding efficiency > 50 % even after fiber pigtailing, photon separation, and pump suppression. The source combines this outstanding performance in heralding efficiency and brightness with a compact, stable, and easy-to-use 'plug & play' package: one simply connects a laser to the input and detectors to the output and the source is ready to use. This high performance can be achieved even outside the lab without the need for alignment which makes the source extremely useful for any experiment or demonstration needing heralded single photons.

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arXiv2017

Discorrelated quantum states

The statistical properties of photons are fundamental to investigating quantum mechanical phenomena using light. In multi-photon, two-mode systems, correlations may exist between outcomes of measurements made on each mode which exhibit useful properties. Correlation in this sense can be thought of as increasing the probability of a particular outcome of a measurement on one subsystem given a measurement on a correlated subsystem. Here, we show a statistical property we call "discorrelation," in which the probability of a particular outcome of one subsystem is reduced to zero, given a measurement on a discorrelated subsystem. We show how such a state can be constructed using readily available building blocks of quantum optics, namely coherent states, single photons, beam splitters and projective measurement. We present a variety of discorrelated states, show that they are entangled, and study their sensitivity to loss.

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arXiv2016

A strong loophole-free test of local realism

We present a loophole-free violation of local realism using entangled photon pairs. We ensure that all relevant events in our Bell test are spacelike separated by placing the parties far enough apart and by using fast random number generators and high-speed polarization measurements. A high-quality polarization-entangled source of photons, combined with high-efficiency, low-noise, single-photon detectors, allows us to make measurements without requiring any fair-sampling assumptions. Using a hypothesis test, we compute p-values as small as $5.9\times 10^{-9}$ for our Bell violation while maintaining the spacelike separation of our events. We estimate the degree to which a local realistic system could predict our measurement choices. Accounting for this predictability, our smallest adjusted p-value is $2.3 \times 10^{-7}$. We therefore reject the hypothesis that local realism governs our experiment.

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arXiv2016

Certifying the presence of a photonic qubit by splitting it in two

We present an implementation of photonic qubit precertification that performs the delicate task of detecting the presence of a flying photon without destroying its qubit state, allowing loss-sensitive quantum cryptography and tests of nonlocality even over long distance. By splitting an incoming single photon in two via parametric down-conversion, we herald the photon's arrival from an independent photon source while preserving its quantum information with up to $92.3\pm0.6$ % fidelity. With reduced detector dark counts, precertification will be immediately useful in quantum communication.

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arXiv2015

Experimental quantum key distribution with simulated ground-to-satellite photon losses and processing limitations

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has the potential to improve communications security by offering cryptographic keys whose security relies on the fundamental properties of quantum physics. The use of a trusted quantum receiver on an orbiting satellite is the most practical near-term solution to the challenge of achieving long-distance (global-scale) QKD, currently limited to a few hundred kilometers on the ground. This scenario presents unique challenges, such as high photon losses and restricted classical data transmission and processing power due to the limitations of a typical satellite platform. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of such a system by implementing a QKD protocol, with optical transmission and full post-processing, in the high-loss regime using minimized computing hardware at the receiver. Employing weak coherent pulses with decoy states, we demonstrate the production of secure key bits at up to 56.5 dB of photon loss. We further illustrate the feasibility of a satellite uplink by generating secure key while experimentally emulating the varying channel losses predicted for realistic low-Earth-orbit satellite passes at 600 km altitude. With a 76 MHz source and including finite-size analysis, we extract 3374 bits of secure key from the best pass. We also illustrate the potential benefit of combining multiple passes together: while one suboptimal "upper-quartile" pass produces no finite-sized key with our source, the combination of three such passes allows us to extract 165 bits of secure key. Alternatively, we find that by increasing the signal rate to 300 MHz it would be possible to extract 21570 bits of secure finite-sized key in just a single upper-quartile pass.

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arXiv2015

Power-efficient production of photon pairs in a tapered chalcogenide microwire

Using tapered fibers of As2Se3 chalcogenide glass, we produce photon pairs at telecommunication wavelengths with low pump powers. We found maximum coincidences-to-accidentals ratios of $2.13\pm0.07$ for degenerate pumping with 3.2 μW average power, and $1.33\pm0.03$ for non-degenerate pumping with 1.0 μW and 1.5 μW average power of the two pumps. Our results show that the ultrahigh nonlinearity in these microwires could allow single-photon pumping to produce photon pairs, enabling the production of large entangled states, heralding of single photons after lossy transmission, and photonic quantum information processing with nonlinear optics.

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arXiv2014

Converting one photon into two via four-wave mixing in optical fibers

Observing nonlinear optical quantum effects or implementing quantum information protocols using nonlinear optics requires moving to ever-smaller input light intensities. However, low light intensities generally mean weak optical nonlinearities, inadequate for many applications. Here we calculate the performance of four-wave mixing in various optical fibers for the case where one of the input beams is a single photon. We show that in tapered chalcogenide glass fibers (microwires) a single photon plus strong pump beam can produce a pair of photons with probability 0.1%, much higher than in previous work on bulk and waveguided crystal sources. Such a photon converter could be useful for creating large entangled photon states, for performing a loophole-free test of Bell's inequalities, and for quantum communication.

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arXiv2013

Entanglement-based linear-optical qubit amplifier

We propose a linear-optical scheme for an efficient amplification of a photonic qubit based on interaction of the signal mode with a pair of entangled ancillae. In contrast to a previous proposal for qubit amplifier by Gisin et al., [Phys Rev. Lett. 105, 070501 (2010)] the success probability of our device does not decrease asymptotically to zero with increasing gain. Moreover we show how the device can be used to restore entanglement deteriorated by transmission over a lossy channel and calculate the secure key rate for device-independent quantum key distribution.

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